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09-30-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
BOW WOW TO 'WALK' OUT THE VOTE: Rapper embarks on a 'Walk Across America'
effort to urge voter registration.
*On Oct. 1, rapper-actor Bow Wow and other citizens will begin traveling by foot and bus through several cities - including Philadelphia, PA, Washington, D.C. and New York City – in an effort to register and encourage young people to vote.
Walk Across America kicks off tomorrow in Atlanta [See full schedule below.] Bow Wow, 21, will be voting for the first time on Nov. 4 and hopes his participation in the 15-day event will motivate other young people to become engaged in the process.
"It's important for the youth to participate because we're tomorrow's leaders," said Bow Wow of the voter registration initiative. "We need to make sure that our voices are heard and have a say in the decisions that will affect our lives and our country for years to come."
Bow Wow is working with Declare Yourself and Black Youth Vote, two non-partisan organizations that will be assisting with the registration efforts at each stop and helping to reinforce the importance of youth voter participation. Students and elected officials from both major parties will also be invited to take part in the efforts in each city.
In addition to Walk Across America, Bow Wow is currently wrapping up work on his sixth album, "New Jack City, Pt. II," which will hit stores in December. Christmas Day marks the premiere of his film, "Hurricane Season," in which he co-stars alongside Forest Whitaker.
Below is the Walk Across America schedule. For complete itineraries for each city and updates, visit www.PrinceBow.com.
10/1 Atlanta, GA
10/2 Columbia, SC
10/3 Philadelphia, PA
10/4 Richmond, VA
10/5 Mobile, AL
10/6 Nashville, TN
10/7 TBA
10/8 North Carolina (city TBA)
10/9 TBA
10/10 New York, NY
10/11 Washington, D.C.
10/12 Baltimore, MD
10/13 New Jersey (city TBA)
10/14 Boston, MA
10/15 Hartford, CT
JERMAINE DUPRI BLOWS CHUNKS ON JANET: Too much Champagne and Patron at the club makes for messy 36th birthday.
*The New York Post reported yesterday that Jermaine Dupri threw up into the lap of his girlfriend Janet Jackson while they were celebrating his 36th birthday in New York.
According to Page Six, the couple were popping bottles of Jay-Z's Ace of Spades Champagne and Patrón tequila at Tenjune with fellow celebs Ne-Yo, Busta Rhymes and Ice-T when Dupri became ill.
"Ms. Jackson bolted out of the scene and sped off in her chauffeured Maybach," a witness was quoted as saying in Page Six.
ROGER EBERT GOES OFF ON JOHN MCCAIN: Film critic can't understand why GOP nominee couldn't look Obama in the eye during debate.
*Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert did not appreciate the nonverbal behavior of Sen. John McCain during Friday's first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
The longtime movie reviewer took personal offense at McCain's body language, particularly the GOP senator's failure to even look at Obama.
The following is Ebert's blog in its entirety:
Guess who's not coming to dinner - by Roger Ebert
I do not like you, John McCain. My feeling has nothing to do with issues. It has to do with common courtesy. During the debate, you refused to look Barack Obama in the eye. Indeed, you refused to look at him at all. Even when the two of you shook hands at the start, you used your eyes only to locate his hand, and then gazed past him as you shook it.
Obama is my guy. If you are rude to him, you are rude to me. If you came to dinner at my house and refused to look at or speak with one of my guests, that would be bad manners and I would be offended. Same thing if I went to your house. During the debate, you were America's guest.
What was your problem? Do you hold this man in such contempt that you cannot bear to gaze upon him? Will you not even speak to him directly?
Do you think he doesn't have the right to be running for President?
Were you angry because after you said you wouldn't attend the debate, he said a President should be able to concern himself with two things at the same time? He was right. The proof is, you were there. Were you angry with him because he called your bluff?
During the debate, Jim Lehrer repeatedly called upon both candidates to speak directly to each other. Obama looked at you. He addressed you as "John," which as a fellow senator is his privilege. His body language was open. You stared straight ahead, or at Lehrer, or into space. Your jaw was clinched. You had a tight little smile, or a grimace, or a little shake of your head.
I had to do two things at once while watching the debate. I had to listen to what was being said. And I had to process your rigid and contemptuous behavior. If you were at a wedding and the father of the groom refused to look at or speak to the bride, how would that make you feel? Especially if you were the father of the bride?
You made a TV commercial showing the moments Obama agreed with you.
Everybody knows he did. Did his agreement show honesty, or weakness?
