Langfield
Entertainment
40
Asquith Ave., Suite 207, Toronto, ON
M4W 1J6
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
NEWSLETTER
Updated: April 7, 2005
I've returned from the land of relaxation - California.
I got some much-needed rest and as soon as the jet lag subsides and I'm back on
Toronto time, I'll be as good as new! Thanks to all those who welcomed me
back. Especially nice to return to the snowstorm on Sunday - hopefully
the last of it.
I'm very excited to bring you this newsletter and those to come. I had
the great opportunity to interview Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000) this
week - so look for that in next week's newsletter. Special thanks
go to Awaovieyi Agie for being gracious enough to recommend Andre to do
the interview with me. Look for exclusive pictures in my PHOTO GALLERY.
Don't forget that Irie Mondays still continues with Kayte Burgess
and Adrian Eccleston at the helm. It's been a great new night so
feel free to come by and check it out!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that while I was away, there
were many tragedies, including the deaths of Pope John Paul II, Terri
Schiavo and Johnnie Cochran, Jr. There are many mourning so
condolences to all.
Check out the rest of the entertainment news below - MUSIC NEWS, FILM NEWS, TV NEWS, and OTHER NEWS! Have a read and a
scroll! This newsletter is designed to give you some updated
entertainment-related news and provide you with our upcoming event
listings. Welcome to those who are new members. Want your
events listed by date? Check out EVENTS.
::HOT EVENTS::
United Way JAZZ JAM - Friday, April 22, 2005
Source: United Way of Greater Toronto
An evening of smooth jazz from United
Way’s African Canadian Committee to the jazz lovers of Toronto with Molly Johnson, Liberty Silver and Eddie Bullen. Join Toronto’s own,
internationally acclaimed jazz all-stars in a rare gathering right here at
home. Molly Johnson, Liberty Silver and Eddie Bullen donate their award-winning
talent to benefit United Way.
All proceeds go to United Way of Greater
Toronto.
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2005
United Way JAZZ JAM
George Weston Recital Hall
Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge St. (just north of Sheppard)
8:00 pm
Tickets - $55 or $40 Contact Ticketmaster at 416-870-8000 or www.ticketmaster.ca
For more information, please contact Joy
Bullen at 416-777-1444 ext 387 or jbullen@uwgt.org
::THOUGHT::
Motivational Note - How Five Minutes Can Change
Your Life
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com - by
Jason Gracia
You stand before a pond with a surface like glass. Not a wave or ripple in
sight. Then you throw a pebble into the middle. What happens? You guessed it. A
series of ripples spread from the centre reaching to the shore. In essence,
this is exactly what you're going to do next. I want you to think of something
new you can add to your schedule each day. Mix it up. Drop a stone in the
middle of the routine. It doesn't have to be something big. Driving to work
using a different route can sometimes do the trick. The point is to do
something different. You'll be amazed at how one thing can lead to another,
which leads to another, and on and on. One small change in your routine can
break the cycle and help you break free of the autopilot syndrome for good.
Breaking free of routine is like bursting through a brick wall with nothing but
opportunity on the other side. You'll see the world in an entirely new way and
be excited about creating a happier, more successful future. As you already
know, having the ability to get and stay motivated is crucial to making your
goals for a brighter future possible. To learn about our proven program that
will teach you every step you need to take in order to change your life visit
the address below: http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?PrQUo.PDIns5tFZRjFAW9g
::MUSIC NEWS::
Canada's
Foremost Curb To Curb Celebration Returns To Yonge Street
Source: Toronto Special Events
Scheduled for July 8 - 10, 2005, the 7th annual Celebrate
Toronto Street Festival will once again transform the world's
longest street into a curb to curb celebration of tastes, talent and all that
is Toronto. Along with fantastic free entertainment, the Celebrate Toronto
Street Festival also presents Toronto's 3rd annual Summerlicious restaurant
promotion offering exceptional prix fixe menu offers at 120 of Toronto's top
restaurants from July 8 - 24, 2005. At
the peak of the city's robust festival and event season, the Celebrate Toronto
Street Festival provides a unique artistic experience for residents and
visitors alike. For the 2005 festival, Yonge Street, where it intersects with
Dundas Street, St. Clair Avenue, Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue, will be
converted into a stage for free entertainment that covers the artistic spectrum.
Each festival site provides a combination of musical entertainment, street
theatre, circus arts, and so much more.
Since its inception in 1998, the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival has been
awarded six Festivals & Events Ontario Awards, three Canadian Event
Industry Awards and two Ontario Economic Development Awards. Admission to the Celebrate Toronto Street
Festival is FREE and getting there couldn't be easier. All four festival sites
are accessible via the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Festival subway stops
on the Yonge line are Dundas, St. Clair, Eglinton and Lawrence stations.
More information on the entertainment line-up at the Celebrate Toronto Street
Festival will be released in the coming weeks. Summerlicious information
including the list of participating restaurants and Summerlicious menus will be
available on-line late May. For more information on these and other Toronto
Special Events, the public can call Access Toronto at 416-338-0338 or visit www.toronto.ca/special_events.
1.7 Million Watch k.d. lang Homage to
Neil Young on the 2005 JUNO Awards on CTV
Excerpt from www.ctv.ca
(April
4, 2005) Last night's broadcast of The
2005 JUNO Awards peaked at 1.7 million viewers when k.d.
lang delivered a musical love letter to a recuperating Neil Young
with her show-stopping rendition of "Helpless." Broadcast in High
Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound from Winnipeg's MTS Centre, the broadcast
attracted an average audience of 1.52 million viewers on CTV - an increase over
last year and the second- biggest television audience in the last seven years.
With a reach of 5.7 million viewers, the broadcast reached almost half a
million more viewers this year compared to last year. Indeed, viewers chose to spend their entire Sunday night with CTV
with a four-hour programming block (7 - 11 p.m.) that was the most-watched of
the evening. Canadian musicians walking the Junos Red Carpet were exposed to
unprecedented numbers of viewers as a 90-minute lead-in featured an all-new,
non-simulcast Desperate Housewives episode and red carpet updates from
Winnipeg. In all, 1.64 million viewers (2+) tuned in and provided The 2005 JUNO
Awards with its highest lead-in audience ever. Ultimately, 93 per cent of the
lead-in audience stayed to watch Canada's Music Awards. lang's tribute to Young was one of many
highlights from a broadcast that also featured performances by Billy Talent,
Feist, k-os, Kalan Porter, Simple
Plan, Sum 41 and The Tragically Hip. The two-and-half hour broadcast concluded
with a barnstorming tribute to the host city featuring Randy Bachman, Burton
Cummings and four Winnipeg bands.
Eight awards in total were handed out over the course of the broadcast, which
was hosted by television star Brent Butt. Hip Hop artist k-os and punk-
infected rockers Billy Talent each received two awards, with additional wins
from Feist, Ron Sexsmith, Sarah Harmer and Avril Lavigne. A complete list of
winners can be found at www.juno-awards.ca. "Another big audience for the Junos is
another big win for the Canadian music industry," said Susanne Boyce, CTV
President of Programming and Chair of the Media Group. "Congratulations to
the City of Winnipeg for an unforgettable weekend and to CARAS and Insight for
another fantastic broadcast. Can't wait for Halifax!" Last night's telecast of The JUNO Awards was
the fourth straight JUNOS telecast on CTV since acquiring the broadcast rights
to the show in 2002. Last year's show, hosted by Alanis Morissette from
Edmonton, drew 1.51 million viewers. The 2006 Juno Awards will be held in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. The 2005 JUNO
Awards was produced by Insight Productions in association with CTV. John
Brunton and Barbara Bowlby are Executive Producers. Louise Wood is Producer.
Lindsay Cox is Supervising Producer. Peter Faragher is Production Designer.
Joan Tosoni is Director. Jean Renaud is Lighting Director. Melanie Berry and
Stephen Stohn are Executive Producers for CARAS. Susanne Boyce is President,
CTV Programming and Chair of CTV Media Group. Ed Robinson is Senior
Vice-President, Comedy and Variety Programming, CTV Inc. Rick Lewchuk is Senior
Vice-President, Program Planning and Promotion, CTV Inc.
Sponsors for the 2005 JUNO Awards include FACTOR and the Government of Canada
through the Department of Canadian Heritage's "Canada Music Fund",
the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg. Broadcast sponsors for the
event are General Motors, Pantene Pro-V, Doritos and Nice 'n Easy. CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster,
offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment
programming. It boasts the number-one
national newscast, CTV News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing.
CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in
14 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel,
TSN. CTV is owned by Bell Globemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company.
More information about CTV may be found on the company site at www.ctv.ca.
Talent Outshines Megawatt Stars At 2005 Junos
Excerpt from www.ctv.ca
- By Phil Hahn
(Apr. 3, 2005) By all counts, the 2005 Juno Awards could have been a real
downer. Reclusive rock legend Neil Young was expected to grace the Juno stage
with his presence, but had to pull out after suffering an aneurysm. Avril
Lavigne, one of Canada's biggest young rock stars was away on tour in Southeast
Asia. And pop divas like Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette and
Chantal Kreviazuk couldn't make it for personal reasons. But that didn't stop the talent that did show
up Sunday night from impressing the Winnipeg audience with performances that
shone with energy, virtuosity, and even affection -- a sign of the deep pool of
Canadian musical talent that Juno organizers had to draw from. Anchoring the
evening was host Brent Butt, the star of CTV sitcom "Corner Gas." He
pulled off a self-deprecating and genuinely funny performance that should
secure his spot as host for future Juno awards shows. He waddled onto the Juno stage looking like a cross between a
Star Trek character and an aging outcast member of KISS. Wearing thigh-high
black leather boots, and a deep v-neck top that revealed an expanse of his
barrel chest, Butt wailed away on a massive cherry red double neck Gibson SG
guitar. Butt then had to take baby steps down the stairs leading onto the stage
because of the gargantuan silver-soled platform boots encasing his feet. "I feel a little awkward," he said
sheepishly, after admitting that his idea to dress like a KISS member might
have been less than ideal. Later, Butt gave a tour of the host city in a videotaped
segment. The audience whooped when they saw the comedian walk into the
Salisbury House – a fast food joint that's achieved legendary status in the
'Peg (and famous for its little burgers called 'Nips'). Butt is seen going back
to several different Sal's in the city, before he finally walks into a building
marked "Gym" (supposedly to work off the calories). He walks out a
few seconds later, though, asking, "Hey, didn't this used to be a
Salisbury House? As for the musical acts, they ranged from power-chord heavy
pop/punk played by energetic foursome Billy Talent, to rapper k-os's re-mixes
of his "b-boy stance" and "Crucial," to a moving tribute to
Neil Young, performed by the inimitable k.d. lang. Backed by members of the
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Lang's renditions of Young's "Helpless"
and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" were things of beauty. She hasn't
exactly been in the public eye of late, and the audience was clearly
appreciative of her impressive vocals.
"If there is a beacon or a bastion of an artist who has maintained his
integrity, uncompromising vision and purity . . . it is Neil Young. So Neil, I
sing this for you. Heal fast my friend," said Lang before soaring off into
"Helpless." Before the show, rock icon Randy Bachman said he spoke to
Young, who's recuperating from surgery in New York. "He's doing fine, but he's not doing that fine 'cause he's
not here. He said tell everybody I'm happy and healthy," said Bachman.
"And here's a special message (from Young): 'I owe Winnipeg a rain check, I
owe the Junos a rain check, and if they have the Junos in Winnipeg next year,
I'll come and open it.'" Indie singer-songwriter Leslie Feist showed why
she won the best new artist award when she took the stage solo to sing her
dreamy, infectious song "Mushaboom" off her album Let It Die. In one
of those gasp-inducing moments in front of a live audience, she abruptly
stopped playing, thinking there was a problem with the sound system. But after
speaking with a technician for a few seconds she got right back up and
continued where she left off. "I just showed myself that I can fly by the
seat of my pants when I'm singing, but I can't when I'm talking," she said
later as she took out a list of people to thank when accepting her award. The
quintessential Canuck band The Tragically Hip was honoured Sunday night by
being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. But not before one of the
night's more awkward moments, when self-proclaimed "tragically unhip"
Prime Minister Paul Martin strummed a few notes on an electric guitar and
congratulated the band in a taped tribute.
The rock quintet from Kingston Ontario made up for Martin's lack of
guitar dexterity, though, with lively performances of "Fully
Completely" and "Grace, Too."
The Hip was given a warm introduction by fellow Kingstonian and fan
Sarah Harmer, who won in the best adult alternative album category for All of
Our Names. Harmer was a last minute replacement for comedian Dan Akyord, who
was supposed to carry out the induction duties but pulled out because of family
reasons. The night was capped off with
a fitting tribute to the prairie city that's produced a disproportionate number
of rock stars. "The flatter the land,
the harder the rock!" said Butt, as he introduced on stage an all-Winnipeg
cast of Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, the Wailin' Jennys, Nathan, Fresh IE,
and The Waking Eyes. The audience rose to its feet, clapping and singing along
as the performers blasted out Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of
Business." A Bachman signature guitar
solo then provided a perfect segue into a rousing, anthemic version of The
Guess Who classic, "Share the Land." The crowd was clearly delighted,
and Cummings showed he hasn't lost his chops.
Lavigne
Wins Artist Of Year Juno
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Angela Pacienza,
Canadian Press
(Apr. 3, 2005) WINNIPEG (CP) — The first crop of Juno winners was
announced last night with punky pop songstress Avril
Lavigne leading the pack with two awards, including the coveted
artist of the year. It has been an
outstanding year for the young star, whose second album, Under My Skin, has
been a hot-seller around the world, spawning several radio hits including
Nobody's Home and Don't Tell Me. The
awards were distributed at a swanky dinner, attended by 1,300 music industry
types. They dined on butternut squash bisque, Alberta beef and butter-glazed
asparagus. Lavigne, who didn't attend
Saturday's industry-only ceremony because she's currently on tour in Singapore,
also won best pop album, beating out Celine Dion, Fefe Dobson, Ryan Malcolm and
Simple Plan. Host Jann Arden kept the
evening light-hearted despite news that the weekend's guest-of-honour Neil
Young was recovering from a brain aneurysm.
She cracked plenty of jokes about Winnipeg's renowned cold weather. "When you're from a place where you
need to plug in your car, you automatically want to plug in your guitar,"
she said. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
was also a double Juno winner. The Toronto-based group was nominated for a
Grammy earlier this year. Punk veterans
Sum 41 took rock album of the year honours for their CD Chuck.
"Thanks to Nickelback for allowing us to win this year," joked
drummer Steve Jocz, referring to the fact they lost to Nickelback at previous
Junos. Alexisonfire was named best new
group. Beloved rockers the Tragically
Hip were inducted to the Music Hall of Fame.
Frontman Gord Downie gave an impassioned acceptance speech in the form
of a poem. "Go to the show. Look
down your row," he said. "All the lights are up. See the people you
know. A total of 31 award winners were
revealed Saturday. The remaining eight trophies will be handed out Sunday night
during the televised portion of the Junos.
Those awards will include best new artist, best rap recording and
songwriter of the year. Also being
handed out Sunday will be group of the year, a hotly contested category with
Billy Talent, Great Big Sea, Simple Plan, Sum 41 and the Tragically Hip. Other winners Saturday included the theme
song to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)
by Toronto-based Widelife took best dance recording. Widelife member Ian Nieman thanked the "fab five,"
referring to the cast of the popular TV show.
One Good Friend, by George Canyon, won best country recording. The
singer, from Hopeville, N.S., catapulted to fame thanks to Nashville Star, an
Idol-like TV competition. Hipster
darling Feist won her first Juno in the best alternative album category for Let
It Die, a collection of sexy torch songs.
"It's really unexpected. I love coming back to Canada, especially
like this," said the Calgary-born, Paris-based singer. Jazz vocal album was nabbed by audience
favourite Diana Krall. The Girl In the Other Room was the singer's first foray
into songwriting — a duty she shared with husband Elvis Costello. Currently on
tour, Krall did not attend the bash.
Francophone album, the sole category which relies strictly on sales, went to
Marie-Elaine Thibert. Fresh-faced
Keshia Chante earned the title of best R&B recording for her self-titled
debut CD. "I'm so happy to be
here. Just making an album was exciting," said the 16-year-old, who also
thanked her "mommy." Green
Day won best international album for its punk-opera American Idiot. The group
inched out powerhouses U2 and Usher.
Bob Rock was named producer of the year for his work on Simple Plan's
Still Not Getting Any and Metallica's Some Kind of Monster.
Sumeet Bharati Finds
Her Voice As R&B Singer in New York City
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Unnati Gandhi
(Mar. 28, 2005) Sumeet Bharati remembers cruising along the westbound 401 in her parents'
1992 Cavalier. She was on her way home
to London, Ont., her folks in the back seat, and the radio blasting through the
only working speaker. Although her ride
was low-key and the radio signal was fading, she finally heard it. "They played my song!" the
27-year-old unsigned R&B vocalist said. "We bumped it the whole
way." Even though her first
single, "Agony," has been on the Top 40 playlists at Z103.5 FM and
FLOW93.5 FM since last summer, this was the first time, and by now it was late
January, Sumeet caught it on the radio.
Sumeet, said she was just as thrilled to hear her own song as she was as
a child listening to music on her transistor radio. In those years, she has
come a long way from sitting in the branches of her backyard tree singing down
to her imaginary friends. She's no
longer being assigned cafeteria duty for humming in homeroom, although she
swears never realizing she was singing out loud the "melodies trying to
get out of my head." "It
sucked. Because if you're not cool and you're picking up trash on top of that,
you know you're not winning any points."
As the skinny, frizzy-haired Punjabi kid, who used to wear pants under her
dresses to hide her bony legs, returned to her parents' farm, it was as someone
who's opened for reggae icon Wayne Wonder, worked with 2004 Grammy-nominated
producer Dave O'Donnell and sung with dancehall artist Elephant Man. "I've been singing for as long as I can
remember and it's always been the one thing to make me happy. That hasn't
changed." Bharati's brother Subodh
hasn't changed either — he can still flirt his way into any situation, then flirt
his way out. Subodh's sweet-talking got
Sumeet, still an awkward Grade 10 student at the time, her first stage
performance at a University of Western Ontario culture show. As an emcee for
the night, he put his jokes on hold ("What do you call a Sikh in a
nightclub? Dance Singh") and asked his sister to come up and sing. "I was so nervous, I stood behind my
brother with my back to the (2,000-person) crowd," she said. "Then
everyone started cheering, and giving all this love. That was also the first
time my parents heard me sing — they had no idea." She slowly turned around, stepping out from
behind Subodh. "I worked the crowd a little bit and after that, I was
hooked. "It's like the rush you
get and the love you get from the (crowd's) energy, it's like a wave, and you
can just get on it and ride it."
The culture show and student association gigs in London and Toronto came
and went. Sumeet even got through three years of psychology at Western when she
and her manager-brother packed up and left for Los Angeles. "It wasn't happening for her in Canada,
and I didn't want her to lose her window of opportunity," said Subodh, 30,
who put off going to law school to help.
After three years of getting nowhere with producers, cleaning motel
rooms for $4 an hour, being held at gunpoint twice, and sleeping in her car
when there was nowhere else to crash, Sumeet had enough of L.A.
"California was just a bad, bad time for me. Everyone I met was just so
shady. The stuff that would go on was so disgusting. I'm from London, Ontario,
man. I don't go down that road.
"In Cali, it's `we'll get to it.' In New York, every artist you
meet, they're hungry for it and if you're not on it, someone's there to take
your spot. That's what I needed." So New York City it was. With Subodh's smooth pick-up lines they got
introduced to the Davae-Williams production/management duo, who have worked
with Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears. Since then, the Queens resident has been performing
at nightclubs like Manhattan's The Avalon and at Miami's Mardi Gras
concert. "From there on it was
like butter," said the singer "who just happens to be ...
Indian." "We've always
received a lot of advice from people, who tell Sumeet to do an Indian-style
hip-hop track because that's so popular right now," said her producer and
manager, Amil Davae. "But that's not Sumeet's thing at all. Sumeet's thing
is R&B and hip hop." Sumeet
said her music is influenced by her Indian background, but it's not defined by
it. "I listened to the same radio
you listened to, I watched MTV just like you did," said the singer who,
until just recently, would stay up until 4 a.m. just to hear the theme song
from Family Ties on Nick at Nite. So when her idol Angie Stone asked to hear her tracks last year, the
honour was all hers. "She put the
CD in, she's doing this (bopping her head), and she's feeling it, and she put
the volume up. And inside, I'm just glowing, trying to act all cool. But
inside, I couldn't believe it — Angie Stone was listening to me. "It's all still so wow to
me." Sumeet's indie debut album, Deeper,
is available tomorrow on http://www.sumeetmusic.com.
Sound Check : John Legend On The Ivories
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Ashante
Infantry, Entertainment Reporter
(Mar. 27, 2005) John Legend has been
hovering in the background for years — playing piano for Lauryn Hill,
co-writing for the Black Eyed Peas and Janet Jackson and lending his vocals to
Jay-Z and Slum Village. Last year the former choir director took a giant step
forward, touring with Usher and Kanye West. The buzz was such that he sold out
three late-night club gigs in Toronto.
