Review: A Raisin in the Sun

I wouldn't have missed Monday night's ABC broadcast of A Raisin in the Sun for the world. Three of my favorite actresses all in one movie? It's a film-lover's dream come true.

Phylicia Rashad was brilliant as Lena Younger. Just brilliant. Loved her as always. Audra McDonald as Ruth Younger, amazing. The range of emotions she and Ms. Rashad displayed were breathtaking and heartfelt. I honestly don't know how they do it. Sanaa Lathan was captivating in the role of Beneatha Younger, a character I believe was born well before her time. I loved her youthfulness and energy. And those little things she does: the eye rolls and the way she clips her words...those little things added a little something special to her performance.

And then there's Sean Combs. I have to admit, I watched him carefully because I wanted to clown him. But I couldn't. I honestly couldn't. No, I would not call his performance as Walter Lee brilliant. I think that's an honor reserved for actors with that special something. But I thought he pulled it off better than expected. I can't hate on him. I honestly can't. I read somewhere that he pulled from his own early experiences as a man on the grind to make his character believeable. I could see that in his performance. And I have to applaud him for his efforts. Offscreen, though, he's so....*sigh*

As great a movie as it was, I'm told I should see the original with Sidney Poitier (I've only caught bits and pieces over the years). I will do that because Mr. Poitier's talent is incomparable. And then I'll also get the 1989 version with Danny Glover because I'm curious to see what he brought to the Walter Lee role. I've always respected his work and I can't imagine anything less than brilliance from him as well.

So that's my take. And the only other thing I have to say is...can we please have more black movies of this calibre? Please?

Regina King: Guest Blogger on BET.com

As part of the promo for her upcoming movie "This Christmas", veteran actress Regina King is visiting BET.com daily as this week's guest blogger. Who knew little Brenda Jenkins would grow up to be such a prolific talent?

Be sure to stop by each day to view her thoughts on the industry, her current project(s), and why bootlegging really does hurt Black Hollywood.

Writers' Strike Update

This looks promising...

Bad Form, Star!

Sometimes I just love TMZ.com. This particular time, it's because they've provided so much of the documentation that apparently went back and forth between the Full & Fabulous organization and the infamous Star Jones regarding the scheduled appearance she was supposed to make as part of the organization's 2006 Health, Beauty & Self-Esteem event. As is now well-known, Miss Jones chose to not appear because the organization failed to come up with the balance of her speaking fee of $25,000. According to the the founder of Full & Fabulous, Jones was sent a deposit of $10,000 and an additional payment of $6,000, which she claims she never received. She also apparently accepted first-class plane tickets (which cost the organization more than expected because the original flight booked for Jones and her husband wasn't acceptable and Jones' "people" re-booked the flight and, without the permission of Full & Fabulous, charged the $900 difference to the company's credit card...ewww, tacky) and a five-star hotel room reservation, both of which she reportedly utilized to promote her book and enjoy Super Bowl festivities.

Granted, based on the terms of the contract between the two parties, Jones is apparently under no legal obligation to return any of the money given her. But these young girls, who once looked up to Jones and had worked so hard to help raise the money for her appearance, didn't deserve to be caught in the crossfire of all this drama.

For someone so desperately in need of positive publicity, wouldn't it have perhaps been more prudent to make the appearance anyway, based on the partial payments and perks already received--not to mention the audience being served--then work out the details of the balance after the event, so as not to disappoint the attendees? Even if she'd chosen to toot her own horn afterwards and announce to the world that she, out of the kindness of her heart, had made the appearance despite the organization not meeting their contractual obligation, surely that would've been better than this unforgivable turn of events. No one is expecting her to have shown up for free, or even at a reduced speaking fee (though if she'd chosen to do so, again, that would've been great publicity).

*sigh*

Why wasn't this handled differently??

Who Cares What Those Writers Do?

I just returned from having dinner with my mother and several of her girlfriends. As is always the case when a group of women are gathered, several different conversations were going on at once around and across the table. I asked one of the ladies, who has dabbled in writing for years now, what her thoughts were on the impending Writers Guild of America strike. Before she could offer up an opinion, my mother made a face and--in a voice dripping with disgust--said, "Who cares what those writers do?"

Exactly.

That's exactly the mindset and mentality that has brought on the Writers Guild of America West member strike, which officially begins (picket lines and all) just a few short hours from now. I'm not a television writer, so I definitely don't understand fully the Ins and Outs of it all. What I do understand of it is that since 1984--when Hollywood unions made a deal to accept a really really small percentage of home video sales because at that time it was an untested market and studios argued that production costs were high--writers have been twisted out of alot of money, which is shameful because they are, after all, responsible for the words that come out of the mouths of the actors who make these shows successful. (These days, for example, writers only get about 3 cents on a typical DVD retailing for $20.) Writers just want a little bigger piece of the pie. And why not, considering the way DVD sales have taken off since then, even becoming more profitable for studios than box office receipts. Let's not forget the countless hours of television programming streaming all day every day via the internet. Believe it or not, the writers of those shows don't get paid for that either.

So what will television be like if this strike should drag on and on? Viewers and studios may not fully appreciate the impact of it all until they ask, as my mother did just a couple of minutes after expressing her unsolicited opinion, "So what's good on television tonight?" and find nothing but repeats and--God forbid--even more Reality TV.

Congratulations, Brandin Jay!

Creativity runs in my family. My cousin, Natarsha Garcia, is the founder of a performing arts school in Atlanta, where she discovers and nurtures the talents of young future stars. One of her brightest stars is her own son, Brandin Jenkins, who is appearing in the role of Junior in the upcoming Martin Lawrence movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins. Everybody is in this movie: Martin, Mo'Nique, Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Nicole Ari Parker, James Earl Jones. Wow. Way to kick off an acting career.

But there's even more to this kid! Brandin is also a rising singer/songwriter. Check out his work on his MySpace page. And watch for more from this talented triple-threat.

Some People Just Get Everything!

Variety is reporting that Tyra Banks has inked an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to develop scripted shows, reality programs and direct-to-DVD projects. She also signed a series development deal with the CW and has restructured her Bankable Productions staff.

Glad to see her doing her thing, but I also have to admit that I'm just a wee bit envious! I'd love to pitch and develop some projects too. Gimme one day in the life of Tyra (minus the modeling and photo shoots, of course)...

I know, I know, I'm whining again!

And So I Wait...

I'm gonna leave Hollywood alone.

See, I've had a script at a MAJOR (and I do mean MAJOR) production company for a few months now. My agent has been working diligently, doing her thing, taking meetings, making phone calls. And we're now at the point where they're trying to attach actors to the project, which will determine whether or not they will buy the script and move forward.

My nerves are wrecked.

I'm trying to keep my mind off of it. I'm trying to focus on those projects that I can control. Like the Reggie Brown series. And The Brownstone. And K My Name Is Kendra, which I'm writing for our impressionable teenage sisters (because I think they're being ignored literarily). And The Micness because The Brownstone release date keeps changing from week to week and I feel like I need to put something out there so people don't peg me as just a children's book author (and there is not a thing wrong with that, but I'm just sayin'...) and ignore all my other work.

But I can't help but think about this script. The waiting...oh, the waiting. I just can't take it! How do screenwriters do this project after project??

So I've decided...if they do end up buying this script, I'm gonna count my blessings, cash my check, and then I'm done with Hollywood. Period.

Then again, I do have this other completed script...and then there's still my file of incomplete movie treatments and storylines ready to be pitched at a moment's notice...

sigh