It is significant that you said it proved he was not ready to lead.
What is the better leadership quality: (1) Willingness to listen to your opponent, and keep an open mind? (2) Rigidly ignoring him? Which of the two of you better demonstrated the bipartisan spirit you say you represent? Was there anything he said that you agreed with? Could you have brought yourself to say so?
I'm not the only one who noticed your odd, hostile behavior. Just about everybody did. I'm sure many of your supporters must have sensed the tension. Before the debate, pundits were wondering if you might explode in a display of your famous temper. I think we saw that happen, all right, but it was an implosion. I have instructed my wife to exclude you from any future dinner parties.
BEYONCE MAY DEBUT NEW SONGS IN UK: Artist set to perform at MTV Europe Music Awards in November.
*Word has it that Beyonce may sing the new singles from her upcoming album during a performance at November's MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool.
Her two new songs, "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies," are due to be released simultaneously next month.
"We are extremely pleased that Beyonce is returning to the MTV Europe Music Awards and will once again wow the audience with what promises to be a show-stopping performance," said Richard Godfrey, senior vice president of MTV and executive producer of the awards.
Britney Spears, Coldplay and Welsh soul singer Duffy lead the award nominations with three nods each, including the Album of the Year. Amy Winehouse and X-Factor winner Leona Lewis have been nominated for the Act of
2008 award.
ANDRE 3000'S MENSWEAR BOWS OVERSEAS: Benjamin Bixby line exclusively at Harrods in London.
*For those who fancy some haberdashery from Andre 3000's new fashion line, you'll have to either wait for some pieces to trickle down to eBay, or make reservations to fly across the pond.
The Guardian is reporting that the Outkast rapper, born Andre Benjamin, is selling his new Benjamin Bixby line of classic menswear exclusively at Harrods in London.
As previously reported, the line features 1930s baseball-inspired clothing, including tweeds, plus fours, pleat-fronted trousers, cardigans with bold lettering, flat caps and braces.
The rap star says he sketched the entire line himself and has visited Italian clothing factories and textile fairs in Paris for inspiration. He also loves shopping at Hackett on London's Sloane Street, as well as Portobello market for vintage corduroys and brogues.
OBAMA APPLAUDS HIP HOP'S MOGULS: MTV asks presidential candidate about 'the genre that has rallied around him.'
*Barack Obama has already stated publically that he is a fan of hip hop. He has songs from Jay-Z and Kanye West on his iPod, and famously brushed dirt off his shoulder in April referencing one of Jay-Z's biggest hits.
In light of his appreciation for the genre, MTV News asked the Democratic presidential nominee how he feels about the overwhelming amount of support, lyrical shout-outs and mixtape love from hip hop's finest.
"I enjoy it, but these days I don't have the time to listen to it all the time," he said.
"I'm a little older than hip-hop culture," he added. "I was there at the beginning, but I was already getting older. ... What I've appreciated, watching this hip-hop generation, is to see how entrepreneurial they've been. In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities. They were just shuffled around. Obviously, they did well, but they didn't have the vision to say, 'I'm going to build a business. I'm going to build my own studio.
I'm going to create my own production operations.' I think they're a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing."
Obama went on to tell MTV that he's still seeing growth in the genre and that he's optimistic about what's ahead for hip-hop.
"What I'm starting to see is them stretching out more and thinking about social responsibility and how they can impact the culture in a positive way," he said. "And I hope that continues."
'VIEW'S' HASSELBECK 'UPSET' WITH LIBERAL CO-HOSTS: Babs reportedly had a 'cooling off' meeting with Whoopi and Joy to calm her down.
*The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that trouble is again brewing at "The View," this time between conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her liberal co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar.
Hasselbeck is said to be "really upset" with her colleagues following heated discussions about the upcoming presidential election.
'It's not as bad as during the Rosie [O'Donnell] era,' said the source, but said it's bad enough that 'View' creator Barbara Walters has called a 'cooling off' meeting between the two political factions.
Earlier this month, left-leaning O'Donnell said her former co-host Hasselbeck and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin are "identical cousins ... women who hunt in high heels."
O'Donnell decided to leave the ABC daytime talk show before her contract expired following an on-air confrontation with Hasselbeck over politics.
JAY-Z VS. OASIS – ROUND TWO: Bass player responds to dig in rapper's song, "Jockin' Jay-Z."
*Last summer's beef between the English rock band Oasis and hip hop star Jay-Z has reared its bloody head again in response to lyrics in the rapper's recent single, "Jockin' Jay-Z."