He returns this week with a full band and a sexy, soulful debut, Get Lifted, which has remained on Billboard's Top 10 since its December release.
Legend is also in the midst of a North American tour, opening for Alicia
Keys. The Star
caught up with the baby-faced 26-year-old on the phone from St. Louis, Mo. Who's on first? "There are eight of us
on stage, including me: two backup singers, DJ, guitar, bass player, drummer
and another keyboard player. I have a silver keyboard — a Yamaha Motif 8 —
that's on the road with me. Yamaha has given me an upright for my new apartment
and they provide all of my grand pianos whenever I do TV appearances. "There are no extra dancers, no costume
changes. It's a pretty no-frills show. It's more about entertaining people with
the music. I guess I'm still playing like I'm playing the clubs in New York,
like I did back in the day. "It's
funny, I say my stage style is relaxed, but I do wear a lot of kind of high
fashion clothes, like Valentino and Yves St. Laurent. It still has a casual
feel, but enough flashiness to it to pop on stage.
"Encores aren't a given. They have to make enough noise to make me come
back. I don't try to impose any extra music on people that they don't want to
hear." Downtime: "Right now
I'm listening to the N.E.R.D album from last year. I just finished reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell — it was a gift from somebody at my
label — and Siddhartha. I read a
lot of politically oriented magazines, like The New Yorker. "I have all
my gadgets: computer, mobile phone, PDA, digital camera. With all the clothes I
have to travel with there isn't room for much else. All I ask of a hotel is a
comfortable bed, 24-hour room service, Internet connection and a gym. Is that
too much? "I'm writing songs here
and there, not as much as I'd like. I do three or four interviews a day; we're
about to cut it down, actually, because my voice has been getting really tired
and talking makes it worse. "Sex?
... I don't know ... ummm ... I don't have an abstinence policy on the road,
but ... you know ... I'm not a wild guy."
Road warrior: "I try to get as much rest as possible, which is
difficult. I drink a lot of tea for my throat and take vitamins. I don't drink
or smoke anymore. I get home to New York every couple weeks for a day or two,
because a lot of the promotional activity happens there. "I'm off from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every evening.
I take a nap, then it's warm up, get dressed, drink my tea and I'm ready to go.
I eat after the show. I do after-parties, I just don't drink at them — I still
have fun, I'm just on a natural high."
'Pleasure & Pain' – 112
Source: New York Times - By Kelefa Sanneh
(April 4, 2005) One of this season's most
pleasant musical surprises comes from 112,
an underrated Atlanta man-band (what else can you call four grown men in
matching clothes?) that never lets pride get in the way of a big, juicy
apology. The group's delicious new album, "Pleasure & Pain" (Def
Soul/Island Def Jam), imagines love as a two-step process: confession first
("What's wrong with me/Why can't I do right?"), consummation second.
The group got its start making albums with P. Diddy in 1996, and its
résumé includes the twitchy hit "Anywhere." As keyboards stuttered
and squelched, the singers made like four libidinous real-estate agents
conducting a house tour: "I can love you in the shower, both of our bodies
dripping wet/On the patio, we can make a night you won't forget/On the kitchen
floor as I softly pull your hair/We can do it anywhere."
The album "Hot & Wet" from 2003 didn't make much of an impact,
partly because of some unexpectedly flat hip-hop and reggae collaborations. But
"Pleasure & Pain" is much more satisfying - an hour of slick,
well-written R&B songs ranging from doo-wop to crunk. It's also their first
away from P. Diddy, a television music mogul (his chaotic new MTV reality show
is "Making the Band 3") who seems to be having a hard time keeping up
the act offscreen. Meanwhile, 112 is enjoying a modest (so far)
comeback. The album has spawned a minor R&B hit, "U Already
Know," which lets the members tiptoe over a tinkling hip-hop beat. They
use quiet falsetto to tell a lover precisely what she can expect and - to put
it delicately - how. The most unexpected track is "Closing the
Club," a collaboration with the unhinged Memphis hip-hop act Three 6 Mafia
where the 112 guys try some R. Kelly-ish sing-rapping over a menacing
electronic beat. And the funniest is "What the H**l Do You Want," a
slow burner produced by the group's own Daron Jones. They turn that rather
brusque phrase into a long, sobbing question. But best of all is "That's
How Close We Are," where the members borrow part of an old Leon Haywood song
so they can croon some 1970's soul of their own.
Meet Fyah Blaze The Hottest New Chanter In Reggae
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March 24, 2005) When Kevin Morris a former guidance
counsellor and university student, decided to pursue a musical direction little
did he anticipate the kind of feedback that he has been receiving of late. Now
known as Fyah
Blaze, he recently released his debut album Truth and Rights on the
Eight76 Records imprint. The album has been doing quite well in
the US especially in the South Florida area, where it peaked at number five on
the reggae album chart. The title track is number three this week on the South
Florida Top 20 Reggae chart. Over on the New York Reggae chart, the single
debuted a week ago at number 27. But who exactly is Fyah Blaze? He was
born in Harbour View in Kingston and he attended Kingston College. He migrated
to New York when he was 13. Afterwards he and his family moved to Florida
After completing studies at Albany State University, Fyah Blaze took up a job
as a guidance counsellor. When the music bug bit him, he decided to
follow the yellow brick road. Asked how he got the name Fyah Blaze, he said ‘A
bredren DJ of mine by the name of Herbalist gave me the name because he said my
lyrics were blazing’, said Fyah Blaze. But why did he decide to
follow through with a musical career? He said ‘It was a calling that got
stronger over time and really took hold after I graduated from college. I
was working a full-time job and thought I could do my music as I got more
support and encouragement from many people and decided to pursue that
calling. My conviction and dedication is to the music and to defend
truths and rights’. Fyah Blaze lists Bob Marley, Sizzla, Capleton, Jackie
Mittoo, John Lennon, and Lenny Kravitz among his musical influences. On his debut 16-track album Truth and
Rights, Fyah Blaze worked with Kenroy ‘Yahbreeze’ Archibald, Luciano, Richie
Stephens, Evette, Nambo Robinson and Dean Fraser among others. Asked what
the listener can expect on the album, he outlined a mixture of genres.
‘Versatility, strong writing skills and positive songs with melodies that
reggae fans can enjoy. There is a little roots rock, ska and even some
dancehall and alternative rock’, said Fyah Blaze. Fyah Blaze made his recording
debut with King of Kings for the Cave Man label in Jamaica. He describes his
style as being unique and versatile. ‘My sound is unique and versatile. I
deejay and sing-jay on the album. My label and I, we try to bring a level of
professionalism that is not common these days for an independent company
dealing exclusively with reggae music’. The next single from Fyah Blaze’s Truth
and Rights album will be Firm Inna This. To find out more about Fyah Blaze,
you can log on to www.eight76records.com
Eazy
E Tribute: MC Eiht
Excerpt from www.allhiphop.com - By Paine
Eazy E’s vision pointed all eyes to
Compton. As a result, everybody benefited. One of the biggest beneficiaries was
Eazy’s friend and peer, MC Eiht. Compton’s Most Wanted remains a group with a
20-year history of representing the neighbourhood alongside NWA and Eazy
E. Although he never signed with Ruthless,
MC Eiht remained a friend, a supporter, and an admirer of Eazy until the day he
left us. Of all of Eazy’s friends and peers, MC Eiht seems to best embody the
spirit that Eazy E used to keep himself timeless. In part three of our series, AllHipHop.com discussed the early
days, the civic pride, and the bond that MC Eiht and Eazy E shared from day one
to the very end. Hear about one of the greatest who ever did it, from one of
the greatest still at it - Compton, we salute you!
AllHipHop.com: Had you and Eazy known
each other before the music?
MC Eiht: Well, yeah I had known Eazy
when he first started rappin’ around the neighbourhood. I had known Eazy from
the streets and around the way before he made it big or picked up NWA.
AllHipHop.com: Was it a relationship
based at the artistic level or the street level?
MC Eiht: Basically, just being from
the streets. Being from Compton, we’re big, but we’re small. Everybody knows a
little of everybody. Just by name and recognition of people from different
neighbourhoods, and being affiliated into the same side I guess. You hear of
people, and know them. Me being inclined to start getting into the Gangsta Rap
with Toddy Tee, being from my neighbourhood, and him knowing people like
[Mixmaster] Spade and all those people, it was a street credibility thing.
AllHipHop.com: Can you recall the
first time you guys actually spoke?
MC Eiht: First time I actually met
Eazy was... [MC] Ren’s girlfriend used to live across the street from Chill,
who’s from Compton’s Most Wanted, my group. Ren used to come by all the time
when me and Chill had just started to get into the Rap thing. Eazy used to be
with him. The first time we actually met, Eazy told us they was gettin’ ready
to shoot the “We Want Eazy” video. He told us to come down and all that.
AllHipHop.com: Did you go?
MC Eiht: Oh yeah, definitely.
AllHipHop.com: It’s interesting that
there was extended hands. Today, everybody is so territorial and driven to
rivalry, let alone the B-boy attitude in the late 80's.
MC Eiht: Competition is imminent. But
as far as being from Compton and both of us being from neighbourhoods and
what-have-you, he was just trying to extend an invitation. He never offered us
a deal or nothing like that. He knew we was trying to do our thing. We was our
own entity. Whenever they was at the studio, or whenever they toured, Ren would
always include us. Eazy would invite us to keep us in tuned to when was going
on.
AllHipHopHop.com: Was that
relationship retained throughout the next ten years?
MC Eiht: Definitely. Anytime Eazy was
involved, it was something we could be a part of. I did concerts with Eazy and
Bone [Thugs & Harmony]. We been to the studio, we been out to dinner, we
been out to clubs. We always maintained a cool relationship.
AllHipHop.com: You never actually
recorded together, did you?
MC Eiht: No. I was in the process of
writing some songs for Eazy right around the time when he was passin’. I wrote
about three songs for him that he was getting ready to listen to. Unfortunately,
it didn’t pan out.
AllHipHop.com: In 1998, you, King
Tee, and Dresta the Gangsta did “Straight Outta Compton” on that tribute album.
MC Eiht: Right. That was an honour, a
privilege. NWA and Eazy were the first to make it nationally known of Compton
and what we was about.
AllHipHop.com: At the same time
though, you were signed to Orpheus maybe even before Eazy had a deal in place.
How did he help you?
MC Eiht: Basically, we were signed to
Orpheus/Capitol. But I don’t think without the recognition of what Eazy did as
far as NWA and puttin’ Compton on the map, and showing these record labels
another side to the B-boy world and the world of New York. I grew up on New
York Rap as opposed to our neighbourhood heroes. Let’s face it, we didn’t have
record deals on the West Coast. We had Egyptian Lover and the LA Dream Team,
that wasn’t significant to what was exposed when Eazy came out. Eazy had
videos! He made record execs want to come to Compton. That’s where CMW was
born. We were makin’ garage tapes, and 12" singles for Techno-Hop
[Records] but, it was in the back of my fondest dreams that we’d [become
stars].
AllHipHop.com: Why is Eazy remembered
only in the shadows of Tupac or Biggie?
MC Eiht: I think because of the way
Eazy died, I think a lot people strayed away from his significance and what he
did for West Coast Hip-Hop. We love Tupac and Biggie [because] they were the
90's for us. Tupac was the rider with all that controversy with jail and
whatnot. But Eazy had that controversy. [Look] at the way they died. If Eazy
would’ve got shot up on the corner, people would be on a different scale.
People say, “Eazy died of AIDs,” it scares people to the fact that nobody wants
to recognize that this guy opened the door for West Coast Hip-Hop. Tupac,
Snoop, CMW, when we was sitting at home dreaming, Eazy was on world tours. I
feel he deserves the recognition of [them]. It’s f**ked up.
AllHipHop.com: Like Puffy, I don’t
own a gun. Yes, I could step outside and get shot. We all could. But I think we’re
more likely to contract a deadly STD than to die in a gunfight. It’s ironic.
MC Eiht: Right, definitely! I mean,
it could it happen. But I don’t think I’m gonna walk out my house to my mailbox
and get shot in the community I live in. I don’t portray that. Even now, when I
ride through the streets of Compton, I don’t have the feeling that I might get
blasted. Like you said, it’s more probable to get AIDs than to get shot in our
lifestyle. Now if you out there on the corner, bangin’ it up like we used to
do, and we askin’ for it - yeah, you got that chance. It’s just sad that people
know Eazy died of AIDs, so let’s forget about this brother that at one time,
[was the king]. Tupac and Biggie was hardcore. Biggie was smooth, crack
slangin’, that comes from the opening of doors from Eazy E. New York was on
straight Hip-Hop. I love Public Enemy, Audio Two, Treacherous Three, Marley
Marl, to me s**t didn’t get hard til’ Rakim came out. But Eazy E made it cool
for n***as to say, “I’m from Marcy!” He said, I’m from Compton. We from this
block, we sell dope, police harass us, n***as get killed, girls be ho’ing. It’s
not all about grabbing some turntables, going outside the park, and havin’ fun.
AllHipHop.com: Despite the
formalities of his death, what was Compton like in the wake of Eazy E? Was it
sombre, was it crazy like Brooklyn was on Biggie’s day?
MC Eiht: There was a lot of people at
his funeral. People celebrated, people came together, people were sad. I mean,
it wasn’t parades of people like Biggie. We different people.
AllHipHop.com: Compton’s laid out
differently, too.
MC Eiht: Definitely. He knew a lot of
people, not on just the strength of the industry. Some from the streets. People
paid homage like that. There was a tribute. People came out. It wasn’t as
flamboyant as the Biggie thing. Like you said, the city is laid out different.
Plus, our police ain’t gonna let a lot of that s**t go down. They get nervous
when crowds gather. You got a Crip’s funeral in a different neighbourhood, and
you don’t know who heads are gonna bump together.
AllHipHop.com: At the time Eazy died,
you were signed to Sony. Was there a responsibility on your part, or any
apprehension to hold up the Compton name?
MC Eiht: I’ve been making those
records since my career began. I’ve always been representing Compton. I stick
to my point of view. With Eazy passing, I always felt like it was a duty to
uphold Compton. That’s what he did. That’s why I got a tattoo of Eazy.
AllHipHop.com: Before we conclude,
how’s Veteranz Day doing, and what’s your reaction to it six months
later?
MC Eiht: My reaction, even though it
was an independent project that I put out myself, I got real good response from
this record that I haven’t gotten in a long time. It was a real West Coast
record. I was satisfied that I didn’t get negative response. Today, people are
still getting into the record.
AllHipHop.com: So are you working on
anything else right now?
MC Eiht: Right now, I’m working on my
next record, Once Upon a Time in the West. I’m also working on a
Compton’s Most Wanted record called Neighbourhood Watch. Get it done.
AllHipHop.com: What’s your favourite
Eazy E song?
MC Eiht: “Still Talkin’ S**t.” To me,
that was my favourite Eazy song because it was him. Ice Cube and Ren was on the
hook actin’ like they was 60-70's grandpas talkin’ ‘bout this young n***a from
Compton who be talkin’ s**t, and he don’t give a f**k about the police, or
nothin’. It was Eazy, at the time.
Ronald McDonald Recruits A New
Posse
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By Keith McArthur
(Mar. 29, 2005) Eminem and 50 Cent could soon have a new
lyrical weapon to add to their arsenal: the Big Mac. McDonald's in the United States wants hip-hop artists
to rap about the burger — and is willing to pay them if they write it into
their songs. It's the latest twist on paid product placement as marketers look
for new ways to reach teenagers who are turning away from television and
spending more time with video games, the Internet and music. "It's an
extension of a long movement. People have paid for their brand names to be in
movies and in television and in books . . . so why not in songs? It's the next
logical move," said Alan Middleton, marketing professor at York University's
Schulich School of Business. McDonald's won't say exactly how the program works
and what it pays, citing competitive reasons. But Maven Strategies, the company
McDonald's hired to negotiate its hip-hop deals, says the program will be
similar to one it ran for Seagram's Gin. That program saw hip-hop artists paid
$1 to $5 (U.S.) every time a branded song was played on any radio station in
the United States. The fee depended on how prominently the brand was used in
the song. One of those songs, Freek-a-leek by Petey Pablo became a top hip-hop song
last year. That song includes the lyrics: "Now I got to give a shout out
to Seagram's Gin, cause I'm drinkin' it and they payin' me for it."
McDonald's spokesman Walt Rider said the company wants to connect with young
customers in "relevant, culturally significant ways." He said
McDonald's will have final approval over any lyrics incorporating the Big Mac
brand to ensure that it is done in an "appropriate setting." (A
spokesman for McDonald's Restaurants of Canada said the company is not looking
at introducing the program in Canada.)
Hip hop has become the fastest growing genre of music in the United States, and
dominates the play lists of Top 40 radio stations. Hip-hop artists have a long
history of mentioning products in their music — especially luxury brands such
as Cristal Champagne and Mercedes-Benz. Occasionally, they would be rewarded by
the manufacturer with crates of booze or other products as a "thank
you." "What we've seen in the past is that a lot of the hip-hop
artists and their managers and the record labels have really done a good job of
creating relationships with a lot of different corporations, . . ." said
Tony Rome, president and chief executive officer of Maven Strategies. Agenda
Inc., a San Francisco company that advises clients on the interaction between
brands and culture, publishes an annual list of the brands most often mentioned
on songs in the Billboard Top 20. About 95 per cent of those mentions come from
hip hop. The most frequently mentioned brands last year were Cadillac, (70
times) Hennessey (69), Mercedes (63), Rolls-Royce (62), and Gucci (49). Lucian
James, president of Agenda, said he's not convinced that paying hip-hop artists
to rap about the Big Mac will work. He said the demographic McDonald's is
trying to reach is marketing savvy. They will know the mentions are paid
product placements, he said, which makes them less effective. "It's a
little counter-intuitive for me, because I guess what McDonald's is trying to
do with this is gain authenticity among their target audience. But . . . the
way they're going about it in itself isn't that authentic," he said.
McDonald's received one mention last year in a Top 20 song: Lifestyles
of the Rich and Famous by
Good Charlotte. Those lyrics — "and did you know if you were caught and
you were smoking crack McDonalds wouldn't even want to take it back" —
aren't likely the sort that McDonald's would pay for.
Chicago
Guitar Virtuoso Buddy Guy Tries To Keep The Blues Alive And Accessible
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Vit Wagner
(Mar. 28, 2005) Three days after his induction
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland earlier this month, Chicago
blues legend Buddy Guy is still coasting on fumes when he comes on the phone from
a tour stop in Myrtle Beach. "My
head is so high, I feel like I'm drunk and I haven't had a drink," he says
of the ceremony, which featured tribute speeches in his honour by a revered
mentor, B.B. King, and a respected peer, Eric Clapton. "That's a once in a lifetime
thing." Guy, 68, a Louisiana-bred
musician who cut his teeth in the 1950s playing with Baton Rouge bandleader Big
Poppa John Tilley, has not wanted for accolades during his career. Prior to his
Hall of Fame reception, the singer and electric guitar master had already
stowed five Grammys, 21 W.C. Handy Awards for blues, a Billboard Century Award
and a U.S. Congressional Medal of the Arts.
None of those honours, he says, quite compare with the affirmation he received
after driving up to Canada for the first time to appear at the 1967 Mariposa
Folk Festival. Guy, who had moved to
Chicago a decade earlier, had already crossed paths with Muddy Waters, Otis
Rush and other mainstays of the city's thriving blues scene, but he wasn't
making enough money as a musician to give up his day job driving a tow truck.
He had to take time off work to travel to the Innis Lake Campground, site of
the Mariposa fest that year, where Guy suddenly found himself being cheered by
a crowd of more than 20,000. "I
haven't been back to work since," says Guy, who brings his five-piece band
to Massey Hall on Friday.
"Whenever I come there, it's special. I don't care what I receive
or where I receive it — the Hall of Fame, the Grammys, the Handys — everything
I've received, that first trip to Canada stands out just as well. I owe a lot
to Canada. It was the Canadian people who convinced me to stay out
there." It hasn't always been a
smooth road. When Guy came out with his Grammy-winning Damn Right, I've Got
The Blues in 1991, for instance, it was his first domestic release in a
decade.
The album, which is being re-issued with bonus tracks on April 5, put him back
on the map, opening the doors to bigger halls and a brief stretch of minor celebrity
on TV. Guy, who has a new disc coming
out at the end of the summer, hopes that entering the Hall of Fame alongside U2
this year will yield another spike in interest and sales. He even received a
congratulatory call to that effect from John Mayer, a young singer/songwriter
who has moved more albums in four years than Guy has in 40. "He told me I should sell a few more
records now," Guy says. "And with the new album, we tried to record
it in a way that some of these radio stations might consider playing
it." Guy, whose daughter Shawnna
is a protégée of rapper Ludacris, knows enough about how the music industry
works today to keep a rein on his expectations. "The radio stations just don't play blues no more," he
says. "You can probably hear it at 3.30 in the morning once or twice, but
you don't hear Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf or Little Walter or T-Bone Walker
playing this music like you used to.
"The young people are influenced now by watching music television.
