Talking with filmmaker Haile Gerima inevitably brings to mind James Baldwin’s idea that “the price one pays for pursuing any calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” To be sure, the renowned Ethiopian-born filmmaker and pioneer of the La Rebellion film movement has been widely celebrated throughout his four-decade-long career, most notably for his 1993 film Sankofa. But his success has also meant an ever-increasing exposure to the challenges and flaws of the film industry, especially as he’s chosen to consistently work outside the studio system. Fortunately for us, he was willing to share his insights with S&A, from his past and current...
- 8/17/2012
- by Jasmin Tiggett
- ShadowAndAct
Usually there are several layers to Best Movie Ever? candidacy: acting, cinematography, direction, screenwriting, the way Madeline Kahn squawks, fist fights with Elizabeth Taylor, etc. But in the case of today's candidate Public Speaking, the 2010 HBO documentary about longtime wit Fran Lebowitz, there's only one criterion I care about: priceless quotations. Director Martin Scorsese closes in on Lebowitz's unamused mug at her signature booth in Manhattan's Waverly Inn, allows her to crank out commentary and witticisms on any number of topics for 82 minutes, and lets her salty confidence stand for itself. There's no moral. No rebuttal. Public Speaking is just a good talker talking, then stopping when she's done. Also interspersed are wonderful archive clips of James Baldwin debating with William F. Buckley Jr., Cole Porter trilling "You're the Top," and of course Dorothy Parker -- Lebowitz's natural forebear -- deadpanning one of her wittiest and most dour poems. There've been plenty of deified wits,...
- 8/14/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
James Arthur Baldwin was born on this day, August 2, in 1924. He would have been 88 years young, were he still alive today. I don't believe there has been a scripted feature film on the life of James Baldwin has there? There've been documentaries like The Price Of A Ticket, but no biopics I'm aware of, or if one has even been attempted. Or have there been any feature films in which he is a character in someone else's story. Can't think of any either... I remember asking a similar question last year, and a number of responses to that post said that interest in a film on the life of Baldwin, or on a specific notable period in his life,...
- 8/2/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
If you are familiar with the story of the West Memphis 3, chances are it's because of the Paradise Lost film series. The trilogy of documentaries put a spotlight on the trial of James Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Damien Echols, and the second film in that series implicated John Mark Byers, the father of one of the murdered boys, as a possible suspect in the heinous killings. Now Variety tells us that Kevin Durand, who starred in "Lost" and Real Steel, is set to portray Byers in Atom Egoyan's upcoming Devil's Knot, which will bring the story to an even wider audience with names like Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth attached. As of now, the story of the trial of James Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Damien Echols is best told in Amy Berg's documentary West of Memphis, which debuted at Sundance in January and is supposed to...
- 6/27/2012
- by Ben Pearson
- firstshowing.net
During Black History Month in the U.S., we dedicate the month of February to reviewing, dissecting, and analyzing African-American history. From slavery to the Civil Rights Movement to today's African-American experience, we make a concerted effort to understand how those who came before us impact our day-to-day lives.
For those of us who claim both the African-American community and the Lgbt community, it can seem that precious little of Black History Month embraces our unique experience. Black, Lgbt icons like Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, and others are often either overlooked entirely or stripped of their sexuality when they're included in the canon of mainstream African-American history. Similarly, when today's leaders in the African-American community are acknowledged, the Lgbt community is rarely represented.
Novelist Chimamanda Adichie speaks eloquently about the danger of failing to tell a community's stories fully. When we limit ourselves to a single story about any group of people,...
For those of us who claim both the African-American community and the Lgbt community, it can seem that precious little of Black History Month embraces our unique experience. Black, Lgbt icons like Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, and others are often either overlooked entirely or stripped of their sexuality when they're included in the canon of mainstream African-American history. Similarly, when today's leaders in the African-American community are acknowledged, the Lgbt community is rarely represented.
Novelist Chimamanda Adichie speaks eloquently about the danger of failing to tell a community's stories fully. When we limit ourselves to a single story about any group of people,...
- 2/17/2012
- by Leyla Farah
- Aol TV.
Getty People at the entrance of the bookshop Shakespeare & Co. on December 14, 2011 in Paris.
On my way home from Germany last month I stopped in Paris for a day and after checking out the booksellers kiosks along the Seine I found myself inside Shakespeare & Co., the fabled bookshop on the Left Bank.
Up some narrow rickety stairs on the second floor there was a warren of little rooms crammed with even more books than the store below; these were almost all hard bound,...
On my way home from Germany last month I stopped in Paris for a day and after checking out the booksellers kiosks along the Seine I found myself inside Shakespeare & Co., the fabled bookshop on the Left Bank.