In June, Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher protested the choice of Jay-Z to headline the traditionally rock-centered Glastonbury festival in the UK, believing rappers had no business performing at such an event.
Jay responded by calling Gallagher’s comments “ignorant." He later poked fun at Gallagher by opening his Glastonbury set with a mocking performance of the group’s 1995 hit “Wonderwall."
In his single "Jockin' Jay-Z," the artist raps: "That bloke from Oasis said I couldn't play guitar / Somebody should have told him I'm a f**kin rock star."
Those two lines have now prompted Oasis bass player Gem Archer to jump into the exchange, saying enough is enough.
"It’s like eight-year-old girls in a schoolyard, running off and writing ditties like that. Grow up!" he told UK's The Sun newspaper. “But rappers love a ruck. It’s what they do. They set out to have a fight and it’s there in their lyrics. They love biffo.”
OBAMA GETS BLACK CAUCUS HONOR: Presidential nominee receives Phoenix Award at annual dinner in D.C.
*The Congressional Black Caucus has awarded Sen. Barack Obama its prestigious Phoenix award, which recognizes those who have made significant contributions to society through their efforts and accomplishments.
The Democratic presidential nominee was saluted for his contributions to African American political awareness, empowerment, and the advancement of minorities in the electoral process. He accepted the honor in person on Saturday (Sept. 27) at the 38th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) dinner in Washington, D.C.
“Dr. King once said that economic justice is the inseparable twin to racial justice," Obama told the crowd in his address. "It makes no difference if you can sit at the lunch counter if you can’t afford the lunch. It makes no difference if a neighborhood is integrated if you can’t afford to buy a home there, or send your child to school there. Dr. King understood that so long as economic justice is denied his dream would be deferred.”
The award dinner was co-hosted by actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, retired NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, and included performances by Grammy Patti LaBelle and Marilyn Ashford-Brown.
The other recipients of the 2008 Phoenix award include: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, New York Governor David A. Paterson, California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Actress and Humanitarian Kerry Washington, an co-founder of Focus: HOPE in Detroit, Eleanor M. Josaitis.
JAGUARS LINEMAN HAS LEG AMPUATED: Richard Collier also paralyzed below the waist after surviving 14 gunshots.
*Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier, who was shot earlier this month, is paralyzed below the waist and has had his left leg amputated, his doctors said Monday.
Collier, who had 14 bullet wounds, has had his condition lifted from critical to stable, according to the Associated Press.
The athlete and his former teammate Kenneth Pettway were waiting for two women outside an apartment complex early Sept. 2 when a gunman fired into the vehicle, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Pettway was not injured.
The motive behind the attack on Collier is unknown, but investigators said earlier he appeared to be targeted.
SOLDIER'S MOM 'ECSTATIC' ABOUT OBAMA'S BRACELET: Mother dismisses rumors that she thought mention during debate was exploitative.
*The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq is criticizing Internet reports that suggest Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama exploited her son for political purposes by mentioning him during Friday's debate.
Although Jopek told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb, she acknowledged that she e-mailed the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates.
But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet.
"I've got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant — from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, given to me in Green Bay," Obama said during the debate. "She asked me, 'Can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through?' No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided."
Jopek told the AP: "I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet," adding that Obama's comment rightfully suggested there's more than one viewpoint on the war.
"I think these bracelets should be looked upon as an honor that both candidates wear them to respect the troops. My request to both of them is that they honor the troops by lifting the conversation to the issues, and that they continue to live up to the standards our military deserves."
EUR DVD REVIEW: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Latest Apatow Teensploit Arrives on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Judd Apatow has the Midas touch in terms of teensploitation flicks. A year ago, he had a hand in Knocked Up and Superbad, a couple of crowd pleasers which made over a quarter billion dollars at the box-office alone.
With Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Apatow ups the ante in terms of shock value by appealing to perhaps the lowest common denominator, starting with an opening scene featuring gratuitous shots of male genitalia.
Unfortunately, the film isn’t as funny as either of the aforementioned adventures. The problem starts with the ill-advised decision to cast first-time screenwriter Jason Segel as the leading man in a flick based on his own script.
The charisma-free protagonist plays Peter, a struggling composer with dreams of finding fame and fortune by writing a puppet rock opera version of Dracula.
At least Peter’s love life offsets his dim career prospects. For the past five years, he’s been in a monogamous relationship, or so he thinks, with Sarah (Kristen Bell), the glamorous star of a hit television series called Crime Scene. Just past the point of departure, she dumps Peter, vigorously denying that there’s anyone new. Half-truth-be-told, she’s already two-timing him with Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), the full of himself front man for a famous British rock band.