We didn't have that when I was coming up. If you look at music television, you
don't have nothing but good looks. Some of them are playing good music. Older
people can play good music too, but we don't look good, so we aren't going to
get on there too much. "I would
just love to see them play a good blues number once or twice a week. It's like
your favourite meal. You might like it but you're not going to eat it everyday.
You go out and taste something else. And after you stay away from it, you say,
`I gotta go back to my special stuff.' It's the same with blues
music." As the owner of Chicago's
biggest blues club, Buddy Guy's Legends, he has witnessed a similar decline in
the live scene. "Down on Yonge St.
they had blues clubs everywhere," he recalls. "We used to come over
there and sometimes play two weeks at a time.
"Chicago used to have so many blues clubs, I never had a chance to
see them all. That don't exist no more. If I close up, you'll probably have
about three blues clubs in Chicago."
Any note of resignation, however, is balanced by Guy's determination to
keep at it. His love of the blues, he says, is the reason his set lists are
littered with songs by other giants.
"I don't feel like I have to play you Buddy Guy all night. Some of my
fans will call up and ask me to play a John Lee Hooker tune, which will
hopefully help keep this music alive.
"Now it's just me and B.B. King. And I got to take it as far as I
can. Because when you take it to people at least they will know."
Brandy
Celebrates A Decade Of Hits
Source: Jason Elzy / jason.elzy@wmg.com / Courtney
Barnes / courtney@cbgpr.com
(March 29, 2005) LOS ANGELES - Music
superstar, actress and performer Brandy is celebrating her first decade of hit-making
with the release of THE BEST OF BRANDY, a first-of-its-kind, 18-track
retrospective drawn from the L.A. resident's four best-selling albums for
Atlantic Records. The package includes
16 Top 20 Pop and R&B charted singles, a remix of the 1994 R&B
chart-topper "I Wanna Be Down" (featuring Queen Latifah, YoYo and MC
Lyte) and a cover of the Phil Collins classic "Another Day In
Paradise," a duet with brother Ray J, previously only available in Europe.
In addition to five #1 R&B and two #1 Pop hits, THE BEST OF BRANDY also
includes a duet with producer and hitmaker in his own right Kanye West, the
1998 #1 crossover duet with Monica ("The Boy Is Mine") and production
by Mike City, Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, David Foster, Rodney Jerkins, Quincy
Jones, and Timbaland among others. THE
BEST OF BRANDY (Atlantic/WSM) will be available April 5 at regular physical and
digital retail outlets and at www.rhino.com
for a suggested retail price of $18.98. "I think it's awesome to have an
album that reflects the songs that people have enjoyed over the years,"
enthuses the singer, who coproduced four tracks on the new collection.
"I'm happy to say that many of the tracks included are my favourites too."
Known for her leading role in the top-rated sitcom Moesha, the Mississippi-born
entertainer - who is currently developing a TV series with Fox and Touchstone
Television - first hit the charts in 1994 with the gold single "I Wanna Be
Down," produced by Keith Crouch. "At first I wasn't happy that the
song was chosen as my first single," she recalls. "But once it was
released and I saw how everyone responded to the title phrase, I understood
why!" Drawn from her self-titled quadruple-platinum Atlantic debut, that
first hit was followed by the million-selling single "Baby," and
Brandy subsequently scored another gold single in 1995 with
"Brokenhearted" (featuring Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men), and
started 1996 with another million-seller with "Sittin' Up In My
Room," produced by Babyface and featured on the soundtrack of the
blockbuster movie Waiting To Exhale, starring Whitney Houston.
By the time Atlantic Records released Brandy's 1998's sophomore album Never Say
Never, the singer's starring role on Moesha (which ended its successful
five-year run in 2001) along with key appearances starring in the Disney
television adaptation of Cinderella in 1997 and the 1998 movie I Still Know
What You Did Last Summer had catapulted Brandy into the upper echelon of young
across-the-board entertainers. The key single from the album, "The Boy Is
Mine," a duet with singer Monica, became a double-platinum best-seller and
helped propel Never Say Never to over six million sales worldwide. Subsequent hits have included "Have You
Ever?" (1999), written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster;
"Full Moon" (2002), written and produced by Mike City; "Who Is
She 2 U" (2004), produced by Timbaland; and "Talk About Our
Love" (2004), Brandy's Top 5 Pop and R&B duet with Kanye West.
THE BEST OF BRANDY also includes the singer's cover of Michael Jackson's
classic "Rock With You" from Quincy Jones' best-selling 1995 album
Q'S JOOK JOINT. For additional information regarding THE BEST OF BRANDY, please
contact Jason Elzy at Warner Strategic Marketing Media Relations at
818-238-6220 or jason.elzy@wmg.com;
or Courtney Barnes at The Courtney Barnes Group at 323-466-9300 or courtney@cbgpr.com.
T.C. Carson -- The
“Truth” About His Music
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com - (March 29, 2005) T.C.
Carson stood barefoot on stage at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center
presenting his melodious “Truth” to the theatre audience. His haircut was
much shorter then and worn in a twist as Kyle Barker, the role he played on
television’s “Living Single.” Although, there was no mistaking his
baritone voice or the fact the man can sing. He was performing his
cabaret musical stylings as part of a trilogy series of “T.C. Carson:
Evolution, My Life In Music” for the Tribeca Performing Arts Center within the
Borough of Manhattan College. The first of which was entitled Discovery.
I attended Part Tw Exploration, and there will be one other entitled Revelation
scheduled for April 15 and 16th. Much of what he sang was newly written
material such as “Truth” though he had a few standards. “Truth” is also the
name of his CD. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by Carson’s
wonderful choral acuity and assortment of musical stylings. During one
song, he even changed his vocal range. Carson moved fluently from one song to
the other in a way that kept his audience riveted, spellbound and swaying in
their seats. “I have been part of
musical theatre since grade school,” states the actor/singer.
“I studied a little voice while in college but I sang in choruses, different
jazz and soul bands and have done a lot of music and theatre since grade
school” remarked the multi-talented performer. Carson has performed
in “Hair,” “The Wiz,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,” “Sesame Street Live,” and “Gospel at
Colonus” as proof of his musical theatrical background. “Most of what I
have done has been wonderful theatre, but “Once On This Island” and “Dream
Girls” was just a great piece of theatre. I have done some drama. A
play called “Young Richard” but I have done more musical than dramatic
theatre. I loved doing “The Colored Museum” which was about slave ships,
soul brother vs corporate brother, etc. “Colored Museum” was created by
George C. Wolfe and something everyone should see.”
Mr. Carson won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor for his role in “The
Colored Museum.” “The Joseph Jefferson Award is Chicago’s answer to the
Tony” explained T.C. “I was actually out on the road doing “Dream Girls”
when I found out I won the award. I also won an Emmy award for a
television docudrama called “A Fast Break To Glory.” “Living Single”
which lasted 4 years was actually my second television series. Before that, I
did a series called “Key West.” Carson was also nominated for two NAACP
Image Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy as a result of his work on
“Living Single.” “Living Single” was my first comedy. However, I loved
working with the wonderful cast which included Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Erika
Alexander and John Singleton.” T.C. will re-enact his “Living Single”
role as Kyle Barker in an upcoming episode of “Half & Half” on UPN, March 14th
at 9:30 p.m.
Momentum
Builds For Carlton Blount’s 'Point Of View'
Source: Magnatar Records, Inc.
(March 30, 2005) NEW YORK, NY – R&B singer/songwriter Carlton Blount is riding the wave
with his long-awaited debut solo album, (From) A Man’s Point Of View, which was
released via Magnatar Records on February 22, 2005. As part of a unique pact
with 33rd Street Records/Bayside Entertainment Distribution, the self-produced
opus became widely available at retail chains, independent record stores and online
channels, nationwide. The release of
the album came on the heels of an outbreak of favourable media coverage and
critical acclaim in outlets such as Ebony, Vibe, Rolling Out and Black Elegance
magazines. Launch Radio Networks, raved that the set is “a sensational debut
effort with flashes of soulful brilliance” and “Today’s Black Woman” enthused
that it’s “simply unforgettable.” MTV
Radio Networks calls the album, which features contributions from Diane Warren,
Toto, Billy “Badass” Dubose, Cedric Solomon and Peter Moshay, “soulful
sounds from a timeless talent.” BET.com noted that the album is “a must-have in
any true R&B music lover's collection,” while “Smooth” magazine extolled
“(From) A Man’s Point Of View” with a four-star (****) review. In addition to the remarkable media
coverage, the opus has garnered a strong early showing at retail, prompted by
the overwhelming reaction radio stations across the country has given the first
single, “Acting Like You're Free.” The
second track to spur from the collection is the atmospheric ballad, “My Wife,”
which was written by Mr. Blount. The track is an emotional tour-de-force
dealing with a man professing his true love to a woman he loves. About the
track, Mr. Blount comments: “If I were married, this is the way I would want to
feel about my wife. If I were getting married tomorrow, I would want this song
to be sung at the wedding. If I were married for 50 years, this would be the
theme of our years together. This is a true testament of love.”
“My Wife” impacted radio in mid-March and was considered one of the most added
tracks to many of the solicited stations’ play-lists. Markets such as
Washington, DC (WHUR), New Orleans (KMEZ), Columbus, MS (WMXU), Columbia, SC
(WLXC, WWDM), Little Rock (KOKY), Charleston (WMGL), Baton Rouge (KQXL),
Albany, GA (WQVE), Killeen (KSSM), Toledo (WIMX), Oklahoma City (KRMP) and Las
Vegas (KVGS), have embraced the smouldering new track with open arms. Sister 2 Sister magazine predicts that “My
Wife” is “sure to be a wedding hit.”
“We've gotten astounding support at retail, radio and in the press for
this project and we are excited,” says Yusef H. Shabazz, President and CEO of
Magnatar Records. “It has been a year in the making with getting this project
up and running and every early indication points upward. We seem to be in the
right direction.” (From) A Man’s Point
Of View showcases Carlton Blount’s soulful vocals, significant sense of great
lyricism and sheer showmanship. Seasoned with sounds ranging from gospel-tinged
melodies to rousing R&B flavour and rap-friendly riffs, the album is
juxtaposed with his four-octave range throughout each and every track. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Carlton
Blount is a first place winner on the nationally syndicated variety show
“Showtime At The Apollo” who went on to sing background vocals for Patti
Labelle, and collaborations with Roberta Flack, Michael Bolton and the late
Grover Washington, Jr. He also shared the stage with Al Green, Ray Charles, The
Four Tops and The Temptations on various touring jaunts. His vocals have also
been heard in advertisements for Pepsi, Mobile Oil and Marriott. In 1999, he
joined the Main Ingredient replacing Cuba Gooding as the lead
vocalist. As a part of the
promotional campaign for the album’s release and the new single, Carlton Blount
will appear at the 15th Annual Urban Network Entertainment-Marketing Summit to
be held in Palm Springs, CA this week. On April 10, he will perform in
his hometown of Richmond, VA at the Hyperlink Café, presented by LaBelle &
Associates. Additional performance
dates are being solidified. www.carltonblountmusic.com
/ www.magnatar-records.com
Changing the Game
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Ashante
Infantry
(Apr. 6, 2005) One approaches an interview with America's hottest new
gangsta rapper with some apprehension. It's not fear, per se, despite the aura
of violence around the former Compton gang banger known as The Game — guns
brandished in the presence of a Vibe magazine reporter,
his implication in a January assault on a Washington, D.C., radio host, the
February shooting of a cohort outside a New York radio station. No, the concern is whether an artist who
evokes hip hop's profane, bullet-riddled dark side can apply himself to the
task at hand. Many of his peers are in the habit of showing up late, if at all,
then spewing hollow one-word rejoinders in between puffs and sips — and,
frankly, I'm tired of it. However, with
his debut The
Documentary having sold more than two
million copies (150,000 in Canada) since its January release, we figured the
latest discovery of rap guru Dr. Dre (who gave the world Snoop Dogg, Eminem and
50 Cent) deserved a look. So, on the
eve of Game's recent Toronto concerts, The Star arrived at the appointed hotel
to find — surprise! — the rapper had yet to surface for his scheduled media
ops. Journalists, promoters and a
publicist waited in the two-level suite overlooking the Blue Jays' outfield,
sharing anecdotes about his Eaton Centre expeditions, capacity for marijuana
and bewilderingly mediocre pre-sales for the back-to-back Kool Haus gigs.
And, counter to his menacing public image, there were tales of the fun-loving
25-year-old and his buddies playing tag in the hotel's hallways. When Game eventually appeared, with a
hulking three-man security team, he was in character. Tall and taciturn, he
wouldn't strike anything but the standard thug pose for the Star's
photographer. But, when I sat down with
him 40 minutes and two interviews later, he was smiling, well mannered and
focused; kinda charming for a guy with a teardrop tattooed under his eye — a
long-held symbol you've killed someone, been incarcerated or had a fellow gang
member murdered. Take this response
about his first visit to Canada:
"I love this place. Everybody here is so peaceful. And it's pretty
clean. I unwrapped a Starburst and put it in my mouth and threw the paper on
the ground and some old lady came running. I don't think anybody can top the
European fans, but Canadians are second — they really appreciate hip hop. And
the women are beautiful." No
argument here. This expertise is culled
from recent travels; before he started rapping four years ago, Game had never
ventured outside of South Central Los Angeles.
"Now the world seems so small. The most interesting place was
Paris. It's beautiful and everybody there's a sweet talker. They even have
gangster rap, but it don't sound like gangster rap because they're like `oui
oui' and `vous vous' and I'm like how the f--k is that gangster rap?" Ironically, the middle of nine children of
L.A. gang members owes his new life, which includes a house in Beverly Hills
and the requisite Mercedes Benz for mom, to his near death. After a turbulent childhood that included a
stint in foster care, Jayceon Taylor was peddling dope in 2001 when robbers
burst into his apartment and shot him five times. "I'm laying in bed recuperating with nothing to do except
listen to music and I listened to so much music that it started to consume me.
So I started pretending I was ... well, on paper, at least, I would jot down
Jay-Z's rhymes, Snoop's rhymes, Ice Cubes rhymes and kind of fix them so that
they pertained a little bit more to me. And it went from that to me writing my
own rhymes and it actually being my own story.
"It was rough at first. I don't want anybody thinking I just started
rapping and I was great. I got better and recorded a demo that found its way
into Puff Daddy's hands." Diddy
didn't sign him, but Dr. Dre did and recruited New York rapper 50 Cent to help
him produce The Documentary. Now,
Game's developing a clothing line and taking meetings with filmmakers John
Singleton and Joel Silver. But his aim
to secure the financial future of his inner circle was nearly derailed by a
difference of opinion with labelmate 50 Cent over the breadth of 50's
contributions to his successful debut. On Feb. 28, the quarrel erupted into a
gunfight between their respective entourages outside New York's Hot 97
WQHT-FM. "With this recent beef
I've lost endorsements worth millions of dollars. I almost lost sponsorship for
the Snoop Dogg tour in the U.S. next month. You have people scared. You have
insurance companies backing out. Here in Canada a couple shows were cancelled.
At the end of the day I'm losing a lot of money just over bullshit. So, is it
the well being of me, my family and my life, or is it succumb to what fans want
to hear and the negativity that the media seems to kind of make a big
deal?" Two weeks later Game and 50
held a press conference to declare a truce and donate $253,500 to the Boys
Choir of Harlem and Compton Unified School District music program. "He doesn't have to be happy with me or
my career and I don't have to like him. Whether we're friends or not, it
doesn't matter. We just come to work and we do what we do and some kids
smile. "You know I got a son at
home. He's a little under two and he's starting to talk and he's starting to
comprehend what's really going on with his father. He sees the videos and he
sings along and I've got to watch my steps and watch my mouth. "So, look for me to be a little bit
more productive and positive in the future. I'm not saying that I'm not going
to talk about where I come from anymore or talk about the guns and the
violence, but I'm not going to glorify those things. "Whether I like it or not, we as hip hop artists are role
models and I'm becoming more aware of that. I don't think I'll ever change, but
who wants the same thing album after album? Jay-Z told me a long time ago that
reinventing yourself is the best thing that you can do as a hip hop artist.
Whether the fans accept it or not is something that we're just going to have to
see."
Meanwhile, he'll keep following the advice of the late grandmother, who
bestowed the nickname inspired by his fearlessness. "She told me to live life to the fullest according to the
way I feel when I get up in the morning. If I get up and I don't feel like
being here at 4:45 p.m. to do your interview because my stomach is hurting,
I'll tell my management and they'll tell you and hopefully you'll understand;
but ultimately I'm here to do this interview because I understand the
importance of it and I really value you coming down and wanting to get to know
me a little better. "At the end of
the day, it's business and I'm here to do my job." Well, the media training has taken, but Game
needs to apply some of those principles to his live show. The set I caught the following night inside
the gigantic half-empty nightclub lacked the ferocity and fluidity of the album.
It was an underwhelming hour of the rookie rapper bounding aimlessly across the
stage like a puppy leaving songs incomplete while he smoked and chugged
champagne. His purpose, he says, is to
sell records and please fans. He's
halfway there.
Jean Of All Trades
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com - By Kenya M. Yarbrough
(Apr.
6, 2005) *Hip-Hop artists are saturating the entertainment world.
These days, if you aren’t at least a triple threat, you aren’t in the game. Wyclef Jean
can attest to doing it all. As a songwriter, artist, producer, philanthropist,
activist, you might think he wears quite enough hats. But that’s not the case.
The international rap superstar is honing his thespian talents, and in the true
fashion of an over-achiever, he’s dabbling in TV, movies, theatre, in front of
the camera, and behind the scenes. Fresh off a Golden Globe nomination for his
song “Million Voices” from the movie “Hotel Rwanda” (Clef lost to rocker Mick
Jagger for his track from “Alfie”), Wyclef says he’s making his move into film
and television. “I’m just following Quincy Jones steps,” he said of his
strategy. “I’m starting to get heavily into the movies. Plus, I just shot an
episode of ‘Third Watch’ and I got three scripts that I’m writing right now.”
Turns out, scriptwriting and theatre is old hat for the music maestro. He says
that he came up in theatre doing off-Broadway plays and even took on reworking
Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” into a hip-hop version when he was only 17.
Wyclef, who says he looks up to the legendary Sidney Poitier, plays a gang
leader on the TV drama “Third Watch” and just wrapped a movie with Cuba Gooding
Jr. called “Dirty.” “I play a Jamaican
cat who owns a record company. When you see me on the screen, you’ll say ‘Clef
is crazy. Just know, I’m just acting crazy,” he said. Speaking of crazy, the
crazy rumours that flew around Wyclef and his Fugee-mate Lauryn Hill have
apparently come to rest, and a Fugee reunion could be in order. “I think a reunion
is going to come naturally,” Wyclef nudged. “We keep moving forward. I’m moving
forward, doing my thing. Lauryn’s moving forward, doing what she’s doing. We
did the ‘Dave Chappell [Show]’ so an album is bound to come in the future.” The
Fugees performed together on the stand-up comic’s show recently, thanks to Hill
calling up the fellas. “Lauryn called
me and she told me she was gonna do something with Dave Chappell and would I
like to do with it, and Pras. I said, ‘Definitely. That would be hot to get on
stage and do the Fugees,’” Wyclef said. But he still contends that the process
of reuniting can only be slow and easy, “If it was a money thing, we would’ve
done an album and cashed in.” He admits that the drama between bandmates may be
a good thing for their music and their fans.
“I think when a Fugee album comes, it will be more appreciated now since
everyone’s heard the drama. We’re like Mary J. right now – no more drama,” he
said.
Canadian Content In Russell Crowe's Latest CD
Source: Canadian Press
(Mar. 30, 2005) Russell
Crowe's next musical venture will have a
distinctly Canadian flavour. Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle helped produce and co-write the actor's next CD,
tentatively titled My Hand My Heart. The pair began collaborating last summer after meeting
backstage following a Great Big Sea concert in Toronto. "(He) asked if I'd
like to come by the hotel some time and write some songs," Doyle recalled
from his studio in St. John's, Nfld. Crowe was in Toronto at the time filming Cinderella Man. The rest of the production took place at Crowe's home
studio in Australia. "It was great fun. It was excellent," Doyle
said. "He's got such a history of writing and recording music himself that
it was great to actually sit with somebody who's been at it as long, or longer
than me, but comes from a completely different part of the world and a
completely different perspective on music." Doyle praised Crowe's writing,
saying the actor knows how to "deliver a good song" and is a "spectacular
lyricist." "I've never met anyone who pays more attention to the word
than Russell Crowe," Doyle said. "I don't know if that's a result of
him being a very attentive musician or being the best actor in the world ...
somebody who's been exposed to the best dialogue in the world." Crowe, who
has been singing for several years, was equally impressed by Doyle. "Alan
Doyle is the first magical musical collaboration I have ever experienced,"
Crowe said in a statement. "We had the type of synergy I have experienced
with other actors or directors, but which has always eluded me in music. I have
poured my heart into these songs." Doyle is back at work with Great Big
Sea on a new CD.
Nelly’s
Sister Dies Of Leukemia
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Mar.