Up some narrow rickety stairs on the second floor there was a warren of little rooms crammed with even more books than the store below; these were almost all hard bound,...
- 12/16/2011
- by Steven Dougherty
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Spike Lee's adaptation of Alex Haley's autobiography makes a good fist of profiling the controversial civil-rights campaigner
Malcolm X (1992)
Director: Spike Lee
Entertainment grade: A–
History grade: C+
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little and later named El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was an African-American Muslim leader who emerged from the Nation of Islam.
Screenplay
A film of The Autobiography of Malcolm X was first planned in 1967 and written by James Baldwin. To avoid legal trouble, Baldwin's script did not mention the Nation of Islam, calling it "the Movement". More than that, his draft was criticised for reflecting his own sexuality and politics rather than Malcolm's. Baldwin was openly gay, and favoured integration rather than black separatism. In an intriguing twist, since Baldwin's death in 1987 more than one biography has alleged that Malcolm himself had homosexual encounters in the early 1940s, which would have made ideal material for Baldwin. Spike Lee...
Malcolm X (1992)
Director: Spike Lee
Entertainment grade: A–
History grade: C+
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little and later named El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was an African-American Muslim leader who emerged from the Nation of Islam.
Screenplay
A film of The Autobiography of Malcolm X was first planned in 1967 and written by James Baldwin. To avoid legal trouble, Baldwin's script did not mention the Nation of Islam, calling it "the Movement". More than that, his draft was criticised for reflecting his own sexuality and politics rather than Malcolm's. Baldwin was openly gay, and favoured integration rather than black separatism. In an intriguing twist, since Baldwin's death in 1987 more than one biography has alleged that Malcolm himself had homosexual encounters in the early 1940s, which would have made ideal material for Baldwin. Spike Lee...
- 11/11/2011
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
Almost as soon as it was announced that J. Edgar Hoover would be getting a new biopic, speculation has been rife over how his relationship with Clyde Tolson would be portrayed.
Although there's no definitive proof either way, it's widely assumed that Hoover, long-term director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Tolson, his assistant director, were lovers. Director Clint Eastwood sparked concern that Hoover's story would be “straightwashed” when he told The Wall Street Journal that the script “didn't quite go down [the] road” of addressing rumors of Hoover's being closeted and a cross-dresser. (Eastwood later confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter that he included a scene showing Hoover wearing his mother's dress.)
Meanwhile, out J. Edgar screenwriter Dustin Lance Black assured AfterElton that Hoover and Tolson would not be “de-gayed,” saying “To think that somehow you’re going to make a movie about somebody like J. Edgar and...
Although there's no definitive proof either way, it's widely assumed that Hoover, long-term director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Tolson, his assistant director, were lovers. Director Clint Eastwood sparked concern that Hoover's story would be “straightwashed” when he told The Wall Street Journal that the script “didn't quite go down [the] road” of addressing rumors of Hoover's being closeted and a cross-dresser. (Eastwood later confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter that he included a scene showing Hoover wearing his mother's dress.)
Meanwhile, out J. Edgar screenwriter Dustin Lance Black assured AfterElton that Hoover and Tolson would not be “de-gayed,” saying “To think that somehow you’re going to make a movie about somebody like J. Edgar and...
- 11/7/2011
- by John
- The Backlot
HollywoodNews.com: Nile Rodgers, Paul Shaffer, Michael Douglas, Cissy Houston, Felicia Collins, Russ Titelman, Sylvia Rhone, Nona Hendryx, and Sue Simmons were among the luminaries who attended the Monday night memorial service for Nick Ashford at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. Jim Bessman was kind enough to write us an account of what went on because I could not be there. No sign of Diana Ross, Chaka Khan or Whitney Houston, but plenty of towering talent from Roberta Flack to Edgar Bronfman, Jr. participated. Nick’s death is a huge blow to his family, friends and the world. –Rf
To those who spoke on his behalf at his memorial service yesterday, Nickolas Ashford was a giant, a saint, a talent whose contributions, as Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley dramatically stated, matched those of the likes of James Brown, Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Dr. Maya Angelou, Ralph Ellison and Duke Ellington,...
To those who spoke on his behalf at his memorial service yesterday, Nickolas Ashford was a giant, a saint, a talent whose contributions, as Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley dramatically stated, matched those of the likes of James Brown, Nina Simone, James Baldwin, Dr. Maya Angelou, Ralph Ellison and Duke Ellington,...