Disconsolate, Peter decides to take a vacation in Hawaii to get over his ex, only to discover that she’s staying at the same resort with her golden-tanned hunk. Luckily, the hotel’s gorgeous receptionist, Rachel (Mila Kunis), takes an instant interest in Peter, so it’s obvious that it’s just a matter of time before he wises up and reciprocates.
Too bad the picture’s plot is so transparent and that Jason Segel doesn’t quite have the charm called upon to make self-effacing Peter endearing.
Very Good (2.5 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 118 minutes
Studi Universal Studios Home Entertainment
3-Disc DVD Extras: Digital bonus copy of the film, deleted, extended and alternate scenes, gag reel, trailer, extended feature with commentary, rated version of the film with commentary, video chat, music video, and several additional featurettes.
To see a trailer for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9podUETps8
THE JOURNAL OF STEFFANIE RIVERS: A Bailout, Or Investment
*And you thought you would never own a home! Turns out – thanks to the U.S. Congress – by the end of this week you could hold stake in more houses than you can count. That’s the good news, if there is any. The bad news is your ownership will come without the benefit of rental property income in your pocket or the convenience of a driveway for your car.
Legislators say they won’t agree to sign a blank check over to the Treasury Department the way President Bush had proposed (What is up with this man and blank check requests?). But the $700 billion will be an “investment” that allows some oversight in future Wall Street financial operations.
I thought Congress already had oversight power but wasn’t doing much overseeing, which is why there’s a need for a bailvestment in the first place.
Congress should have been to Wall Street what referees are to sporting events. They police the zone, call out any illegal action and impose any penalties. Clearly congress didn’t do their part, which is no excuse for the greed and mismanagement that occurred. In this case I’d rather have an Ed Hockulies calling non-existent penalties than a congress calling too few penalties.
It makes it hard to explain to your children – or believe yourself – how bad behavior on the part of privileged corporate executives and their allies is rewarded with more money and opportunity while behavior not so bad, but just as irresponsible on the part of families that accepted mortgage loans they knew they couldn’t afford, is punished by the loss of their money and their property. And if that’s not bad enough Congress is being rushed to vote on the whole proposal.
My mother used to say an emergency on your part does not constitute a crisis on mine.
If the bailvestment passes, the Treasury Department will get the $700 billion in stages instead of all at once, executive pay is subject to company performance and an oversight board will be put in place among other things.
It’s being viewed as the biggest government intervention in the economy since the Great Depression of 1929. I know plenty of depressed people who would beg to differ.
Steffanie Rivers is a free-lance journalist living in Dallas, Texas. For public speaking inquiries, comments or questions email her at teamtcbadvertising@hotmail.com.
TURNER’S TWO CENTS: McCain’s Foul (Body) Language
By Cameron Turner
*You can tell a lot about a guy by the way he shakes your hand. Or, in the case of Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, the way he tries not to shake your hand.
McCain wasn’t simply aggressive in Friday’s debate with Barack Obama, he condescending to the point of rudeness. More than commentator on more than one network used the words “disdainful” or “contemptuous” to describe McCain’s behavior and body language – his scoffing smile and his refusal to look Obama in the face. But two of McCain’s most revelatory moments came, not during the debate itself, but before and after.
When moderator Jim Lehrer introduced the two candidates at the start of the debate, Sen. Obama strode over to his opponent, his characteristic smile beaming warmly, and extended his hand like the true gentleman and genuine nice guy that he is. McCain responded with a quick hand clasp and a smile that could be best described as obligatory. But it was at the end of the debate that McCain really showed out. As the audience applauded, McCain ignored Obama (not to mention the rules of good sportsmanship) and made a beeline for the moderator. Obama had to literally intercept the Arizona senator to offer him his hand. McCain responded like a grumpy sore loser. Later, when the candidate’s wives joined them onstage, Sen. McCain greeted Mrs. Obama with none of the gentility that men of his generation reflexively offer to ladies (and which McCain extended to each of the women on “The View,” even his unrelenting critic, Joy Behar). John McCain shook Michelle Obama’s hand like she was a dude.