25, 2005) *Jacqueline "Jackie"
Donahue, the 31-year-old sister of Nelly,
died Thursday at a St. Louis hospital after a long battle with leukemia, the
rapper’s publicist said. Donahue was
diagnosed with the disease on March 29, 2001. The cancer was in remission for
nearly two years before she suffered a relapse, prompting Nelly to organize
several bone marrow drives. In March 2003, Nelly and his sister founded
"Jes Us 4 Jackie," a campaign to find African American donors for
Donahue and others, and to raise awareness about bone marrow donations. Donahue's family said in a statement they
were "deeply saddened" by her death and offered their thanks for
those who had supported her and the bone marrow drives. "We are very proud of her efforts to
educate and raise awareness about the disease and the need for
African-Americans to join the National Donor Registry," the family said.
"She will always be remembered for her loving spirit, energy and
unshakable faith." A spokeswoman
for Austin Layne Mortuary said funeral arrangements were pending.
A
Live Seal: Singer to kick off U.S. tour in late May
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
25, 2005)
*Husband and father-to-be Seal has
organized a U.S. tour in support of his recently-released greatest hits
collection “Best: 1991-2004,” which first surfaced in November as a single-CD
full of hits from the singer’s four studio albums. The set was simultaneously released as a double-CD featuring a
second disc of acoustic material. In February, a third version of the project
was offered with a DVD featuring surround-sound versions of all cuts from the
first two discs, as well as 10 music videos.
Seal plans to marry his fiancée Heidi Klum and the couple are expecting
their first child, due in September.
A
‘Wonder’ful Return For Stevie
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March 25, 2005) *So what’s the fuss behind
Stevie Wonder’s first single from his
forthcoming CD “A Time to Love?” For starters, it’s been heating up urban and
urban adult stations across the nation – marking a welcome return for the music
legend who hadn’t recorded a studio album in 10 years. “‘What The Fuss’ really came from just a
lot of things that we know are happening in the world and in this country and
just in society in general," Wonder told Yahoo Music. "If we
live in a time where every nation is fighting around the world and we can't all
agree that peace is the way, then shame on us, because ultimately we will get
what we've not paid attention to.
Calling the song sarcastic-but-serious, Wonder adds: “If it matters to
you, to me, to them, to us, then we'll do something about. And if it doesn't we
won't. So what the fuss?" “A
Time To Love” drops on May 3.
Cece
Winans Kicked Off The Year With A Stellar Award
Source: Erma Byrd / 323-965-5551
(March
25, 2005) Los Angeles, CA - Gospel songstress, CeCe Winans, walked away with top awards at
the recent 20th Annual Stellar Awards. Winans was honoured with awards for
Female Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year and
Recorded Music Packaging of the Year, for her Throne Room CD. In addition to Winans’ personal wins, her PureSprings
Gospel label, received an award for Contemporary Choir of the Year for The Born
Again Church Choir, CD. “Everyone is so
excited, we’re looking for 2005 to be a phenomenal year,” says Demetrus Stewart
President of PureSprings Gospel.
The CD, Throne Room, and the DVD Live In The Throne Room received
the official RIAA certified gold seal in 2004 . The releases were destined for
success after Winans’ label launched a national grass- root campaign, visiting
several churches over the course of six weeks, in conjunction with retail and mass
marketing efforts by partnering labels EPIC and INO. The campaign
was so well received it evolved into a 30-City church tour. " I am honoured, excited and blessed to
have been a part of a project that is life changing; for that we are grateful”,
says Winans.
PureSprings/Epic/INO can look for more
movement on the charts and activity in sells as they embark upon the second leg
of the Throne Room Tour coming up in the spring. So, for all the fans that
didn’t have an opportunity to experience CeCe live the first time around, they
can check out the 2005 dates at www.cecewinans.com and plan to join in on
the wonderful worship experience. Log on to www.cecewinans.com for exact location &
times.
Head
Jigga In Charge
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
28, 2005) *Nestled deep into his chair as the
president of Def Jam, Jay-Z tells MTV
that his duties extend from behind the desk and deep into the recording studio
to oversee the acts operating under his regime, which include Young Gunz, Foxy
Brown and Memphis Bleek. The retired rapper-turned-record exec says his years
on the M.I.C. automatically make him a more sympathetic boss. "I feel that artist pain,"
Jay told MTV while at a video shoot for Memphis Bleek’s new video, "Like
That." "It's not a confrontational thing. What usually happens is it's
the artists against the company, the artists against the machine. It's not like
that with us. They know I been through the same thing. They know they not gonna
bullsh-- me, but at the same time I'm not gonna bullsh-- them. I'm on the
artists' side. "Ludacris
calls me all the time for what he says is his 'monthly Shawn Carter call,'"
Jay added. "[Me and LL Cool J] had a great meeting. The first time we sat
down to chat, we chopped it up. I was a little worried about the meeting, I
didn't know how he was gonna take [my new position] because that's the pillar.
But he was real cool about it. I'm anxious to work on that
project." Jigga fans
will be pleased to know that he’s not completely retired from rapping. Hov
recorded an entire song called "Dear Summer" that will act as the
intro for Bleek's upcoming “534” LP, and he appears three times on Foxy Brown's
new album.
Joss
Stone Blossoms In Spring
Source: Matt Hanks [mhanks@shorefire.com] or Alexis
Tedford [atedford@shorefire.com] at Shore Fire Media: 718-522-7171
(March
28, 2005) Over six months after the release of he acclaimed
album 'Mind, Body & Soul' (S-Curve Records) Grammy nominee Joss Stone is busier than ever. Just
last week, Joss's Grammy duet with Melissa Etheridge - the show-stopping
"Cry Baby/Piece of My Heart" medley tribute to Janis Joplin - was
made available for purchase on iTunes, and shot to #1 on the site's
most-downloaded list. All proceeds from the track will go to breast cancer
research. Looking to April, Joss is
confirmed to be spokesperson for the GAP Inc. retail chain's new summer
campaign, which is set to launch April 28 with extensive television and print
exposure. Joss will be the only personality featured in the
campaign. And on April 11, Joss
will join Rod Stewart, Alicia Keys, Rob Thomas, Queen Latifah, Donna Summer and
John Legend at the Beacon Theater in NYC for VH1's Save The Music Concert, an
event to aid music-in-school programs. The concert will air April 17 on
VH1.
http://www.shorefire.com/artists/jstone
http://www.jossstone.com
http://www.shorefire.com
Smokey’s
‘World’: Motown Legend Drops New Singles In ‘Best Of’ CD/DVD
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March 30, 2005) *Soul legend Smokey Robinson has recorded the new songs
"My World" and "Fallin'" for the retrospective "My
World: The Definitive Collection," due May 3 via Motown. The set arrives
as a 21-track CD as well as a separate DVD featuring music videos and live
performances. Beyond such Smokey and
the Miracles classics as "The Tears of a Clown," "The Tracks of
My Tears," "Ooo Baby Baby," "I Second That Emotion"
and "Shop Around," the album includes solo hits such as
"Cruisin'," "Being With You," "Just To See Her"
and "One Heartbeat," all of which reached the top 10 of the Billboard
Hot 100. The DVD includes clips of the
Miracles performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "Hollywood a
Go-Go" and "Teen Town," live Robinson performances of "Baby
That Backatcha," "The Tracks of My Tears" and "Being With
You," plus videos for "Just To See Her," "One
Heartbeat," "Everything You Touch" and "Ebony Eyes,"
which features late funk legend Rick James.
Alicia Keys To Be Honoured As Gifted Songwriter
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail
(Apr. 1, 2005) New York -- Alicia Keys will
receive the Starlight Award, which honours gifted songwriters in the early
years of their careers, at the 2005 Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards gala.
Keys's selection was announced Wednesday by Hal David, chairman and chief
executive officer of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The awards dinner will be
held June 9 in New York. Inductees this year include Steve Cropper,
John Fogerty, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman and Bill
Withers. Les Paul will receive the lifetime achievement award. AP
BEP’s
will.i.am Helps Rita Marley Remix Classic
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(April 1, 2005)
*Not so much into the upcoming Sinead O'Connor reggae album? The Irish pop star
is currently recording the album in Jamaica, featuring covers of songs by Bob Marley, Peter
Tosh and Burning Spear. Well, if you’re more into the originators, Bob Marley Music
released a remix of Marley’s seminal classic “Africa Unite” on March 31. The
original track was released in 1979 on the album “Survival.” The newly remixed
track is produced by the Black Eyed Peas’
will.i.am, vocals by Bob Marley’s widow
Rita Marley, the I-Three (Marley’s original background singers) and will.i.am.
Rita Marley contacted will.i.am herself to put the project in motion. “I have
been a fan of the Black Eyed Peas since their first album, so I knew it would
be a good fit.” The BEP frontman was apparently a little hesitant, Rita says.
“He asked me, ‘How do you improve on the best?’ But I told him that he was
family and should just do what felt right. We’re so pleased with the results.”
The remix is the latest project marking the 60th anniversary of the Bob
Marley’s birth. In February, Marley was born February 6, 1945, an “Africa
Unite” concert celebrated the music legend in his birthplace of Ethiopia. A
portion of the new “Africa Unite” track will be split between the Bob Marley
Foundation, the Rita Marley Foundation, and the will.i.am foundation.
Monk-Coltrane
Recording Discovered
Excerpt from The
Globe and Mail
(April 6, 2005) Washington -- The discovery of an unknown recording by
jazz masters Thelonious
Monk and John Coltrane was announced yesterday by the
U.S. Library of Congress as it revealed this year's additions to its National
Recording Registry. The newly discovered performance by pianist Monk and
saxophonist Coltrane at Carnegie Hall was never commercially recorded, the
library said. The collaboration is not one of the 50 recordings being added to
the American registry. Astronaut Neil Armstrong's first words from the moon,
speeches by President Woodrow Wilson and General Douglas MacArthur and songs by
Al Jolson, Muddy Waters and Nirvana are among 50 recordings being set aside for
special preservation. There's plenty of music, from Victor Herbert's Gypsy
Love Song of 1898, through Glenn Miller's In the Mood in 1939, to
Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind. Performances must be 10 years old to
qualify. This is the third group of recordings to be added to the registry. AP
Foxx Teams With Hip-Hop Heads
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com
(Apr.
6, 2005) *How many of you peeped Jamie Foxx’s 1994 debut album
“Peep This?” Right, right. Now, how many of you will probably check out his
follow-up disc, tentatively titled “Southern Gentleman,” coming to a record
store near you very soon? Well, he’s counting on sales to be a bit of a
different story for his second offering. With folks hip to his acting talent,
he’ll probably get his way. Plus, this time around he’s recruited some pretty
hot names on radio to lend a hand. "I just got through messing with Kanye
West, I got a joint with 50, it's crazy," Foxx told MTV. "It's gonna
be nuts. And we're gonna get back to love music — young love music that old
people can appreciate." Also on board for the project are Snoop Dogg and
Tank, the network reports. No release date is set. Comedian, actor, singer
... what more can we celebrate about this man? Well, over the weekend he
was awarded the Kids Choice Award for Favourite Celebrity Hidden Talent because
he can roll his eyes in opposite directions. Whoa, that boy’s got talent!
::CD RELEASES::
Tuesday,
March 29, 2005
Bushwick Bill, Gutta Mixx, Lightyear
Will Smith, Lost and Found, Interscope
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Best of Brandy, Brandy, Rhino
Women & Songs, Vol. 8 [Bonus DVD], Various Artists, WEA International
Collection, Vol. 2: Never Too Much/Forever, For Al, Luther Vandross, Sony
First Lady, Faith Evans, Capitol
Hard to Find Soul, Various Artists, Time Life
I Chose to Sing the Blues, Ray Charles, Brentwood
::FILM NEWS::
Canucks May Well Grab
Centre Stage In Middle-Earth
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By James Adams
(Apr. 2, 2005) Think you're more Gandalf or Frodo than Merry or Orc? Well, if
you're a professional Canadian actor who hankers for one of the meatier parts
in next year's world premiere of The Lord of the
Rings musical in Toronto, there's nothing to stop you from trying
your luck. True, the show's London-based producers struck a deal with Canadian Actors' Equity that allows them to
cast, if required, British performers in five as-yet-unspecified "lead
roles" in the Toronto production. But they have to hold "legitimate
auditions" for Canadians for those parts, and even if it's determined that
Brits should get the five leads, the understudies have to be Canucks. Moreover, the understudies stand a good
chance of moving into the leads: The Equity deal with the Brits is only for a
year and a bit (the expectation being that the show will move to London's West
End in 2007, while Toronto's Mirvish Productions continues with an all-Canadian
edition). The Equity contract also requires that the debut Canadian production,
which begins previews next February, have at least 50 roles. The winner of the
Palme d'or for best short film at this year's 58th Cannes Film Festival is also
going to be 3,000 euros ($4,700) richer, thanks to Canada's National Film
Board. The NFB has received permission from the Cannesians to present the
inaugural Norman McLaren Prize to the recipient of the Palme d'or. The prize, of
course, is named after the internationally acclaimed Canadian animator whose
association with the NFB spanned more than 40 years. Indeed, it was 50 years
ago this May that the Scottish-born McLaren, who died in Montreal in 1987, took
the Palme d'or for his NFB short, Blinkity Blank.
That film is one of 60-plus McLaren creations the film board has been
digitally restoring since 2002. All of McLaren's known films, plus experimental
works and interviews with colleagues, critics and friends, are to be included
on a seven-DVD boxed set the NFB plans to release in mid-2006. To promote it,
the NFB is taking a McLaren animation that it has already restored (but is
holding off releasing until 2006), the 1953 Oscar-winning Neighbours,
for screenings at this year's Cannes. Since Neighbours runs all of eight
minutes and 10 seconds, there should be a lot of showings. Another Canadian
being honoured in France this spring is the documentary photographer Larry
Towell, from Shetland, Ont. He was given the 30,000-euro ($47,000) Henri
Cartier-Bresson Award in 2003 to allow him to complete a photographic series on
the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. That black-and-white study, titled The Walls
of No Man's Land: Palestine, will be exhibited at Fondation Henri
Cartier-Bresson in Paris for almost four months, starting April 15. Towell,
who's taken his cameras to Nicaragua and El Salvador, Mexico, Vietnam and the
streets of 9/11 New York, joined the famous Magnum photographers agency in 1993
-- which, as serendipity would have it, Cartier-Bresson co-founded in 1947.
Some of the images at Towell's Paris show will also be on view for six weeks at
Toronto's Stephen Bulger Gallery, beginning May 14. Winnipeg is party central
this weekend for the Canadian music industry, thanks to its hosting of the Juno
Awards. But some words of advice to 'Peg partiers: Don't let Ben Mulroney near
the CD player or computer. Host of Canadian Idol and eTalk Daily,
Mulroney is in the Manitoba capital to co-host the one-hour pre-awards
red-carpet walk on CTV Sunday evening. Last fall, when a Toronto weekly asked
Gentle Ben to name some of his favourite CDs, these were his three picks: Listen
Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 by George Michael ("Every single song is
worth a listen."); Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears ("I
think they were the greatest band of the '80s, besides U2."); and Clay
Aiken's Measure of a Man ("Just to see if you're paying
attention!") In short, be very afraid if Ben shows up at your Winnipeg
crib and says, "Hey, lemme pick some tunes." The only thing scarier
would be his dad announcing, "I'm playing Michael Bublé's version of
George Michael's Kissing a Fool, and no one's gonna stop me."
Vive
La Difference: Eighth Edition Of Cinéfranco Festival
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - John Terauds, Staff Reporter
(Apr. 1, 2005) The Canadian linguistic divide
comes into clear focus whenever one compares the quantity of French-language
films made in the world every year with the actual number we get to see on our
screens. Remove Audrey Tautou and Denys
Arcand from the equation, and, well, a Torontonian might be forgiven for
thinking that French-language filmmaking is dead and buried. Thank goodness Cinéfranco comes
along at this time every year as a reminder that the world of French talkies is
alive and well here, in Europe and the rest of what is known as "La
Francophonie." Beginning today and
running to April 10 at the Royal Cinema (608 College St.) are screenings of 50
French-language films. The organizers of this eighth edition of the festival
claim that there is an overriding theme of displacement and immigration among
this year's cinematic crop. But an
advance screening of a dozen of this year's offerings showed rather that there
is something for everyone here, from family-themed fare, to wacky comedy, to
commercial crowd-pleasers, to serious art films. The quality is uniformly good,
and there are several memorable efforts on the list. All of the movies carry subtitles. Besides France and Quebec, there are reels from Switzerland,
Luxembourg, Belgium, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Guinea and Vietnam. Among the dozen made-in-France films
screened in advance of the festival, the standout was Le Pont des arts,
a 125-minute feature by American ex-pat director Eugene Green. This is one of those creations that defies
categorization, because any one slot somehow diminishes the whole. This movie
is at once a biting satire of intellectuals and aesthetes, a touching story of
love and loss and a surprisingly deep exploration of the power of music to
change lives. At the core of Le Pont des arts are two twentysomething
heterosexual couples and an evil early-music conductor.
Green has clearly instructed his actors to "act" as little as
possible amid their gorgeously Baroque Parisian interiors and postcard-perfect
streetscapes. The dialogue is stilted and, at times arch, further adding to the
surreal atmosphere on screen. The
exchanges between the characters have a Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona,
The Last days of Disco) film quality about them, with dialogue that
doesn't quite fit into the characters' mouths.
And the satire is delivered with straight faces. One example (among
many, many others) takes place as two friends sit at a sidewalk café. One of
the characters (the gorgeous Adrien Michaux) tells his friend about how he has
recently discovered the poems of Michelangelo:
"Oh, they're very well known, but we don't like him much in France.
The intellectuals hold it against him that he's an artist, the feminists that
he loved a man, and the homos that he was chaste," the friend
replies. Michaux's character: "If
all he has against him are the intellectuals, feminists and homos, then it's
still okay." "You know, in
France, that makes quite a lot of people," responds the friend. The multitude of these short, sharp
exchanges are set in counterpoint with the 17th-century music of Monteverdi and
the growing psychological abuse of a vocal student (a luminous Natacha Régnier)
at the hands of "The Unnameable" conductor (a ghoulish Denis
Podalydès). The characters do not all
meet happy fates, but none is left untouched by the power of music. This is one
of those movies you remember for the rest of your life. It screens Apr. 8 @
4:30 p.m. Other notable films from those
screened include:
25 Degrees in Winter by Belgian
filmmaker Stéphane Vuillet. This is a silly little comedy laid atop the serious
subject of illegal immigrants. Its main attraction is the ever-hilarious Carmen
Maura (a former favourite of Pedro Almodóvar's) as a manipulative Spanish
mother. 90 minutes. It screens today @ noon.
Venus and Fleur by Emmanuel Mouret is
a light drama set near Marseilles, as two young women — one, timid and French,
the other extroverted and Russian — explore life and love during a seaside
holiday. 80 minutes. It screens Sunday @ 9:30 p.m.
The Missing Half by Belgian filmmaker
Benoît Mariage. This haunting tale of a woman coping with the abortion of one
of a set of fraternal twins packs a wallop with minimal dialogue, eccentric
Northern European facial features and much bleak Belgian countryside into a
short, 71-minute running time. It screens Monday @ 10:10 p.m.
Malabar Princess by Gilles Legrand is
a lovely drama about a young boy who is left in the care of his grandfather
(the remarkable, late Jacques Villeret), who lives in the shadow of Mont Blanc
in the French Alps. The story is about the boy's quest for his mother, who had
died several years previously in an Alpine crevasse without her body ever being
found. 94 minutes. It screens on Apr. 7 @ noon.
Viper in the Fist by Philippe de Broca
is a hugely powerful tale of a young boy and his two brothers who are brutally
repressed by their mother — it's Lemony Snicket done straight. The story
transcends the formula by probing deep into the nature of hate and obsession.
An opening scene of the boy watching his ornithologist father (also played by
Jacques Villeret) trap a housefly in a bottle, and then seeing the fly die, is
the movie's driving metaphor. 100 minutes. It screens Apr. 8 and 9 at noon.
Blonde and Brunette by French
filmmaker Christine Dory, is sort of a road trip of the spirit, a light drama
about two former best friends from high school who get back together again
after a couple of decades apart. 59 minutes. It screens Apr. 8 at 11:30 p.m.
One movie that wasn't
previewed, but that shouldn't be missed is Exiles, by Algerian-born
filmmaker Tony Gatlif. This 103-minute drama about two Parisians who set out
for Algeria to explore their families' "pied noir" roots, won him a
best director award at the Cannes film festival last year. It screens Apr. 9 @
6:30 p.m.
No
Lights, No Action In Ontario's Film Biz - Genies Debacle Proof Of Woes
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Martin
Knelman
(Mar. 30, 2005) Just when we thought Wayne Clarkson, the
new executive director of Telefilm Canada, was singing songs we'd heard before,
from old familiar scores, there came a startlingly dramatic moment. The
occasion: Clarkson's homecoming speech yesterday at a Canadian Club lunch at
the Fairmount Royal York Hotel. Turning to Ontario Culture Minister Madeline Meilleur, who was at the head table, Clarkson gently suggested that
Ontario is not doing everything it could to develop its own film talent.