- 8/31/2011
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
When an Arkansas judge freed Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley, and James Baldwin – better known as the West Memphis Three – this past Friday, many of us assumed a feature movie would soon follow. After all, the case – which spawned two documentaries chronicling the miscarriage of justice involved in the case – has everything producers could want in a courtroom drama: shockingly brutal murders, alleged Satanic activity, legal injustice, and now, a bittersweet ending where the defendants are freed – but only after admitting guilt while still trying to prove their innocence. It’s perfect for a feature. It didn’t take long for news that Hollywood was working on a WM3 project to come to light – but this isn’t the typical quick cash...
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- 8/22/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
The Hangover Part II – Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Movie of the Week
The Hangover Part II
The Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
The Plot: Right after their infamous Las Vegas bachelor party, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.
The Buzz: Like many wines and cheeses before him, Hangover II writer/director Todd Phillips has aged well. With Road Trip, his directorial debut, he made a film just funny enough to facilitate the production of his 2nd film, the far superior, Old School. From there Phillips helmed Starsky and Hutch, which was respected well enough, for what it was, before taking a major misstep with School for Scoundrels. Phillips bounced back big-time from his first flop,...
The Hangover Part II – Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Movie of the Week
The Hangover Part II
The Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
The Plot: Right after their infamous Las Vegas bachelor party, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry.
The Buzz: Like many wines and cheeses before him, Hangover II writer/director Todd Phillips has aged well. With Road Trip, his directorial debut, he made a film just funny enough to facilitate the production of his 2nd film, the far superior, Old School. From there Phillips helmed Starsky and Hutch, which was respected well enough, for what it was, before taking a major misstep with School for Scoundrels. Phillips bounced back big-time from his first flop,...
- 5/25/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
Back Bay Books
I interviewed David Foster Wallace not long before he committed suicide and a few months ago an editor called to talk to me about my final encounter with the author.
Like most people, I count Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” as one of the best novels I’ve ever read.
Actually, let me be a bit more precise.
Like a certain set of (arguably) semi-pretentious folks, many of whom have been educated at leading universities or who have jobs in the major media,...
I interviewed David Foster Wallace not long before he committed suicide and a few months ago an editor called to talk to me about my final encounter with the author.
Like most people, I count Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” as one of the best novels I’ve ever read.
Actually, let me be a bit more precise.
Like a certain set of (arguably) semi-pretentious folks, many of whom have been educated at leading universities or who have jobs in the major media,...
- 4/2/2011
- by Christopher John Farley
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
The following essay by the late African American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, August Wilson, was first published in Spin Magazine, October 1990, and was later reprinted as a New York Times op-ed piece.
Consider it another item to throw into our ongoing deconstruction of the category we call “black cinema.”
It inspired several thoughts and recollections in me… especially that age-old discussion we’ve had periodically on how to define “blackness,” or the proverbial “black experience,” or “black stories,” “black aesthetic,” or “black film” – all labels that simply cannot be readily given meaning to.
Are there stories/experiences that are uniquely “black,” and others that are uniquely “white” that wouldn’t work in the reverse? What do you think? Obviously, a work like Roots, a uniquely African experience, set in a specific time period, certainly wouldn’t mean the same thing if the characters were all white. It simply wouldn’t exist.
Consider it another item to throw into our ongoing deconstruction of the category we call “black cinema.”
It inspired several thoughts and recollections in me… especially that age-old discussion we’ve had periodically on how to define “blackness,” or the proverbial “black experience,” or “black stories,” “black aesthetic,” or “black film” – all labels that simply cannot be readily given meaning to.
Are there stories/experiences that are uniquely “black,” and others that are uniquely “white” that wouldn’t work in the reverse? What do you think? Obviously, a work like Roots, a uniquely African experience, set in a specific time period, certainly wouldn’t mean the same thing if the characters were all white. It simply wouldn’t exist.
- 3/15/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Since we all saw the BAFTAs on tape-delay, live-blogging seemed pointless. So SAG will have to stand as the last live-blog of the season. But here are my ___ favorite moments from BAFTA in chronological order. What were yours?
01. Helena Bonham Carter on the red carpet, when the red carpet reporter describes her as Brit Movie Royalty (which she is).
In fact, this is the year of queens for me. I do big headed queen, then medium sized, maybe next year I'll do pinheaded queen. It's always fun to play queens because people do start treating you like royalty, it's a bit hilarious.
Helena is the only person alive that doesn't make me cringe when they're referencing Alice in Wonderland. She uses this joke again in her acceptance speech but it works both times.
02. Emma Stone on the red carpet joking that Andrew Garfield has been trying to kill her on...
01. Helena Bonham Carter on the red carpet, when the red carpet reporter describes her as Brit Movie Royalty (which she is).
In fact, this is the year of queens for me. I do big headed queen, then medium sized, maybe next year I'll do pinheaded queen. It's always fun to play queens because people do start treating you like royalty, it's a bit hilarious.