I don’t know why John McCain disregarded his home training at the debate. Maybe it’s because he was having a lousy week. Sarah Palin had embarrassed him once again with her ignorant answers during that laughable interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric. David Letterman had spent two nights ripping McCain for lying about why he bailed on an interview at the last minute. (Letterman says McCain told him that he had to hurry back to DC to help keep the economy from “cratering.” But Letterman busted McCain by showing a live video feed of the senator talking to Katie Couric a few blocks away.) That blunder intensified the already strong public impression that McCain was running a game when he announced that he would “suspend his campaign” and skip the debate so that he could help hammer out the economic recovery plan.
Yeah, with all that going on it’s easy to see why McCain might have felt surly by debate night. But maybe there’s another reason. Maybe he’s scared. After all, despite his best efforts, the poll numbers have turned against him again (Obama is currently up 50% to McCain’s 42%) and, once more, McCain is facing the very real possibility that he could lose this election. And I’ll go ahead and say what I know a lot of y’all are thinking: since he’s an old, conservative white man, the prospect of losing an election to a black man – especially a younger black man -- might be uniquely painful, even embarrassing, to McCain. I don’t know if the senator thinks that way or not. But lots of old, conservative white folks do.
Obama demonstrated once again that he can debate effectively and forcefully while still being gracious and remembering his manners. If anything, Obama was too nice. All of that “John is absolutely right…” stuff worked against him. That’ll be gone when the two men meet to debate domestic policy. But Obama will never become a curmudgeon. He’ll continue to focus on the facts and stand up for himself and his positions without personal rancor. He’ll leave such desperate tactics to Mean Ol’ Man McCain.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL YET!
VERONICA'S VIEW: My Big Girl Birthday
Veronica Hendrix
*I write about my birthday each year.
Sure, it’s a shameless plug to get cards, flowers, gifts, well wishes; and taken to dinner, lunch or out for a night at some swanky joint to enjoy my favorite indulgence – an exotic, infused vodka cocktail. So if you haven’t weighed yet, no worries. I celebrate the entire month of October. So there is still time for you to reach out.
But seriously, I write about my birthday each year to record where I am in the trajectory of my journey. It’s a foot print of my life lived carefully and sometimes carelessly with one foot placed in front of the other either squarely or tentatively depending on the terrain I’m traversing. It’s an account of how I’ve lived my life not randomly but on purpose on this continuum that has ranged from penury to pomp and numerous gradations in between.
If I didn’t have the opportunity and good fortune to raise my voice within the confines of this weekly filing, I’d scribble my sentiments in a journal anyway and would probably insist that my two sons allow me the annual indulgence of reading my thoughts aloud to them so they would know how I feel and how I am evolving. But they are spared from any such annual monologue. However, they will get an abbreviated version real soon.
I am at an interesting juncture. Maybe pivotal juncture might be a better way to characterize it. My life is extremely busy. It has been dizzying over the years with the diverse and divergent interests, projects, assignments, responsibilities and obligations I’ve strapped on like a tool belt. Those who know me well are probably wagging their fingers right now because they feel I am understating things a bit. Perhaps I am.
But there’s one thing they do know, I’m just a sista on a mission. And with each and every birthday, that mission gets clearer, and more defined.
The song “Only What You Do For Christ Will Last” has always been one of my favorite songs. At various moments in my life this song has been a soundtrack in the backdrop of my mind. As I get older and thankfully wiser, it’s the essence of the song that gently yet consistently stirs my soul, you know that whole notion of doing things that last, things that matter.
In living a life that matters and pursuing those things that last, a lot of the busyness in my will edited. As a writer I well understand how to do this. When you spend your life moving like a shooting star, it’s really difficult to appreciate the splendor of the universe. But this birthday serves to remind me once again to stop, breathe and enjoy the view because time matters because there is less of it to waste. It’s great equinox.
I know birthdays tend to make me all ethereal, but at the same time they plant my feet more firmly in the ground. They bring into focus what matters like my relationships with my family and close friends. And they make me look outside of my universe and see the critical need to serve others, like mentoring and supporting young women who struggle with their identity; or helping young men who fight daily to remain free from making choices that threaten to take away their freedom.
Growing older has its privileges which people often revel in and assert. I’ll take my due. But I’m at a place where I want to give more than I receive because I’ve been given so much. I want to teach more and preach less because I understand that the best way to lead is to serve. I want to encourage more and enable less because we all have to stand on our own feet and put one foot in front of the other, no matter what the terrain.
Yeah, birthdays are deep. But big girl birthdays are beyond deep. They are rich. Thanks for your indulgence as I pound another birthday post in the ground. (If you have comments about Veronica’s View, email them to vsview@yahoo.com)###
THE MO'KELLY REPORT: To be Ugly, Black and Unbankable
*I'm angry, disappointed and more disillusioned than usual. I just can't let this ago with only a link and AP style coverage of this disheartening story.