"I encourage Minister Meilleur and her cabinet colleagues to expand their
commitment, to create new development and production funding," said
Clarkson, "not just for made-in-Ontario productions but made-about-Ontario
productions by emerging filmmakers." That drew a round of applause,
perhaps because it reminded veterans in the room of the good old days, when for
one brief, shining moment, Ontario did seem to be developing its own film
identity. Back in the late 1980s, when Clarkson was running the Ontario Film
Development Corp., this province put real dollars into creating its own
boutique of new and distinctively local filmmakers. As a result, it fostered
the careers of Atom Egoyan, Don McKellar, Bruce McDonald and Patricia Rozema.
But when Mike Harris became premier, that was deemed a frill. The OFDC became
the Ontario Media Development Corp. and got out of the business of nurturing
domestic films. Instead, the emphasis became tax credits to entice Hollywood
producers to shoot their projects in Ontario. To tie the fortunes of your film
industry to foreign production is like building your dream house on quicksand.
U.S. producers may flock here one year — and favour somewhere else the next
year. And when they leave, if you haven't built a domestic film culture,
everything crumbles. Last year panic calls went out when Hollywood production
in Ontario tanked in the wake of SARs, the blame-Canada backlash in California,
and the surging loonie. Ontario lured some Hollywood producers back by offering
additional tax incentives, announced late last year. Other Canadian provinces
offered similar improvements. "I ask you to imagine," said Clarkson,
"what could happen if the same provinces competed as vigorously with each
other to increase funding for development and investment in their own local talent
and productions." In his view, it's no accident that in Quebec, movies
produced on this side of the border draw 21 per cent of the box office, while
in Ontario, 2 per cent is considered good. The Quebec government spends $20
million a year on local film and TV production. How much does the Ontario
government spend? Next to nothing.
What Clarkson did not mention: how the absurdity of Canada's feature film
industry turned into a full-scale national embarrassment via the telecast of
the annual Genie awards last week. Most of the nominees were from
French-language films from Quebec, which might have been tolerable if audiences
in the rest of the country had actually seen them. But with the odd exception,
these films had not even been released outside Quebec. Making matters worse:
the francophone winners did absolutely nothing to reach out to English-speaking
Canadians watching the awards show on Citytv, Bravo and CHUM stations across
the country. Ludicrously, it turned out the best Canadian movie of 2004 was
mostly made by Belgians — and released in 2003. To many observers, it seemed
like a disastrous shambles. But astonishingly, producer Marcia Martin gleefully
reports that the show, with her sister Andrea Martin as host, drew an average
per-minute audience of 314,000 — compared to 126,000 last year (the first year
CHUM took over the show) and 123,000 in 2003 on the CBC's main network. Give
CHUM credit for doing an excellent job promoting the Genies. But shouldn't
Clarkson, whose organization provides much of the funding for the Genies, be
pressing for a less embarrassing way to showcase the film industry?
Long-term hopes for this city as a major production centre are pinned on the
state-of-the-art film studio on the eastern waterfront promised by the Toronto
Economic Development Corp (TEDCO), an agency of the city. Dismayingly, nine
months after an announcement that TEDCO had chosen Toronto Film Studios Inc.
over several other applicants to build the super-studio, TFS and TEDCO are
still discussing the complex details and going through the dance known as
"due diligence." In a letter circulated privately to various players
in the film industry, TFS president Ken Ferguson claims TFS is committed to
making this venture work. But he adds, somewhat unnervingly, "You should
not assume this project is dead unless you hear it from me." Ferguson
notes that no level of government is prepared to subsidize the land or pay for
constructions costs. So the Port Lands studio must be economically viable.
"No one in Toronto wants a white elephant," he explains.
Queen
Latifah: Queen Of Her Domain
Excerpt
from The Toronto Star - Geoff
Pevere, Movie Critic
(Mar. 29, 2005) BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.— - Rumour
dies hard on a Hollywood press junket.
Take the nickname story. Some two hours and 11 people before Queen Latifah enters the hotel room where this writer sat around a table
with several others, Beauty Shop director Bille Woodruff claimed that
the movie's producer and star Queen Latifah was the "ultimate
prankster" on set, who made up nicknames "for everybody". The woman representing America's best-known
celebrity weekly pounced immediately. "What was yours?" she
asked. "Um," frowned
Woodruff, thinking. "I don't really remember." And so it went, for two hours and 10 people.
Every time anyone arrived and sat down, they'd be asked what Latifah's nickname
was for them, and they'd come up blank. Djimon Hounsou couldn't remember any
nicknames. Nor could Alicia Silverstone. Neither could Alfre Woodard or Andie
McDowell. Mena Suvari had no idea what hers was. And so it went. Not one
nickname. Finally, the ultimate
prankster herself shows up. "Bille
Woodruff told us you were the ultimate prankster on the set," smiles the
celebrity weekly woman. "And that you made up nicknames for
everybody!" "Nicknames?"
answers Latifah. "I don't remember making up any nicknames." It's a classic movie junket moment,
particularly when the movie being junketed is a movie like Beauty Shop:
An amiable enough star vehicle, set in the beauty shop run by Latifah's Gina
Norris, for the ascendant Queen Latifah (who turned 35 the same weekend as the
junket), the former female rapper ("Wrath of My Madness") turned
mover, shaker, comedy star (Bringing Down the House) and hands-on career
self-manager.
It's not the kind of movie designed to do much more than amuse those predisposed
to this kind of amusement, and it doesn't really leave a whole lot to talk
about. Ergo, the nickname frenzy: It sounded like a welcome hook for an
otherwise straight story. (Another
oft-asked question: "Do you have any hairdressing nightmare
stories?") "I love this
character," says Latifah, who co-produced the movie, about a hairstylist's
struggle to start her own salon, with her partner Shakim Compere. She plays the
same character she played in Barbershop 2, and Beauty Shop is an
undisguised attempt to kickstart a chickside franchise offshoot of the
successful series of Ice Cube movies set in — you guessed it — a barber
shop. "I mean I love Gina
Morris," says Latifah. "She's my mom. She's my hairstylist. She's so
many women I know who have had to raise a child and balance a career. She's an
entrepreneur." The Queen smiles
proudly. "She's me." "I
know the struggle of opening your own business and getting it off the
ground," she adds. "And dealing with financial stresses." "I can relate to this woman like you
have no idea," she adds. "And I think that she's a good character for
you guys to see." Latifah's father
and brother were both cops, and she attended a Catholic girls' high school. After working briefly at a Burger King, she
became one of the first female hip-hop artists to successfully challenge the
form's macho-centric mainstream. Her
transition to movies and TV has been just as successful (she was nominated for
an Oscar for her performance in Chicago), and she's determined not only
to cling to the reins of her career but to act as the kind of role model she
never had when she first crowned herself Queen.
"I just always wanted to have some control over my future," says
Latifah. "I wanted to be part of the decision-making process. I didn't
want people making decisions for me, not including me, and I wake up one day
and I don't know what the hell happened."
Gina's story is Latifah's, and it doesn't require much of a leap of
metaphoric imagination to interpret Gina's determination to escape the repressive
influence of the white, Eurotrash salon owner played by a hilariously prissy
Kevin Bacon, as a thinly disguised dramatization of the Queen's own
career. Occasionally, she fingers the
key she wears around her neck. It's the key to the motorcycle she gave her
brother Lance. She's been wearing it ever since he was killed in an
accident. "Young girls who look up
and say, `She's not a little girl and she's doin' it!'" says Latifah, who
is 5 feet 10 inches tall and proudly unskinny. "`She's makin' it and she's
wearin' it well!''' "They need
that," she adds. "I mean I needed it and I didn't have it. There
weren't too many people out there I could look up to who looked like me. So
somebody now has somebody out there who looks more like them, who can still be
that example of somebody makin' it and doin' the things they love. And, of
course, being romantic, too. Well, shoot." In Beauty Shop's sassy but accommodating world,
everybody's allowed in: black women, white women, large women and small women,
men and children. As long as you respect everyone else and you can take the
teasing, you've got a chair. "I
really think that people have more in common than they do differences,"
Latifah says. "We do have our differences and there's nothing wrong with
that. But on a human level, which is what we tried to show with this movie,
people are people. "I've always
been inviting everybody into the tent," Latifah grins. You can come in. Just don't expect any
nicknames.
Beauty's
In Plain Sight At This Shop
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Geoff
Pevere, Movie Critic
(Mar. 30, 2005) In the ass-affirmative universe of Beauty
Shop, the first chickside spinoff of Ice Cube's successful Barbershop
franchise, there's power and goodness in a big butt. Gina Morris (Queen
Latifah), the entrepreneurial proprietor of the Atlanta salon where the movie
takes place, displays hers with pride. When her daughter answers Gina's
question "Does my butt look big in this?" with an unequivocal
"Yes!," Gina smiles. "Good," she says. The closest thing to
a villain in Beauty Shop — which is not really the kind of movie that
has much room for evil — is Jorge (Kevin Bacon), the prissy Eurotrash owner
whose salon Gina quits to start her own business. And he's got practically no
butt at all. Indeed, if there were a devil in this movie, you can bet he'd be
buttless. There's a scene where the white trailer-trash stylist Lynn (Alicia
Silverstone) finally gains acceptance by the shop's black hairdressers, and it
takes place in a club where Lynn hits the dance floor and shakes booty like
there's no tomorrow. The butt busts all barriers. Later, the movie takes
delight in feeding enough collard greens to Andie McDowell's uppercrust white
trophy wife that she develops a butt almost as big as Latifah's. And when she
shakes it, the women in the shop crow with delight. Having a butt is a sign of
humanity: of earthiness, of passion, of appetite. A big butt is a blessing.
Considerably less raunchy than the Ice Cube movies from which it spins, Beauty
Shop is also considerably more inclusive: As presided over by Latifah's
open-armed single-mom Gina, the shop is a place where everyone's welcome,
everyone's beautiful and everything's tolerated. Except, of course, for
snobbishness, which is usually a trait reserved for white people with
practically no butts. Bacon's passionately envious Jorge tries to sneakily
subvert Gina's attempts at entrepreneurial independence, and so does the
similarly cheekless white city inspector who keeps trying to slap fines on the
fledgling salon. They're obviously threatened, and not just by the competition:
It's also Gina's insistence on opening a shop where everybody gets a chance to
shake it. Deliberately, one supposes, Beauty Shop looks, feels and
unfolds with measured sitcom familiarity, right down to the storming of
characters through the shop's doors and the relentless crossfire of sassy
putdowns. There is much good-natured dissing and teasing, considerable talk of
sex, food and sisterhood, all evolving under the bright light of universal
empowerment — come to think of it, even the movie's resident hubba-hubba male
sex object (Djimon Hounsou) is an electrician: sparks fly in his wake.
Everybody pitches in and almost everybody wins. It's ass or fail.
Rapper's
Life Coming To The Big Screen
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(April 1, 2005) *His life was literally
notorious, but a lot of folks revered him and still do. So it
stands to reason that a film about his life would have serious appeal. Well,
lookout because in the works is a movie about rapper Notorious B.I.G, AKA Biggie Smalls or Biggie. His born name
was Christopher Wallace. The project will be a joint effort by Voletta Wallace, the
late rapper's mother, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and "Training
Day" director Antoine Fuqua. Wayne Barrow, who still handles B.I.G.'s
affairs and manages Mrs. Wallace, said they're in talks with several
studios. Naturally P. Diddy is involved on a creative level and we're
betting he'll get some face time in the production. Cheo Hodari Coker, author
of "Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious
B.I.G.," has be hired to write the screenplay. The film will focus on Biggie the man, son and father, including
little-known tidbits, such as his knack for West Indian cooking. A finished
script is expected by summertime. It's also unknown if it will deal with the
East Coast-West Coast drama that cost him his life as well as Tupac Shakur's.
OK, we know what you're thinking: Who's going to play Biggie? As one could
expect, that will be quite a challenge for the filmmakers.
"It's going to be challenging to cast a B.I.G.," Barrow told MTV.
"We've thrown a few names around, like Big O [actor Waverly W. Alford II]
from '8 Mile.' Maybe Anthony Anderson ... because he has the humour. A few
people said Guerilla Black, but we don't know how that's going to play
out." And what about the other characters? The roles of Lil' Kim, Faith
Evans, Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Sean "P. Diddy-Puffy" Combs will depend
upon the size of their roles in the finished script, Barrow said. In fact, the
artists may even be invited to play themselves, depending on their
availability. The movie could begin filming as early as February 2006.
Alfre
Woodard: Woodard’s World
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com - (March
29, 2005) :
Beauty Shop is certainly a change of pace for film and television
veteran Alfre Woodard. While
the thespian feels as though she’s more than capable of playing any role—here
she tackles the task of portraying a Maya Angelou-quoting, African-garb-sporting,
tarot card-reading, Erykah Badu meets “Synclaire James” of Living
Single-acting earth mother hairdresser—most were shocked to see her take on
a part as over-the-top as this one. I
caught up with Woodard recently at the exquisite Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel
where, in addition to discussing her role as Miss Josephine in Beauty Shop,
she talked about the inability to get good projects green-lighted in Hollywood
and the misconceptions about her as an actress.
Juice: What attracted you to Beauty
Shop?
Alfre: What attracted me was
that they said Queen Latifah asked for me! So I wanted to come and
support her for whatever she was doing. Then I read the role, and I liked
the fact that this woman was spouting Maya Angelou poetry and I said, ‘I’ll do
that!’ I got excited about who this character was. I mean if you
start reciting poetry in a beauty shop, you’ve gotta be a certain type of
person. I mean, she isn’t a Hunter College graduate trying to make a
point; she’s just into everything creative. I decided that Miss Josephine
is from the country, and she is self-taught, self-made and getting to Atlanta
is her big dream. She is excited about everything from the
Motherland. Anything she sees, she embraces it and makes it her
own.
Juice: Do you see your
character in Beauty Shop as an older, more mature version of Loretta,
the character you played in Down in the Delta?
Alfre: It’s interesting, I
would say that there’s a freedom there that Loretta had, but I think that Miss
Josephine is a type of new age goddess. I think Loretta is much too
self-centred and selfish. Even if you love her, she’s like a teenager,
and it’s all about her.
Juice: Do you recognize that
there is a signature Alfre Woodard role as the strong black woman?
Alfre: Well, that’s somebody
else’s perspective I suppose. I play entirely different women, and I
always have. You get asked to do things in a certain vein, but as an
actress, I find a way to do them whether I’m on stage or in film. Even
when I do dramatic television, before I get to the heart of the matter, I look
for the humour attached.
Juice: Didn’t your mother own a
beauty shop?
Alfre: You know that’s kind of
true. I kind of mentioned something about that a while back. My
father made a place above our garage, and my mother did her friend’s hair
there, but she did not own a beauty shop. I got sent to the beauty shop
like after age eight. I didn’t grow up in a beauty shop, however I’ve
been in a beauty shop all of my life. I’ve been to beauty shops in
Australia, South Africa, the South of France and London. Wherever you go,
you look for the nearest church of your denomination and the beauty shop!
Juice: What do you think about
the current success of blacks in Hollywood, both at the box office and with
accolades?
Alfre: You know, there are many
of us that work hard everyday in Hollywood. Working, trying to pull
together projects. I’ve been doing it for the past 15 years. I
can’t get no money, darling. I can’t get funding for anything. You
hear people say those black movies are coming out but those people, recording
artists and rappers, can get the money to make a film. So, they’ll talk
to them, but they won’t talk to us. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it
is. I mean, even Sidney Poitier has had some great ideas for films, but
could not get the money to make them. I’m saying this because everybody
should know; we’re not sitting around doing nothing. You think you have
five projects lined up and four of them fall out, and then you’re told you
should get someone like Alicia Keys to be in it. You respond back, ‘This
script doesn’t have anybody to be singing in it,’ and you’re told it doesn’t
matter. It’s not just me but a lot of us who are working really hard to
bring stories to the big screen; we just haven’t been able to get the
money. And the ‘no’s’ are just not coming from the studios. I go to
people with money and get told ‘no.’ I don’t have money to do it. I
go to people of all colours, not just black people with money. They just
won’t give up the money.
Juice: What about people like
Queen Latifah? She certainly has the money to get a film bank- rolled.
Alfre: Latifah’s got her own
projects that she wants to do. I was sitting with the other ladies at
lunch, and I don’t know how they’re going to kick start a career. I mean,
these are trained actresses and they’re wonderful, but they can’t get a lead in
a film now. I mean, anybody over age 30 can’t get the parts. It has
to be a rapper or a popular singer in the lead. They’re the ones who are
getting the roles. The trained actors are lucky if they get to play the
best friend. And, we’re losing a whole generation of actors because they
can’t get the roles.
Juice: Well, what’s next for
you?
Alfre: I will be in a movie
called 42.4 Percent, and you will not hear that title because they’re
working on getting it changed. But the premise is based on a statistic
that says 42.4 percent of black women will never get married, and if you’re
educated or professional, it goes up even higher. It’s an interracial,
romantic comedy with Sanaa Lathan and Simon Baker.
Alba Turns Up The Heat Hot On The Heels Of This Week's Sin City
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By Bob Strauss
(Mar. 30, 2005) LOS ANGELES — Blond or brunette, underclad or invisible, Jessica Alba makes iconic poses look
easy. They're not, the 23-year-old
actress claims. But with three eye-popping movies due out this year, the young
woman formerly known for TV's Dark Angel accepts that looking good is a
necessary tradeoff for doing what she really wants to do. There are worse
problems to have. "It's just a way to sell a movie," Alba says of
such promotional images as herself in cowboy hat, leather bra and chaps (for Sin City, opening this week), skintight
spandex action suit (Fantastic Four, this summer) and Bahama-mama bikini
(Into the Blue, also summer). "It has nothing to do with when I'm
on the set, doing the work that I love to do. "It's very separate. I feel
like I actually get paid to sell a movie and I don't really get paid to act.
It's much harder to sit at a photo shoot in a bathing suit than it is to
communicate and be honest and pure and in the moment, which is what I hope to
get out of any experience." Even out of camera range and demurely dressed
in a co-ordinated, café-au-lait turtleneck and full, pleated skirt, Alba looks
extraordinary. And there have been those show-biz romances. She was engaged for
a time to Dark Angel co-star Michael Weatherly and is currently dating a
behind-the-scener she met while making Fantastic Four.
But there is something to the serious-actress rhetoric. Alba has studied with
David Mamet and William H. Macy. And although her career has been built on
fan-boy fantasies, at least they're astute, challenging ones. Dark Angel,
in which she played the very combative, genetically enhanced future warrior Max
Guevara, was created by no less a mogul than James Cameron. Fantastic Four's
Sue Storm the Invisible Woman was the first Marvel Comics heroine in the
storied company's flagship title. As for Sin City, well, comic-book
movies just don't get any cooler. A noirish fever dream presented mostly in
digitized black-and-white, the film was co-directed by the comic's creator,
Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), and Robert Rodriguez,
the rebel filmmaker whose work ranges from over-the-top shoot-'em-ups (Desperado,
Once Upon a Time in Mexico) to quirky family action comedies (Spy
Kids and its sequels). A compilation of stories from three of Miller's
graphic novels, Sin City is packed with brutal bad guys and very
dangerous dames. It says something about the tone of the picture that Alba's
Nancy Callahan, who does a cowgirl routine in a seedy strip bar, is the most
innocent character in the movie. Still, Rodriguez knew what he was hiring Alba
to do. And he felt a little guilty about it.
"I first met Jessica when she came and read for The Faculty,"
he recalls. "She was 16 or 17 and looked kinda dorky, skinny and scrawny.
I was really looking at her because there were very few Latin actresses, and
from then on I was watching her, really hoping that she would be around for
another movie. "It's almost like that feeling of, I remember when she was
just a little girl. And now I'm filming her like this," Rodriguez says,
holding an imaginary camera at arms length, with his face aimed in the opposite
direction, eyes shut tight. For research, Alba checked out strip clubs in
several cities. But the real actress in her also sought less predictable
inspiration. "The dance moves, I just listened to a lot of Ry Cooder and
Emmylou Harris," says the surprise country fan, whose biggest movie hit
has been the hip-hop romance Honey. "That's what I felt she was
dancing to, something really sad and slow that had the emotions of these people
in this bar. That's sort of where I was coming from . . . sadness mixed with a
disconnect. "And too, just for rhythm," Alba adds, "because
Robert needed slow- and fast-paced dances, I listened to a Kylie Minogue song
that lots of strippers liked to use." Sin City was shot almost
entirely against blank screens on which sets and environments were digitally
added later. In what you might expect to be the movie's key challenge, actors
had to pretend they were in dungeons or snowstorms that they never saw until
they watched the finished film.
But it was old hat to Alba. "The only training I ever had was in David
Mamet's Atlantic Theater Company, and all I did was go on these little stages
and imagine things," she says. "But they were in small rooms. The
difference is, I think, with Robert it gets very specific and he fine-tuned
your performance. So it was a marriage of film and theatre, I felt." Fantastic
Four was in some ways the opposite. The title superheroes are a quartet of
scientists who, after getting zapped with cosmic rays, develop powers --
specific to their personalities -- that they have a tough time learning to
control. Thus Alba's Sue Storm, in love with group leader Reed Richards (Ioan
Gruffudd), who doesn't really notice her, tends to physically disappear during
times of stress or frustration. "All of our abilities are grounded in our
characters, and that's why I wanted to do it," Alba says. While these pop
fantasy movies aren't exactly Greek tragedy, Alba does see some classic sense
in them. "I don't know if there were so many of these roles 15 years ago,
because we didn't have the technology that we have now to create these
fantastical worlds," she says. "It's just a modern take on Greek
mythology, something that humans have been fascinated with since the beginning
of time." Modern technology also enables comic-book purists to complain
about the casting of their favourite characters on the Internet.
"Didn't they have resistance to Tobey Maguire playing Spider-Man and Hugh
Jackman playing Wolverine?" Alba says. "They don't like anything
until they see it." But some complaints about the half-Hispanic actress
playing white-bread Sue Storm have a different tone. "I guess everyone
believes that race is something we talk about, but it isn't," Alba says
with a shrug. "I'm half Mexican-American and half Caucasian, and I have
blue eyes and blond hair in the movie, wear contacts and whatever. We recreated
it exactly." An Air Force brat, Alba lived in various parts of the United
States before her family settled in Southern California. She began her career
at the age of 12, and although she admits that she faced her share of
stereotyping, the kid actress landed a healthy variety of film, commercial and
television work. That's where she learned to scuba dive, a passion that made
this year's third movie release feel like a paid water-sports vacation.
"It was fun," she says of Into the Blue, which spices up its
tanned-flesh basics with some cocaine-smuggling intrigue "I play a shark
wrangler and I'm terrified of sharks, so I got to play a character against
type. I've made an effort since Dark Angel to never play the same
character twice. And this character Sam has moved to the Bahamas, lives a very
simple life in a trailer, and just wants to study sharks and live with her
boyfriend and just be at peace." Great work if you can get it. Like making
movies, regardless of all the side issues that come with the job. "If you
kind of keep yourself open to things happening, they'll happen," the busy
actress says. "I've been really focused since I started acting at 12,
believe it or not. I just this year sort of relaxed and began to think, okay, I
think I'll get another job. So I've been really hustling and really fighting
and really struggling and trying to get people not to put me in one box or
another and to not say, 'Oh, she's a Latina actress,' 'She's a white actress,'
'She's a this actress,' 'She's a that actress,' and just be an actress that's a
chameleon. Now, I feel like I've done that to a degree."
Alba
There, And Everywhere
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(April 1, 2005) *Jessica
Alba, who stars as a stripper in the new film “Sin City,” told the
Associated Press that she is more focused on her craft. Perhaps it’s because of
the superstar cast in the film, including Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Toro, and
Mickey Rourke. Alba
is also starring in the film “Into the Blue,” which she filmed in the Bahamas
for 4 months. Who wouldn’t focus on that? Next up for the young starlet is the
summer flick “Fantastic Four” where she continues her comic book roles by
playing Susan Story/The Invisible
Woman.
Alba’s career took off in the sci-fi superhero role of Dark Angel for
the TV series of that title. But even as a superhero taking on the weight of
the world, Alba says one thing she can’t really take is Hollywood, the city of,
that is. “I can't really be in L.A. for more than three months. ... It's a
silly place. Imagine walking around in Us magazine and "Entertainment
Tonight" and "Access Hollywood." Literally the whole town is a
tabloid," Alba laments. "At every restaurant, every hotel, everywhere
you go, people are looking at the door to see who walked in. It seems like no
one is ever satisfied with their jobs or their lives, everyone is always sort
of manoeuvring for something else, something better. But the weather is
F----ing beautiful."
Ray Producers Plan Jackie Robinson Biopic
Source: Associated Press -
By David Germain
(Mar. 30, 2005) LOS ANGELES -- The makers of the Ray
Charles film Ray
are taking on another story about breaking racial barriers. Baldwin
Entertainment Group is producing a film biography of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, with an assist from Robert
Redford, whose Wildwood Enterprises will co-produce. Redford, who starred in
the 1984 baseball flick The Natural, also will play Brooklyn Dodgers
general manager Branch Rickey, who signed Robinson as the first black player in
major-league baseball. "This will be our next Ray," said producer
Howard Baldwin, whose film on Charles earned Jamie Foxx the best-actor Academy
Award. "This is one of the most important stories, not just in sports, but
in our history," Baldwin told The Associated Press. Robinson himself
starred in 1950's The Jackie Robinson Story. A fresh big-screen take on
Robinson's triumphant career would be good public relations for baseball, now
mired in a steroids scandal, Baldwin said.
Robinson's tenacity in the face of bigotry and scorn from fans after he was
signed in 1947 also would serve as a lesson to today's petulant athletes, said
Baldwin. "See what Jackie Robinson went through," Baldwin said.
"You just have to say, how did this man have enough poise and
sophistication and the courage to realize that for the good of mankind, for the
good of his race, he had to succeed. And he didn't just succeed. He was a
great, great baseball player." The filmmakers said they will be working
closely with executives in major-league baseball and that the project has the
blessing of Robinson's widow, Rachel, and Branch Rickey Jr., son of the
Dodgers' general manager. Baldwin said he hoped production would begin early
next year, with the film coming out in late 2006 or early 2007. Kirk Ellis,
whose credits include scripts for the TV movies Anne Frank and The
Beach Boys: An American Family, is writing the screenplay. Other than
Redford, no actors have been cast. Once a script is in hand, Baldwin said he
would hope to gauge Ray star Foxx's interest. "At the appropriate
time, we'd be nuts not to want to talk to Jamie," Baldwin said.
Meet
Sherri Shepherd
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com - By Mr. Jawn Murray
(Apr.
5, 2005) Have you ever seen Less Than Perfect? A
lot of black folks haven’t. But it wouldn’t be the first sitcom that
actress-comedienne Sherri Shepherd
starred in (Emeril, Suddenly Susan, Everybody Loves Raymond)
that didn’t appeal to African-American audiences. But things are
certainly about to change for Shepherd, whose hilarious turn in Beauty Shop
and her brief role in Guess Who has black folks from Harlem to Compton
taking note. If you didn’t know Shepherd before, it’s about time you did.
Juice: Finally a project that
appeals to the African-American demographic.
Sherri: I know, I keep saying
I’m the black girl in the white sitcoms. To do a film with a lot of black
women was so wonderful for me because I’m usually the only black woman on the
set. When I booked this project, and I walked into the beauty shop and Golden
[Brooks] and Keshia [Knight Pulliam] were there, and
then Queen Latifah walked in and to fellowship with these amazing people
like Alicia [Silverstone] and Andie [MacDowell]; I
just had so much fun. I’m hoping that more people recognize me, because a
lot of people don’t know that I exist. But it’ll be nice for a lot more
people to see my work, so I’m excited. And to be on screen with these
amazing people, it’s a blessing!
Juice: Do you try to hold back
on the jokes between takes when working with a serious thespian like Alfre
Woodard? Or is she cracking jokes and cutting up like the rest of
you?
Sherri: Alfre came out of her
shell with the improvisation. We would do that and she would start
laughing and then she would start doing things like say ‘go back to Buckhead
Becky; I’ll throw this Jesus card on you.’ We just like making her
laugh. Especially me! I’d be like, ‘Mrs. Woodward, Mrs. Woodward,
can you give me some acting tips?’ She’s like, ‘Girl, just read the
script!’ To see her crack up was so much fun.
Juice: I heard a lot of your
character’s dialogue was improvisation as well. Is that true?
Sherri: My character was the
last one to be cast. It was an improv audition. Billy [Woodruff]
just had it in his head that there was a pregnant woman who did hair well, and
she loved the Lord. I said to my agent, ‘I can do this, I’m telling
you!’ So a lot of my improv lines made it into the script and I’m going
Billy, ‘Can I have some camera time please?’ I just do little things, and
then he let it roll and we’d have fun.
Juice: And now you’re actually
pregnant in real life!
Sherri: Yes, I’ll be having a
baby boy in August.
Juice: Congratulations!
Sherri: Thank you.
Juice: What’s next for you
besides motherhood?
Sherri: I have a little role in
Guess Who with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, and my ABC
show Less Than Perfect hopefully will come back in the fall.
To learn more about Shepherd, and to get a copy of her comedy CD, No Refund,
No Exchange, visit her online at www.sherrishepherd.com.
Washington Will Re-Team With Spike For Next Movie Role
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com
(Apr.
6, 2005) *Denzel
may not be the top of the pops on Broadway right now, thanks to some less than
stellar critiques of his current performance in “Julius Caesar” (EUR 04-05),
but the famed actor did announce that he is teaming with Spike Lee yet again for his next
big screen gig. You might remember that he hooked up with the controversial
director for “Mo Better Blues,” “Malcolm X,” and “He Got Game.” According to
reports from BlackFilm.com, during an after party for the opening of “Julius
Caesar,” the Academy Award-winning Washington revealed that his next film would
be a Spike Lee joint. Lee, who attended the opening, said that the film, called
“Inside Man,” will be “something different for Denzel and me.” Lensing on the film, about a tough cop
taking on a smart bank robber, begins as soon as Washington completes his stage
stint.
::TV NEWS::
Kojak
In Black
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Mar. 27, 2005) The lollipop passes from Telly Savalas to Ving Rhames for new USA series premiering
tonight. *He’s still bald, he still sucks on lollipops and he’s one
New York cop not to be messed with – but tonight at 9 p.m. on USA, Lt. Theo
Kojak is black. Who loves ya, bayyee-behhh? Those old enough to
remember when Telly Savalas donned the character’s fedora (from 1973-1978) may
have to fight the urge to compare the portrayal to Rhames’ artistic
approach. “It’s almost like when
different actors play Hamlet - like Kenneth Branaugh played Hamlet, Mel Gibson,
Lawrence Olivier - the setting is similar, it’s a New York police station, but
each actor brings their own unique quality,” says Rhames. “I think something
that I have to bring to the table - me growing up as ‘part of the oppressed
group’ as a black man in America, and in Harlem where one out of every three
black men grew up in poverty, wind up in jail or dead by age 35 - I bring a
different perspective to life, and how the police officers were in my
neighbourhood.” One of the more attractive aspects of the role for Rhames was
the opportunity to explore the human side of “Kojak”; the personality of the
man when the badge and gun are on the dresser. “My wife was a homicide
detective and LAPD officer, and I witnessed what she went through when she took
off her uniform,” says Rhames. “And I don’t see that with any show on
television.”
As much as Rhames would like folks to see past “race, colour and creed” when
judging this 2005 model Kojak, questions are sure to arise about a brother
playing a character of decidedly Greek origin. "Kojak, huh?" a perp
says in tonight’s two-hour premiere. "No offence, but what kind of name is
that for a fine, handsome Nubian prince like yourself?" While we’ll save his response for tonight,
the issue is one that frustrates Rhames to no end. In fact, when a journalist asked
how the show would deal with the character’s Greek last name during a press
conference announcing the show last January, the actor became visibly
upset. Explaining his reaction before
the media that day, he told us, “First of all, I had to explain to people that
Kojak, the word origin of the name is not Greek. Telly Savalas was Greek.
Kojak is not a Greek name. I believe it’s Polish. Then I had to say, when
Pierce Brosnan plays James Bond, when Sean Connery plays James Bond, does
anyone say, ‘Well Sean Connery is Scottish, why is he playing a character named
James Bond?’ You see? No one says that.” Rhames’ Kojak has been the lieutenant
of an NYPD detective bureau for six years when we are introduced to him
tonight. While he has earned the full respect of his squad, Kojak’s higher-ups
take issue with his controversial tactics. His best friend Frank McNeil (Chazz
Palminteri) is promoted to captain and will find himself having to act as a
buffer between Kojak’s unique way of getting suspects to talk, and the
frustration it causes with city officials. Kojak’s love interest – in keeping with Hollywood’s black
male/Latina female thing – is Assistant District Attorney Carmen Warrick,
played by Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sanchez. Rhames notes the race of Sanchez,
as well as Palminteri’s Italian heritage as a proud nod to USA’s colour-blind
casting for the project. “When I
look at myself as an actor, I think, ‘I’m trying to teach my children to look
beyond colour,’” says Rhames. “My focus as an artist is to try to say, ‘Let me
not bring myself down to the denominator of race, creed, colour, what have
you.’ I try to say, ‘This character is a man, and this is what this man
represents.’” Rhames is also an
executive producer on the series that debuts with a two-hour movie at 9 p.m.
tonight and moves to its regular time slot at 10 p.m. EST Sunday.
Rev
Run Gets Reality Show On MTV
Excerpt from www.allhiphop.com - By Nolan Strong
(Mar. 23, 2005) Russell Simmons and
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
have teamed up to executive produce a reality show titled "Run's
House," based on the life of Run-DMC group member Reverend Joseph “Run” Simmons. "I had a
green light at ABC Family to do a show about a black family that's
functional," Reverend Run told AllHipHop.com. "The father is a
Reverend and a rapper and he has five children. Out of nowhere, Puffy calls me
and says he has an idea. He didn’t know that I had a green light at ABC Family.
Puff says 'I want to do a Rev Run reality show on MTV.' I said 'Well I am
singing with tomorrow ABC Family tomorrow. He said 'That's small fries. I am
going to take Rev Run and put him on MTV. I will produce it with Russell,
whatever it takes. You are our Frank Sinatra and you are what we need.’ I said
'OK, make me look good and show it all in a positive light.’" “Run’s
House," taken from Run-DMC’s 1988 hit of the same name, will reveal the
family life of Run, who helped spread Hip-Hop around the globe as a member of
legendary group Run-DMC. Combs compared
Run’s family life to that of the characters on “The Cosby Show,” the middle of
the road hit series developed by veteran comedian, Bill Cosby. The pilot is part of a first look production
agreement that Sean Combs has entered into with MTV. "This is where
rappers go when they grow up, we have kids and we have families,” Run
continued. “We’ve been filming it for quite awhile. Puff's very excited and so
is MTV.”
MTV Networks Music Group Entertainment President Brian Graden told Variety that
Combs has a long history with MTV through videos, award shows, guest
appearances and his current TV programming on the network, that a formal
relationship made sense. “Sean very much wants to be a producer, and we want to
be in business with him as he begins to establish and express himself in that
arena," Graden told Variety. In
addition to the “Making the Band 3” and “Borrow My Crew” shows that Combs is
producing for MTV, he will also develop a special called “The Show,” which will
take viewers behind the scenes at the launch of the Sean John women’s clothing
line in September.
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network To Replace Subtitles With
Dubbing
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
By
Sarah Efron
(Mar. 29, 2005) Inuit film and television productions are going to end up
sounding like badly dubbed kung-fu movies. That's the fear of Zacharias Kunuk,
director of the 2001 film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), which was shot entirely
in the Inuit language, Inuktitut, and was shown around the world with subtitles.
Kunuk is joining other filmmakers and politicians in Nunavut to speak out
against the Aboriginal Peoples Television
Network's new policy of asking producers to dub their programming
into other languages instead of subtitling them. "We've been producing films
for 15 years and we've never had any trouble producing in Inuktitut,"
Kunuk says. "Now it's the one TV network that belongs to us aboriginal
people of Canada that's giving us a problem. It feels like we're moving
backwards." Kunuk spoke at an emotionally charged public consultation last
month in Iqaluit, Nunavut, that was organized by the Aboriginal Peoples
Television Network (APTN). Inuit elders and film and video producers voiced
concerns that the network's move to dub aboriginal-language programming into
French and English could damage the territory's fledgling TV and film industry
and roll back efforts to promote Inuktitut. However, APTN's CEO Jean LaRose, a
member of the Odanak First Nation in Quebec, says the new policy will have
exactly the opposite effect: It will promote the use of aboriginal languages
across Canada. The issue flared up after APTN sent out a request for proposals
asking for new dramas, children's shows and series to be dubbed into more than
one language: For example, an Inuktitut drama would be dubbed into English and
French, while a French series would be dubbed into English and Inuktitut. LaRose says the move prepares them for the
transition to HDTV, which can carry four tracks of Secondary Audio Programming,
allowing the viewer to select which language they want to listen to. He says
this will allow the network to reach more viewers and generate additional
revenue. But film and video producers who make programming in Inuktitut have
reacted with anger, engaging in a public e-mail debate with LaRose.
John Houston, president of Ajjiit, the Nunavut Media Association, an advocacy
group for the territory's film and television industry, feels dubbing will
reduce the quality of their productions. Houston is a non-aboriginal filmmaker
who is fluent in Inuktitut, and his APTN-funded programs feature elders
speaking their own language with English subtitles. "When you watch an
elder speaking Inuktitut, you might not understand a word he's saying, but a
lot more is transmitted than just straight content," Houston says.
"You hear the elder pausing. You hear the earnestness in his voice. Taking
away an elder's voice and replacing it with an English voice feels like an
insult to me. It feels wrong." Feature films like Atanarjuat aren't
currently eligible for funding from APTN, but Houston mentions it as an example
of an Inuktitut film that reached a wide audience while using subtitles.
Houston says if people had the option of listening to an English dub, many
would never hear the beauty of the Inuktitut language. He's also concerned that
if APTN programming is available in English at the press of a button, young
Inuit might not listen in Inuktitut. Nunavut's minister of Culture, Language,
Elders and Youth, Louis Tapardjuk, recently sent a letter to APTN expressing
his concern. "Speakers of aboriginal languages right across Canada are
struggling for the very survival of their mother tongues and film and
television are very powerful tools to reach out to young people and spark an
interest in their language," Tapardjuk says. "When producers are
encouraged to provide programming with dubbing in English or French, it
undermines our efforts in Nunuvut to promote Inuktitut." Almost all of
APTN's aboriginal-language programming is currently in Inuktitut, and LaRose
says dubbing will help the network diversify its content. "I know that in
the North right now, there is a great concern about the rapid loss of the
Inuktitut language," LaRose says. "I can understand their concerns,
but at the same time I have to look at the national mandate of the network,
which is to program in as many aboriginal languages as we can and give every
language an opportunity to be heard. There's been a strong reaction of fear,
but we are not trying to take anything away from the Inuit, we're just trying
to give other groups the same opportunity to hear their own stories."
LaRose says APTN's policies are flexible and he's not closing the door to
subtitled programming. "It's not our preference because we'd rather have
dubbed versions we can use with the Secondary Audio Programming. However, if a
producer says they're doing a documentary with elders and they are adamant that
they don't want other voices speaking for them, we'll still work with the
producer and come to an agreement."
However, LaRose says subtitled programming may be broadcast only on APTN's
northern feed and producers will receive lower licence fees, as they won't have
the additional cost of dubbing. His comments haven't been much of an assurance
to Northern filmmakers, who fear losing their national exposure and wonder if
they'll end up with smaller budgets. Some worry that by insisting on using
subtitles, their proposals simply won't be approved. And producers like John
Houston feel they don't have any time to waste, as they're documenting the last
living elders who grew up on the land. LaRose, who is still crossing the
country doing public consultations, hopes the emotional debate will die down as
people get more information. He says the expectations for the aboriginal broadcaster
are extremely high, and everywhere he goes, native people all want the same
thing: to see more of their own culture on the TV screen.
Canadian
Television Viewers Are Spending
Excerpt from The
Globe and Mail - By Terry Weber
(Mar. 31, 2005) Canadian television viewers are spending more time on the
headlines and less time on the sidelines, a new Statistics Canada survey
suggested Thursday. According to the government
agency, TV watchers in this country saying they are spending an increasing
amount time taking in news and current affairs programs, but less on sports
programming. The survey looked at viewing habits in the fall of 2003 and
compared them with patterns reported in 1998. The findings suggested that, in
total, Canadians spent about 38 per cent of their time watching news and public
affairs shows on conventional television, up from 33 per cent in the comparison
period. Similarly, they spent about 15 per cent of their time watching comparable
programming on pay and specialty channels, up from 11 per cent six years
earlier. However, when it comes to sports, the figures turned the other way.
Statscan said viewers spent about 6 per cent of their conventional-television
viewing time on sports programming in 2003, down from 8 per cent in 1998.
Viewers said they devoted about 14 per cent of their viewing time watching
sports, versus 19 per cent in the comparison period. Total viewing time has
remained relatively unchanged, with Canadians devoting about 22 hours a week to
the tube. That figure masks, however, a decline in viewing by young Canadians,
which was offset by an increase in hours spent watching television by older
viewers. In 2003, men aged 18 to 24 spent an average of 11.1 hours a week watching
TV, down from 14.3 hours in 1998. Young women in the same age bracket watched
15.5 hours a week on average in the most recent period, down from 17.6 hours.
“The pattern was the same for teens and children,” Statscan said.
Declining hours in front of the television, the agency said, corresponded with
an increase in other activities. For example, Statscan said Internet usage by
households with members under 18 grew to 73 per cent in 2003, from 41 per cent
in 1999. Overall, the report said, Canadians spent most of their viewing time
on drama. On specialty and pay channels, Canadian dramas made in roads. In
2003, homegrown dramatic shows held an 8.5 per cent share of programming on
those channels, compared with 6.4 per cent in 1998. The report also suggested
that viewership for foreign dramas waned over the six-year spread. According to
Thursday's figures, viewing time for foreign drama fell to 20.1 per cent in
2003, from 22.9 per cent in 1998. Viewing time devoted to foreign dramas hit a
high of 23 per cent in 1999, but has been declining ever since, Statscan said.