"An executive told me straight: `Even if he (Forest Whitaker) wins the Oscar he's ugly, he's black and he's unbankable.’"
See HERE.
Ugly.
Black.
Unbankable.
Note the order and notice how these specific and supposed “three strikes” against Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker trump any level of talent or awards received due to said talent.
Notice how in the world of film, supposedly most impressed by the color green, “bankability” was the third diss listed…not the first.
To recapitulate, Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker was summarily disrespected in terms of being cast as the "lead" in an ENSEMBLE CAST movie. As the story reads, the director for the film Winged Creatures had to fight to keep Whitaker attached to the project, leading to the production company, releasing the rights to it altogether before it could be made. The original studio found Whitaker to be…
Ugly.
Black.
Unbankable.
And oh yeah, they would rather have either Michael Douglas or Al Pacino instead. That’s probably the anti-anthem to Nina Simone’s Young, Gifted and Black
Just for the record, Al Pacino (a wonderful actor in his own right) is by no means “bankable.” So at the risk of sounding more cynical than usual, maybe Pacino is more “preferential” because he is undeniably “not Black” and according to this unnamed executive “not ugly.”
But “bankable?” Hardly.
Righteous Kill - $34 million to date (Co-starring role)
88 Minutes - $16.9 million BOMB/starring role)
Ocean's 13 - $117 million (All-Star ENSEMBLE)
Two for the Money - $22.9 million BOMB/co-starring role)
Gigli - $6.9 million (ALL TIME BOMB/secondary role)
Simone - $9.6 million bomb – starring role)
Comparatively, Forest Whitaker:
Vantage Point – $72 million (Co-starring role)
Street Kings – $26 million (Co-starring role)
The Great Debaters – $31 million (Co-starring role)
The Last King of Scotland – $17 million (limited theaters/Starring role)
Hmm, isn’t Hollywood colorblind in the sense of making money? Isn’t Hollywood concerned only with the color green if any color at all? If so, how is it that this idiot “unnamed executive” didn’t have the common sense to at least do his homework before citing the “bankability” of Al Pacino.
Outside of Any Given Sunday ($75 million domestically), Pacino respectfully hasn’t had a hit movie in more than a decade. By that yardstick many, many, many actors could be considered “bankable.”
Is it any secret that on average, White actors are a bigger draw than African-American ones? No…Mo’Kelly would never feign such naiveté. But there's a commentary to be had as to why, you can be sure. At the same time, this is an ensemble cast, replete with very well known and respected names. Whitaker would neither have been needed nor expected to carry the film.
Guy Pearce, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Jennifer Hudson.
That combination alone, sans Whitaker is a green light for most movies.
And what does it say when the prospect of having TWO Academy Award winners (Whitaker and Hudson) who in the same movie is not a meaningful marketing tool?
Here’s your answer…it says that once again, the contributions of African-Americans are appreciated absolutely not at all.
Not at all.
Not that we didn’t already know that, but some people needed to be reminded of this reality. Hollywood isn’t all about the “green,” and it still hasn’t moved beyond the “Black and White” movie era.
And some people STILL have the unmitigated gall to question the need for directors like Spike Lee…
Ugly.
Black.
Unbankable.
Well somebody should explain how and why Adrien Brody keeps a job. He's definitely ugly, definitely unbankable and definitely...
Uh...you go ahead and finish the sentence.
P.S...
Don't EVER let Mo'Kelly find out who this "unnamed executive" or production company in question is. Mo’Kelly will do everything in his power to make sure he/she/they NEVER have any success.
Ever...
Nothing more powerful than word of mouth...
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published weekly at www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex and Blogburst. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com.
Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
“You must have courage to bet on your ideals, to take calculated risk, and act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.” - by Maxwell Maltz
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Sept. 30: Singer Cissy Houston is 75. Singer Johnny Mathis is 73.
Singer Marilyn McCoo is 65. Singer Patrice Rushen is 54. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 46.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
They say Nworcs Radio out of Atlanta is hott to death! It’s a guy out of Atlanta, GA that plays nothing but the best hip hop and R&B online. Check it out at www.NworcsRadio.com.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Sept. 30, 1962: University of Mississippi students and adults from Oxford, Miss., and other Southern communities rioted on the university campus. Two people were killed and 100 or more were wounded. (Source:
www.BlackFacts.com)
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