“Anglophones' viewing time of foreign drama fell from 25.7 per cent in 1998 to
22.6 per cent in 2003,” Statscan said. “Francophones, with much less viewing
time for foreign drama overall, remained stable at around 15 per cent for most
of the period, dropping to 14.3 per cent in 2003.” Anglophones also spent about
twice as much time as francophones watching foreign comedies, while
francophones spent about seven times as much time as anglophones watching
Canadian comedy in 2003, the report said.
TV Anchor Peter Jennings Has
Lung Cancer
Source: Associated Press, David Bauder
(Apr. 6, 2005) NEW YORK—His emergence as the last of the three U.S.
evening anchors from the '80s is less than a month old. Now a battle against
serious illness will put Peter
Jennings's steady, day-to-day presence in doubt. The Toronto-born anchor's future suddenly seemed uncertain with
his announcement yesterday that he has lung cancer. Jennings, who received the
diagnosis a day earlier, plans to continue on ABC's World News Tonight —
as much as he can — after beginning chemotherapy next week. Elizabeth Vargas filled in as anchor
yesterday, but Jennings taped a message to viewers about his illness. "I will continue to do the
broadcast," he said. "On good days, my voice will not always be like
this. Certainly, it's been a long time. And I hope it goes without saying that
a journalist who doesn't value — deeply — the audience's loyalty should be in
another line of work.'' A former
smoker, who quit 20 years ago but relapsed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks,
the 66-year-old anchor was too ill to work Saturday during the network's
special report on Pope John Paul II's death. He hasn't been feeling well the
past few months, and didn't travel under doctor's orders after December's
tsunami. He did go to Iraq in January for the elections. Jennings said he was surprised at how fast
the news travelled and at the many kindnesses he had received.
"Finally," he said, "I wonder if other men and women ask their
doctors right away: `OK, doc, when does the hair go?''' Lung cancer is the leading U.S. cancer
killer and roughly four out of five people diagnosed die within five years,
said Dr. Cliff Connery, chief of thoracic surgery at St. Luke's-Roosevelt
Hospital in Manhattan. A Torontonian,
who proudly became a U.S. citizen in 2003, the urbane Jennings dominated the
ratings from the late 1980s to the mid-'90s, when NBC's Tom Brokaw surpassed him.
Jasmine
Guy Honoured For Aids Work
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
28, 2005)
*Jasmine Guy, who shot to fame
as Southern belle Whitley Gilbert on “The Cosby Show” and its spinoff “A
Different World,” will receive the Women At Risk “Angel Tribute Award” during
the Women At Risk 7th Annual Gospel Brunch Fundraiser, to be held at the House
of Blues in West Hollywood on May 22 at 1 p.m. “As a woman and a mother, I feel a very strong obligation to do
what I can to bring as much awareness to the plight of women and the growing
rate of infection we face,” said Guy. “And with women of colour facing epidemic
infection rates, I can’t just sit by and do nothing. I am proud to be connected
with an organization like Women At Risk and feel very humbled by this
honour.” Guy was recently
nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her first ever non-fiction literary
work, "Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary." A private VIP champagne reception and
silent auction will begin at noon in the HOB Foundation Room. Ticket prices are
$65.00, $85.00 and $150.00 which include the VIP reception and silent auction.
To purchase tickets or for additional information, please call (310) 204-1046
or visit www.womenatrisk.org.
::THEATRE NEWS::
Extended
Da Kink Plays Till April 24
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard
Ouzounian, Theatre Critic
(Mar. 28, 2005) Looks like Toronto can't get Da Kink out of its hair and Oprah just might be sharing that
feeling. Mirvish Productions is
expected to announce today that Trey Anthony's Da Kink in My Hair will
be held over at the Princess of Wales Theatre for a third and final time,
running till April 24. In addition , Oprah Winfrey and Louis Gossett Jr. are
just two of the high-profile personalities interested in the future life of
this wildly successful saga of black female empowerment, set in a Toronto
hairstyling salon. Winfrey sent her
representatives to Toronto on Friday to catch a performance and they will
determine shortly whether excerpts from the hit might appear on Winfrey's
wildly popular syndicated television program.
The superstar might also want to produce a film or TV version of the
property, or perhaps bring it to the stage in Chicago, where her show is based. Gossett, who is up here filming Left
Behind: World War III has been to Da Kink on three times and is also
reportedly interested in developing its multimedia possibilities. From across the Atlantic, producers from the
Hackney Empire Theatre in East London flew in this past weekend to catch the
show. This recently restored 100-year-old
music hall in the heart of city's Caribbean community would be a perfect venue
for Anthony's work. All of this is
pretty heady stuff for a piece that began as a simple production at the Toronto
Fringe in 2001. Subsequent revivals at Harbourfront (2002) and Theatre Passe
Muraille (2003) proved it was a favourite with audiences, but even its
strongest supporters wouldn't have anticipated how well it's done at the
Princess of Wales Theatre.
Since opening on Jan. 18 to mixed reviews, it has played 83 performances and
has been seen by 80,000 people (97 per cent of capacity) with a box office
gross exceeding $3 million. By the end
of the Toronto run, Da Kink is expected to have been seen by more than
100,000 people. John Karastamatis,
director of communications for Mirvish Productions, estimates that in recent
weeks, the audience has been at least three-quarters black and heavily
female. The show will be on hiatus
through April 5, due to the prior commitments of some cast members. It will resume on April 6 and run though
April 24. It must close at the Princess of Wales on that date due to the
incoming touring production of Evita, which starts performances on April
27. After that, who knows? If the
demand continues to be strong, maybe this particular Hair will continue
to grow in a different location.
Feore Makes Broadway Splash With Denzel
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By Simon Houpt
(Apr. 2, 2005) NEW YORK -- You can always tell an out-of-towner in New York.
They're the ones whose heads are tilted at an awkward upward angle, gawking at
the skyscrapers and theatre marquees as they wander listlessly around town.
Which is a shame, because if only they'd look down once in a while, they might
spot something worth bragging about back home. The other morning on West 44th
Street, a couple of high-school students gazed at the marquee of the Belasco
Theatre, where Denzel Washington's
name is up in lights to promote his star turn as Brutus in Julius Caesar, which opens tomorrow night.
Less than a stone's throw away, his co-star Colm
Feore sat on the stoop next to Café Un Deux Trois, unmolested by any
public attention at all. Feore's outfit was an effective if unintentional
disguise, sure to throw off even rabid fans of his role in last year's sci-fi
extravaganza, The Chronicles of Riddick. He carried a knapsack and wore
a brown watch cap, dark windbreaker and jeans, and he fiddled with a classic
Roloflex camera, looking more like an old-style paparazzo than someone who
spends his life on the other side of the lens. So autograph hounds tend to pass
him by. But when it came time to leverage a little below-the-radar fame to ease
his way into the café 30 minutes before it opened, Feore proved to be an old
pro. The maitre d' showed him to a choice table and added solicitously,
"This is the Celebrity Interview Corner." Feore seemed to appreciate
the whiff of irony that hung over the remark. For if he is a celebrity of sorts
back in Canada -- or at least Stratford, Ont., where he played 14 seasons at
the Stratford Festival and still lives with his wife Donna and three children
-- he is little known in New York. The production of Caesar came
together very quickly last fall, when a film of Washington's was suddenly
cancelled and he found himself with some extra time on his hands: He strolled
into the role of Brutus by virtue of his status as a movie star. And what of
Feore, 46, whose résumé boasts more classical theatre than 99 per cent of the
other actors in town?
He auditioned, flying down last December for a 15-minute appearance in front of
the director. Having already played Cassius about 15 years ago at Stratford, he
nailed the audition, then flew home to make dinner for his kids. Cassius is
Brutus's co-conspirator and the instigator of Caesar's overthrow. In the
popular imagination, he's pure Machiavelli. But you could also say Cassius is
merely the ultimate supporting player to Brutus; like Feore, he inspires others
to their potential, and is content to stay in the shadows while the crowd
chants someone else's name. And a long conversation with Feore that unwinds
over a lunch of omelettes, fries, and many cups of coffee, suggests that he has
accepted his role in life as a supporting player who just wants to do
whatever's best for the projects he's in. Which is one of the reasons he's
carrying around three cameras and a light meter today. Get Feore talking about
cameras, and you could lose him for a few hours. It's like someone flicks a
switch in his brain and he turns instantly into a cousin of Dustin Hoffman in Rain
Man, speaking with dizzying speed and obsessive urgency about minutiae like
lens elements and rangefinders. "If you look at Diane Arbus's stuff,"
he begins, "she was using a Nikon F, she was using a Roloflex and a Leica
early, then she went to a Mamiyaflex, which of course is a twin lens, but you
can change the lenses . . . it'll cost you about $2,000 U.S., but it'll double
the focal length. . . ." You get the idea. All this by way of explaining
why Feore first became interested in cameras. When he was working on Julie
Taymor's film adaptation of Titus Andronicus back in 1998, he marvelled
at how Anthony Hopkins approached the mechanics of shooting a scene.
"There was a Stephen King book in his hand, his dresser was fussing,"
recalls Feore. "Yet Hopkins was calm, because he knew the camera would be
picking up only his head and shoulders. There was no need to worry about, or
act with, the rest of his body. I thought: There's something in that, in terms
of managing your energy and your focus. There's no point in frittering it away
below the frame line." Knowing about camera angles also enables Feore to
be "a part of the whole, rather than being the hired peculiar animal taken
out of its cage when and only when it's needed. I prefer to understand what's
going on in the whole, and where you can be useful and helpful," he says.
(With a co-operative attitude like that, no wonder he's not a major star.)
After that encounter with Hopkins, Feore began to turn his attention to the
other side of the camera in order to understand "all about aspect ratios
and the way film size affects what you do," so he might better tailor his
film performances. He began buying cameras, and then, he chuckles, "It all
went haywire from there." He figures he owns about 20 cameras now, and
this week spotted another to covet. It's his one expensive indulgence.
"For every film, depending on how deeply and greatly I suffered having to
do it, I convince my wife: 'Golly, dear, I suffered long and hard, those were
long hours, I think maybe I need a Littman 45 Single.' " That's the name
of the custom-made camera he got (retail: about $4,000) for putting up with the
fight scene, itchy costume and long days on Riddick. While most film
actors usually repair to their trailers or dressing rooms between takes,
Feore's gear-head attitude tends to draw him into conversations with the crew
guys on his films: the focus puller, gaffer, director of photography. "I
appreciate the collegial aspect of it," he says. Film sets and theatres
can be lonely places, especially when the family is hundreds or thousands of
miles away. Feore recalls with glee one day on the set of Riddick when
he and Linus Roache, another classically trained actor, were standing around in
their outrageous sci-fi costumes waiting to do a scene and they started
comparing notes of the Shakespearean roles they'd done onstage. "Merchant?
'Yup.' Hamlet? 'Yup, twice -- played him once.' Romeo? 'Yeah.' Mercutio? 'Yup,'
" says Feore. "We did what I call a Shakedown, running Shakespeare
soliloquies in chorus, without even looking at each other. When we stopped,
Hugh Johnson, the cinematographer, went: 'Whoa. Real actors.' " Feore takes evident pride in his classical
training, whether he's doing Shakespeare or a $100-million action picture.
"To the people who are doing the Riddicks, I think I can offer a
clarity, a simplicity, an elegance, and articulate something with intelligence,
that lifts it in a way that may take some time to appreciate." But Feore
is not a snob about such things, and he is always reaching out to his
co-workers, regardless of station. Here in New York, where the easy
availability of gourmet fare means he can indulge his impulses and desires as a
foodie, he has been trading recipes with some of the cast. He recently arranged
a salts-of-the-world tasting, bringing in eight or nine different salts (Welsh
smoked sea salt, fleur de sel, etc.) for members of the company to try.
"It's kind of escalated," Feore admits sheepishly. "The other
day between shows, I said, 'Now we're gonna go into vinegars -- gonna test some
good balsamics and some old sherry wine.' " He went to a popular gourmet
market, bought a couple of blocks of Parmigiano Reggiano of different ages,
some crusty bread, a 25-year-old balsamic, a 50-year-old sherry vinegar, and
some strawberries. He cleared a small space in his dressing room to prepare the
delicacies. "I was serving macerated strawberries and balsamic vinegar
between shows!" he says. At the end of the day, though, his hankering for
home can only be satisfied by the real thing. After the curtain call Thursday
night, a mob of more than 100 stood in a light rain behind metal gates set up
just beneath the lights of the Belasco marquee, waiting for Denzel Washington
to emerge from the stage door and sign their playbills. Few seemed to notice as
Feore, once again in his brown watch cap and jeans, zipped out the stage door
and through the crowd, racing across to Broadway to catch the subway uptown. He
wanted to get back to his apartment as quickly as possible to call his wife at
home in Stratford before she fell asleep.
Andrews In Director's Chair
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By Kamal
Al-Solaylee
(Mar. 30, 2005) More than 50 years after she made her Broadway debut in The Boy
Friend, Julie Andrews revisits Sandy
Wilson's musical of love in the 1920s French Riviera -- but this time as a
director. Andrews was the special guest star yesterday at a press conference
hosted by playwright and actor Michael Healey at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in
Toronto announcing the 2005-06 Mirvish subscription season, the company's 42nd.
Dressed in a dark grey suit, accented by a diaphanous pink scarf, Andrews
talked, in that signature sweet but no-nonsense and clearly enunciated tone of
voice, of her decision to direct this "charming and silly" musical.
"It's very nice to be the one telling people what to do instead of being
told what to do," she told an audience who greeted her with a standing
ovation. "It's wonderful to encourage the young talent to bring out the
love of lyrics and certain things I'm very passionate about." The Boy
Friend is one of four musicals (out of seven production in total) that
Mirvish Productions will be bringing to Toronto. In addition to the already
announced Lord of the Rings extravaganza, the 2005-06 playbill will
include the return of the perennially popular Les Misérables in
September at the Princess of Wales Theatre and the Canadian premiere of Movin'
Out, a dance musical conceived, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp
and based on 24 songs by Billy Joel. Movin' Out is scheduled for
November at the Canon Theatre.
The remaining three productions are all Canadian works, including Healey's The
Innocent Eye Test, to be directed by Christopher Newton. Described by
Healey as an "old-fashioned, two-act" farce, The Innocent Eye Test
is set in Tuscan Hotel where an art dealer -- a "thinly disguised David
Mirvish," he joked -- is negotiating the sale of the titular painting to a
casino owner in Las Vegas, just as an arms deal is plotted at the same place.
The play receives its world premiere in January, 2006, at the Manitoba Theatre
Centre in Winnipeg and opens at the Royal Alexandra in March. Wingfield's
Inferno, the sixth instalment of Dan Needles's
so-Canadian-it-should-be-served-with-maple-syrup Wingfield chronicles, begins
its Toronto run in May at the Royal Alexandra. It's also part of the current
season at the Stratford Festival, where it opens on June 4. Quebec's Cirque
Éloize, now in its 11th year, pitches its tent at the Canon Theatre in April
for the belated Toronto premiere of the "contemporary circus" Nomad,
which has already had more than 500 performances around the world. It's
currently being performed at Les Folies Bergère in Paris. But neither the
circus rings nor the mythological ones of Tolkien could outshine Andrews, whose
appearance, aside from its star-buzz value, marked a bridge between different
eras and styles of musical theatre in the past 50 years. When The Boy Friend
itself first premiered in 1954, noted Andrews, it was intended as an homage to
a long-gone 1920s-style musicals. "It's been wonderful to watch it
[musical theatre] going up and down ever since," Andrews said in an
interview. "Sometimes, it's huge, sometimes it's simple. I was fortunate
enough to be in the last years of the great golden era of Broadway: The King
and I, Gypsy, West Side Story, My Fair Lady. Suddenly
all the darker musicals came: Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Phantom
[of the Opera], those kind of musicals seemed to be the next phase.
Now we're beginning to pull out of that and come back to something else."
Julie
Andrews To Sing Praises Of Musical
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard
Ouzounian, Theatre Critic
(Mar. 29, 2005) The Fair Lady of Broadway will
be paying a visit to the Grand Lady of King St. this morning. Dame Julie
Andrews, one of the most beloved stars of
stage and screen, is expected to be present today at the Royal Alexandra
Theatre when David Mirvish announces his 2005-2006 subscription line-up. Although Mirvish Productions would neither
confirm or deny any reports, the Star has learned that Andrews will be
directing a revival of The Boy Friend as part of next year's
season. It was in that same show — an
affectionate spoof of 1920s musicals — that Andrews made her Broadway debut at
the age of 19 in 1954. A few years
later, she took the town by storm in My Fair Lady, later winning acclaim
in Camelot before going on to Hollywood where she won an Oscar for her
first screen role in Mary Poppins and later starred as Maria in the
record-breaking hit, The Sound of Music. Andrews first directed The Boy Friend in 2003 in a summer
stock production on Long Island at Sag Harbour's Bay St. Theater. The show was
a success and there was talk of reviving it the following year, but Andrews'
schedule prohibited that from happening until now. After a run at Connecticut's prestigious Goodspeed Playhouse this
summer, the show will embark on a North American tour, with Toronto one of the
major stops. The 69-year-old Andrews' last Toronto stage appearance was
opposite her Sound of Music co-star, Christopher Plummer, in A Royal
Christmas in December of 2002. The
Star has also learned that the smash hit Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp musical Movin'
Out will be another part of the Mirvish subscription season. There is a very good chance Tharp, one of
the most respected choreographers in the world of modern dance, will be present
today as well.
Movin' Out takes the songs of Billy Joel and turns them into a seamless
piece of dance theatre dealing with America in the aftermath of Vietnam. It opened in New York in October of 2002 to
smash reviews (I called it "the hottest show on Broadway") and it is
still playing to packed houses after a thousand performances. Reliable reports indicate that this year's
Mirvish season will feature a record seven shows. The Boy Friend, Movin'
Out and the previously announced The Lord of the Rings make
three. Don't be surprised to see a pair
of Canadian plays (one a world premiere), a European import and one of
Toronto's most beloved musicals filling out the list.
Leslie Uggams -- Her Maine Attraction is ‘On Golden
Pond’
Excerpt
from www.eurweb.com - By Deardra Shuler
(Apr. 5, 2005) Leslie Uggams feels fabulous in
the role of Ethel Thayer, opposite James Earl
Jones, in playwright Ernest Thompson’s brilliant play “On Golden
Pond” which opens Thursday, April 7th at The Cort Theatre, located at 138 West
48th Street. The production which
premiered last Fall at The Kennedy Center and the DuPont Theatre, has
transferred to New York with the same cast and marks the return of the illustrious
James Earl Jones after a lengthy absence from the Broadway stage. Mr.
Jones last appeared in Fences, a play which also won him his second Tony Award,
in 1987. “James Earl Jones had a show some years back called “Under One
Roof.” I did a guest appearance on the show playing a mother-in-law role.
I didn’t have a scene with James back then so ‘On Golden Pond’ offers that
opportunity,” said Ms. Uggams. “James was very warm from the moment I
came into the project. I felt very comfortable with him. I feel
like I have known him forever. It is quite wonderful to be working with
an actor who is so brilliant in his craft. Every moment with James is a
wonderful experience. When you’re playing with someone like James you
raise the bar. He has done a volume of work and his voice is known
throughout the world” continued the Broadway star. Henry Fonda and Katherine
Hepburn played the roles of Norman and Ethel Thayer in the movie version of On
Golden Pond in 1981. Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman co-starred in the film
which was nominated for 9 Academy Awards in 1982. The film won author
Ernest Thompson an Academy Award for adapting his play to the screen.
Thompson also won Golden Globe and Writer’s Guild of America awards for his
screenplay. Mr. Jones and Ms. Uggams bring an African American perspective to
Mr. Thompson’s play. “Ethel is a
wonderful character. She is a strong woman who is full of life. She
has a great mate and is fighting to bring her family together. It’s a
lovely role to play” explained Leslie. “To do Ethel, I dug deep. I
did my research and built my character from there,” said the Tony Award winner
of Hallelujah Baby. On Golden Pond has already been nominated for four
2005 Helen Hayes Awards. It scored nominations in the categories of
Outstanding Non-Resident Production; Outstanding Supporting Performer, Craig
Bockhorn; Outstanding Lead actor, James Earl Jones; Outstanding Lead Actress,
Leslie Uggams. “To hear about the nominations are very exciting,” remarked the
Tony/Emmy Award winner. “It’s always exciting to be acknowledged.
Those things are lovely but it’s really about the play and doing the best you
can so that what the author has written jumps off the page and effects people
who have come to see the play. The play has been around awhile. It was
done in 1978 and then again in 1979 starring the wonderful actors Tom Aldredge
and Frances Sternhagen. We are doing the present version to a limited
engagement at the Cort Theatre. The play is expected to finish its run at
the end of July” states Leslie.
The supporting cast members who round out the show are Linda Powell who
plays the role of Chelsea Thayer Wayne; Peter Frances James (Bill Ray) who also
appeared in “Drowning Crow”; Craig Bockhorn (Charlie Martin) and 12 year
old Alexander Mitchell (Billy Ray) who most recently played Travis in Raisin in
the Sun.
Ms. Uggams who is a Broadway veteran has come a long way since her debut on
Broadway in Hallelujah Baby. “It was quite shocking to win a Tony Award
my first time on Broadway but I wasn’t going to give it back. I found
winning the award for Hallelujah Baby very embracing. I thought of it in
terms of being welcomed by the Broadway community. It’s like being part
of a family. I also did a year and a half in the musical Thoroughly
Modern Millie. I am in a straight play presently but musicals can be very
taxing. When you do a musical you have to be very careful with your
health so you don’t lose your voice. You have to stay limber because you
are dancing. It looks easy but it’s hard. There is always a chance of an injury.
Even doing a straight play requires discipline. But whether I am in a
musical or drama, I feel a certain rhythm in the productions I do. The
Cort Theatre is a lovely, intimate theatre which is perfect for On Golden Pond
because it brings the audience closer to the characters in the play and makes
them feel a part of it.” The story of On Golden Pond is about an aging couple
who have been together for 48 years. Every year, Ethel and her husband
Norman, a retired professor, spend their summers in Maine. Ethel spent
her childhood years vacationing in Maine. “Norman is starting to age but
he is Ethel’s rock. He is the love of her life and her best friend,”
states Uggams. “What I love about this play is it’s a play for everyone no matter
what color you are. It deals with everything a human being has to go
through. It deals with aging mates and parents. It’s about family
disputes and learning to let go. The cast is primarily African American but not
exclusively. One of the characters represents a town local” remarked
Leslie. “You know the very ironic thing about my doing this play is that
recently my husband and I decided to vacation in Maine. This was before I
was offered the role for “On Golden Pond.” What I saw while in Maine is
that no matter how many years folks may go up to Maine, the locals still call
these folks Summer people. I saw a lot of people of color where we were
in Maine but I think they were mostly tourist. I walked along the beach
and picked up some lovely rocks and ended up bringing them home not realizing I
would end up in a play about a couple who spent their Summers in Maine. I
have taken two of those rocks from Maine to the theatre as my good luck charm.”
Leslie Uggams got an early start in show business at age 6 when she debuted on
the TV series “Beulah.” She made appearances on the Milton Berle Show and
Arthur Godfrey Show as well as frequent appearances at the Apollo Theatre by
the time she was 7 years old. Leslie who attended Juilliard also attended
the New York Professional Children’s School as a youth. She became known
to the American public at age 15 after appearing on the show “Name That
Tune.” She caught the attention of Mitch Miller who signed her to a
recording contract and made her a regular on the show Sing Along with Mitch.
She was one of the few African Americans on network television at that
time. “I was the first black female on national television. I was
only 17 years old then. It was daunting because I went from only my community
knowing me, to everyone knowing me. It was quite an adjustment because
all of a sudden I wasn’t able to go anywhere and my life was like living in a
fish bowl. I didn’t have stage parents but I went around to all the
kiddie auditions and got a lot of the kiddie roles. I grew up with Maurice and
Gregory Hines. We were the token black kids. I had to make sure I did
everything right because I represented the entire black race and that sometimes
could be overwhelming. Although, looking back now, I see how wonderful it
was to be part of history.” Leslie Uggams has a new CD out entitled “On My Way
To You.” “I am always doing something musically. I play in Florida
and California a lot. I love singing. It’s a deep, deep part of
me. But what I like about theatre is that you get to create a
character. You have to be very observant and tuned into other people’s
characteristics in order to one day use what you’ve observed to create a
character,” explained Leslie, who has performed nationally and
internationally. A wife and mother, Leslie loves to cook and spend time
with family during her down time. “We started previews of On Golden Pond on
March 22nd. The official opening night is on April 7th. We look
forward to having folks come out to see us. I think they will really
enjoy the show.”
Pryor’s
Daughter Tells All In New Show
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
29, 2005) *Rain Pryor, the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor and his Jewish ex-wife Shelley
Bonus, is airing out her childhood via a new stage production “Fried Chicken
and Latkes,” which runs Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia at the
Painted Bride Art Center. Bonus was an
aspiring actress working as a go-go dancer when she met Pryor in the late
1960s. Prior’s play chronicles her mom’s struggle to give her a traditional
middle-class upbringing in a modest Beverly Hills apartment, while her visits
with dad across town included seeing cocaine, prostitutes and affluence in a
servant-staffed house. "My
dad has always been one to put his life right out there for you to look at. I
took that approach because I saw how well audiences respond to it. I try to
make you laugh at life," she told the “Philadelphia Inquirer.” The 35-year-old actress uses combines
singing, acting and comedy to tell her personal story, but maintains she has no
intention to follow her dad into the family business. "I decided I'm going to fill my
own shoes," she said. "I'm not going to do his comedy."
Ain't
Misbehavin'
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By
Kamal Al-Solaylee
(Apr. 1, 2005) This Toronto revival of Richard Maltby Jr.'s 1978 Tony
Award-winning musical based on the songbook of Fats Waller has so much going
for it. There's the music of course (Honeysuckle Rose, Mean to Me, Squeeze
Me) and its invocation of the Harlem Renaissance era, but there's also Jackie
Richardson and director Marion J. Caffey who brought us Cookin' at the
Cookery. And this time Caffey didn't write the book of the musical as he
did (poorly) for Cookin'. Enough said.
Currently in previews. Opens April 7. Monday to Saturday, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. $36 to $80. CanStage Bluma Appel, 27
Front St. E., 416-368-3110.
::SPORTS NEWS::
Williams
Sisters Write Another Book: New Tome Targeted To Young Girls
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
25, 2005) *Tennis stars Venus
and Serena Williams are hoping to
reach girls ages 9 through 12 with their latest book, “Venus and Serena:
Serving From the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning,” which hit
bookshelves Tuesday from Houghton Mifflin. Among their words of
wisdom: “Don’t rush a crush.” "We
both really have a lot to say about that," Venus told AP Wednesday with a
laugh. "It's a great book for
teenage girls who deal with different issues," added Serena. "Growing
up, I would have loved to have had such a positive role model to look up to and
try to be like and try to emulate. We love having that opportunity to say,
`Look, you can be like us, you can be successful and at the same time have high
morals and high self-esteem and be a very nice person at the end of the
day.'" The sisters are currently
in Key Biscayne, Florida for the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Serena And Venus Williams To Star In Reality Show
Source: Associated Press
(Mar. 29, 2005) Burbank, Calif. — Serena and
Venus Williams will be starring in their version of a tennis reality
show. The sisters' off-court lives — their family, friends and the glamour of
big-time tennis — will be featured in a six-episode show that is still untitled
but set to premiere on the U.S cable network ABC Family in July, it was
announced Monday. "The series will provide our fans with an up-close,
inside look at our lives away from the tennis courts," Venus Williams
said. The sisters have won 11 major single titles between them and are
competing at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. Serena is ranked No. 4
in the world and Venus is No. 9. Serena Williams said she and her sister
welcome the chance to "branch out into a new medium."
Ali
Supports Muslim Channel
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
28, 2005)
*Boxing icon Muhammad Ali,
63, appeared Thursday at the official Chicago-area launch of Bridges TV, the
first network created for an American Muslim audience. Despite the shaking from
his Parkinson's symptoms, the champ signed autographs and embraced kids who
approached him, reports the "Chicago Tribune." "His mere
presence speaks volumes," said Mo Hassan, president and chief executive
officer of Bridges, because in these turbulent times with negative images of
the Islamic faith, "the most beloved man on Earth is an American
Muslim."
::OTHER NEWS::
We Remember
Johnnie Cochran
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March 30, 2005) *Memories of the country’s most
famous criminal attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. continue to trickle in from friends, associates
and former clients following his death from a brain tumour Tuesday in Los
Angeles. He was 67. The legal wizard,
who authored the memorable quote “If it doesn't fit, you must acquit” while
representing accused murderer O.J. Simpson, died at his home in the Los Feliz
area, according to his brother-in-law, Bill Baker. “He was a gracious man,” remembers EUR’s Lee Bailey, who first
met Cochran at the former Baldwin Hills movie theatre in Los Angeles during the
1992 premiere of “Malcolm X.” For years, folks had been telling Bailey
that he looked like this lawyer named Johnny Cochran. “We finally met. We looked at each other and we laughed about
it,” Bailey says. “It was the beginning of a friendship. Whenever he saw me, he
always extended his hand and gave me a hug. He was a brilliant lawyer, and
brilliant human being as well.” While
Cochran was already a star defense attorney in Los Angeles legal circles, it
was the O.J. Simpson trial that took his local celebrity worldwide.
Simpson's current attorney, Yale Galanter, released a statement just hours
after the former football star learned of Cochran's passing. "O.J. Simpson sends his deepest regrets
and sympathies to Johnnie Cochran's family and loved ones," Galanter said.
"Johnnie and O.J. were friends before the trial and remained friendly
after the trial. O.J. sends his sincerest condolences. Johnnie was a true
friend." On CNN Tuesday, Simpson
said he loved Cochran as a "good Christian man." "I knew him as that...he was a great
guy," Simpson added. He also told the cable news outlet he last saw his
former lawyer at a Los Angeles Lakers game. He said Cochran seemed in good
spirits despite his serious medical condition at the time. During Michael Jackson’s 1993 battle against
child molestation allegations in a civil suit, Cochran was brought in by the
singer’s attorney Howard Weitzman to help with the case, which was eventually
settled out of court. “Johnnie
Cochran was a true gentleman who embodied class, brilliance, honesty and
integrity,” Jackson said in a statement released Tuesday. “His fight for
justice transcended colour, age or economic status. So many have been
touched by his life of service as well as his infectious smile and personality.
Johnnie Cochran was a great humanitarian. I loved him, and I will miss
him. I am proud to have called him my friend.”
In addition to Simpson and Jackson, Cochran's high profile clients have
included Reginald Denny, Abner Louima, Geronimo Pratt, Todd Bridges, James
Brown, Angela Igwe, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, Snoop Dogg and Cynthia Wiggins. "Certainly, Johnnie's career will be
noted as one marked by celebrity cases and clientele,” Cochran’s family said in
a statement. “But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on
behalf of those in the community."
Born October 2, 1937 in Shreveport, LA, Cochran began his legal career
in Los Angeles as a Deputy Attorney for the city's criminal division. He
worked his way up toward a position as Assistant District Attorney for Los
Angeles County. Cochran left the D.A.'s office to start his own firm,
handling both criminal and civil cases.
While Simpson's acquittal was Cochran’s crowning achievement in a career
notable for victories, the lawyer who looked to Justice Thurgood Marshall as a
role model, also championed the causes of disenfranchised black
defendants. "The clients I've
cared about the most are the No Js, the ones who nobody knows," said
Cochran, who proudly displayed copies in his office of the multimillion-dollar
checks he won for ordinary citizens who said they were abused by police. The Los Angeles African American and legal
communities will pay homage to the memory and legacy of Johnnie Cochran in a
candlelight tribute tonight at 6:00 p.m. in Leimert Park (Vernon and Crenshaw).
“Cochran was more than a celebrity attorney,” says Earl Ofari Hutchinson,
President, Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable and frequent commentator during
the Simpson trial. “He was a valiant fighter for the legal rights of the poor
and dispossessed.” Project Islamic Hope
Executive Director Najee Ali adds: “Cochran was a dedicated fighter for
justice. That was shown in his defense of Geronimo Pratt, and many other
political cases.” Participants in the
candlelight tribute will include members of Project Islamic Hope, the Cochran
Law Firm, CORE, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Pratt Legal Defense Fund.
Diddy
Got Them 20s: Mogul Introduces “Sean John Wheels”
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March 28, 2005)
*Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
can feed, clothe and entertain you via his various restaurants, Sean Jean
fashion label and original trade as a rapper, producer and actor. Now the
entrepreneur can have you sittin’ on something sparkly when you roll down the
block. A 50-50 joint venture
between Combs' Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group and Kansas City's Weld
Wheel Industries Inc. has yielded Sean John Wheels, Diddy’s new line of custom,
precision-forged aluminium rims from
SJC Wheels LLC that will begin retailing next month between $700 and $3000
each. "Wheels have become a fashion statement — a badge of taste
and style," Combs said. "We see an opportunity to bring excitement to
the wheel category by delivering the Sean John sophisticated design with the
best quality production."
Sean John Wheels, available for sports trucks, luxury SUVs and
high-end American- and German-made automobiles, was introduced Thursday at the
New York International Auto Show.
Diddy
Does Canada: Mogul Launches Sean John In Montreal And Toronto
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(March
30, 2005)
*As previously reported, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs
is in the midst of a Canadian press tour to promote his Sean Jean clothing label. The line debuted in
Montreal, Quebec on Monday and in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday. The Canada tour is meant to boost sales in
the region, where Sean John currently sells mostly at independent boutiques and
the better athletic chains in the country, such as Athlete's World, Footlocker,
and the premiere sporting store, The Sporting Life. In addition, Holt Renfrew,
Canada's ultimate luxury specialty store, will begin selling Sean John
Collection, Sean John's designer collection.
Diddy’s Maple Leaf media blitz has included appearances on Musique Plus
and Much Music, and interviews with several key Canadian publications, such as
Macleans Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and Flare Magazine. To conclude the Canada tour, Diddy will
throw a party at hot spot Rosewater Supper Club in Toronto. The after-party
will be at the Metro.
Soul
Food
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Jennifer
Bain
(Apr. 3, 2005) DISH DECONSTRUCTION: Two buttermilk waffles sandwich a
breaded, deep-fried boneless chicken breast. On top, artfully arranged sautéed
rapini. Pooled around the concoction, white chicken gravy. On the side, a jug
of maple syrup. TASTING NOTES: Chef
David Folkerth's flavour-texture combo inexplicably works in a dish that's fun
to eat. OFFICIAL WORDS: "It's a
soul food item," explains manager Jane Doherty. "As far as I know,
(singer) Gladys Knight has a restaurant in Atlanta that does it and that was
the inspiration for the dish." (The restaurant is called Gladys Knight
& Ron Winan's Chicken & Waffles.)
THE SCENE: The Left Door features "shabby chic retro," bamboo
floors and a candlelit living room. It's a collaboration of the Ben Wicks Pub
and the Town Grill, and its wine list features a flat $10 mark-up on LCBO
prices. There's a weekend brunch menu. The
Left Door (inside Ben Wicks Pub), 424 Parliament St. (north of Gerrard St. E.),
416-961-9425, http://www.theleftdoor.com.
Open daily 11:30 a.m. until late.
::FITNESS NEWS::
The 3-Phase Abs
Workout
Source: Michael Stefano, Special for eFitness
(April
5, 2005) If you're like me, you've come across countless
articles on how to tighten your tummy or flatten a flabby midsection, but to
quote Mr. William Shakespeare, there's been "Much ado about
nothing." But before we explore
some possible reasons behind your sub-pectoral protrusion, let's take a quick
look at the actual musculature of the abdomen.
For a sure-fire way to flatten your belly, check out this great workout program. The most prominent layer, the Rectus
Abdominus, is a thin sheath of muscle that runs midline from sternum to pelvis.
It’s what most identify as the sixpack.
Sometimes referred to as the lower and upper abdominals respectively,
the Exterior Oblique and Interior Oblique muscles wrap the lower torso and also
tie into the pelvis. Finally, the Transverse Abdominus are deep horizontal
muscle fibres that from run side to side, holding together your internal
organs. The major action of the abdominal muscle group is to support the back
and spine, as well as bring the trunk toward the pelvis.
Traditional Abdominal Exercise
When performing traditional abdominal exercises (crunches, sit-ups) there’s a
tendency for the body to make muscular substitutions, and allow muscles that
are not being targeted to do most, if not all of the work. Sometimes the
notoriously short and tight hip flexors (the muscles responsible for elevating
the thighs towards the chest) are allowed to take over. To get a sense of where the hip flexors are
and what they do, place your hand over the junction between the pelvis and
either thigh as you sit in your chair. Now raise your foot (same leg) off the
floor an inch or two. As you do, the hip joint will flex, and the powerful hip
flexors will contract. The traditional
crunch is usually done with excessive flexion at the hip joint overriding most,
if not all abdominal muscle activity. In order to perform an effective crunch
motion that challenges the abs, let’s first attempt to quiet down those pesky
hip flexors.
Phase One -- Hip Flexor Stretch:
Lie flat on your back, bend at the hips and knees with your feet flat on the
floor hip width apart. Extend the right leg straight out and bring your left
knee toward your chest, taking hold of your bent knee with both hands. Do not
allow your tailbone to roll up off the floor as you squeeze your knee to your
chest. If the back of your extended thigh cannot remain flat on the floor, your
right hip flexors are tight. If your
hip flexors are not tight, skip directly to phase two. Using the muscles in the back of the right
leg and buttocks, draw the right thigh to the floor while the low back remains
on the floor, and the left knee is held to the chest. Only stretch to a
position of slight discomfort, NOT pain. Hold for 5 - 10 seconds, performing
three sets on each side. Work up to 30-second holds.
Phase Two -- Crunch Time:
Lie flat on your back in the supine position, legs straight. If your hip
flexors are tight, your low back will be arched and away from off the floor.
Slowly, bending at the hips and knees, slide your feet towards your buttocks
until the arch in your low back disappears and the back flattens on the floor.
This is your crunch position. If necessary, support the knees with a pillow or
folded blanket to ensure total relaxation of the hip flexors throughout the
movement. Now fold your arms across
your chest and slowly curl up from the floor with your head, shoulders, and
chest, with the sensation of bringing your ribs towards your navel. The only
muscles working should be the Rectus Abdominus, as well as both Internal and
External Abdominal Obliques. It's imperative that the low back remain flat on
the floor, and the hip flexors stay relaxed.
Phase Three -- Pelvic Tilt:
If you also have a problem with rounded, or hunched shoulders, forgo crunches altogether,
as they tend to increase the curvature of the upper spine. Instead, from either
the supine position (lying with legs straight), or from the relaxed, hip
flexor-supported position (with knees bent), press your low back into the floor
by contracting your abdominal muscles, hold then release. Keep your entire
lower body relaxed. Your arms should be held out in a T position, palms up.
Perform two or three sets of 10 - 20 repetitions with a brief hold (or you can
do one set of two or three repetitions with a 10 - 30 second hold). Wall Standing is a variation on the pelvic
tilt. Stand with your back flat against a wall, heels out at least six inches.
Keeping your shoulders and pelvis against the wall, press the low back into the
wall with a strong abdominal contraction. The closer to the wall you are with
your feet, the more abdominal effort it will take to flatten your back. Hold
for 10 seconds up to 1 minute.
The above combination of exercises, if done properly, will flatten, tone, and
tighten your abdominal muscles, improve posture and appearance, and possibly
relieve symptoms of low back pain. Of course, no amount of abdominal work will
remove the layers of fat you’ve accumulated over the years through overeating
and under exercising. A properly orchestrated
strength and cardiovascular program, combined with sensible eating is the best
way to achieve that.
EVENTS –APRIL
7 – 17, 2005
SATURDAY, APRIL 9 AND SUNDAY, APRIL 10
THE
A-TEAM
The
Orbit Room
College
Street
10:30
pm
$8.00
EVENT
PROFILE:
Featuring Wade O. Brown, Shamakah Ali, Rich Brown, Adrian Eccleston, David
Williams.
SUNDAY, APRIL 10
SOULAR
College
Street Bar
574
College Street (at Manning)
10:30
pm
$5.00
EVENT
PROFILE:
Featuring Dione Taylor, Sandy Mamane, Davide Direnzo, Justin Abedin, Dafydd
Hughes and David French.
MONDAY, APRIL 11
IRIE MONDAY
NIGIHT SESSIONS
Irie Food Joint
745 Queen Street W.
10:00 pm
EVENT PROFILE:
Newcomers and regulars alike were
enjoying the vibe and promised to come back for more next week. So, if
you know what's good for you, make your way down there next Monday to enjoy the
crazy and genius combination of Kayte Burgess and Adrian Eccleston - arrangements that will tantalize your ears
and soul.
MONDAY, APRIL 11
VIP JAM WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
Revival Bar
783 College Street (at Shaw)
10:00 pm
NO COVER
EVENT PROFILE:
Featuring Rich Brown, Joel Joseph and Shamakah Ali with various local
artists.
SATURDAY, APRIL 16 AND SUNDAY, APRIL 17
THE
A-TEAM
The
Orbit Room
College
Street
10:30
pm
$8.00
EVENT
PROFILE:
Featuring Wade O. Brown, Shamakah Ali, Rich Brown, Adrian Eccleston, David
Williams.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
SOULAR
College Street Bar
574 College Street (at
Manning)
10:30 pm
$5.00
EVENT PROFILE:
Featuring Dione Taylor, Sandy Mamane, Davide Direnzo, Justin Abedin, Dafydd
Hughes and David French
Have a great week!
Dawn
Langfield
Langfield
Entertainment
www.langfieldentertainment.com