Helena is the only person alive that doesn't make me cringe when they're referencing Alice in Wonderland. She uses this joke again in her acceptance speech but it works both times.
02. Emma Stone on the red carpet joking that Andrew Garfield has been trying to kill her on...
- 2/14/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Martin Scorsese's energetic, beautiful documentary about Fran Lebowitz is the best thing on Sky Atlantic
Forget Boardwalk Empire, forget Treme, forget the fifth series of Mad Men it's nicked from BBC2 – the 90 minute Martin Scorsese documentary on Fran Lebowitz tomorrow night, Public Speaking, is worth the price of admission to Sky Atlantic alone.
It's shot in the style of his early documentaries, Italian American and American Boy – energetic, sinewy, beautiful – but perhaps "documentary" is a slightly misleading term. It suggests the existence, even the introduction of a point of view or two other than the subject's own, and when you've got a camera trained on writer, wit, raconteur Fran Lebowitz, there is really no room for such indulgence. "Who do I go to when I want a second opinion?" she rasps in answer to a question from the audience at one of her lectures. "You mean, like – a cardiologist?...
Forget Boardwalk Empire, forget Treme, forget the fifth series of Mad Men it's nicked from BBC2 – the 90 minute Martin Scorsese documentary on Fran Lebowitz tomorrow night, Public Speaking, is worth the price of admission to Sky Atlantic alone.
It's shot in the style of his early documentaries, Italian American and American Boy – energetic, sinewy, beautiful – but perhaps "documentary" is a slightly misleading term. It suggests the existence, even the introduction of a point of view or two other than the subject's own, and when you've got a camera trained on writer, wit, raconteur Fran Lebowitz, there is really no room for such indulgence. "Who do I go to when I want a second opinion?" she rasps in answer to a question from the audience at one of her lectures. "You mean, like – a cardiologist?...
- 2/1/2011
- by Lucy Mangan
- The Guardian - Film News
Screenwriter and director of Mississippi Damned Tina Mabry was named last week the James Baldwin Fellow receiving a United States Artist Fellowship for her work on Mississippi Damned. During an event at New York City’s Lincoln Center, Tina was among the 50 artists who were honored.
According to the fellowship, each fellow was chosen through a highly competitive nomination, application, and peer-review process. Experts across all disciplines and representing all 50 states are asked to nominate artists to apply for the award. Of the 301 artists nominated, only 50, including Ms. Mabry, received an unrestricted grant of $50,000. For more information about those awarded go Here.
Congrats Tina!
According to the fellowship, each fellow was chosen through a highly competitive nomination, application, and peer-review process. Experts across all disciplines and representing all 50 states are asked to nominate artists to apply for the award. Of the 301 artists nominated, only 50, including Ms. Mabry, received an unrestricted grant of $50,000. For more information about those awarded go Here.
Congrats Tina!
- 12/14/2010
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
In some ways, we've seen this story many times before: a sensitive gay teen is the new kid in a town of small-minded idiots and, as such, is subjected to all manner of harassment, until he happens to find the first stirrings of love in the arms of another sensitive misfit.
But in other ways, the 2009 movie Rivers Wash Over Me, just out on DVD, feels surprisingly fresh and affecting, mostly because of the movie's breathtaking realism, and also because the characters are not the ones we're used to seeing in this particular story: the main character here, Sequan, is African American and he and his boyfriend are younger teens, not the usual seniors in high school.
After his mother is murdered in New York, 15-year-old Sequan is sent to live with relatives in a small town in Alabama. But the town is rife with racism, ignorance, and violence — no...
But in other ways, the 2009 movie Rivers Wash Over Me, just out on DVD, feels surprisingly fresh and affecting, mostly because of the movie's breathtaking realism, and also because the characters are not the ones we're used to seeing in this particular story: the main character here, Sequan, is African American and he and his boyfriend are younger teens, not the usual seniors in high school.
After his mother is murdered in New York, 15-year-old Sequan is sent to live with relatives in a small town in Alabama. But the town is rife with racism, ignorance, and violence — no...
- 12/8/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
We've heard of musicians becoming designers, but designers becoming musicians? Hip-hop mogul Diddy set out to do just that with his new album. Vogue magazine's Andre Leon Talley blogged that Diddy-Dirty Money's album Last Train to Paris featured a number of influential people in the fashion industry, including himself, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and designers Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi and Tommy Hilfiger. Talley blogged about the experience, writing: "During Fashion Week last year, [Diddy] sent out the call via e-mail and voice mail to high-fashion friends to come to his studio to participate in the record. ... He’s like great creative thinkers in music who love fashion. ... For my part, I recited words by James Baldwin, and Diddy respected it enough to leave it intact. Last Train to Paris is totally twenty-first-century Diddy cool." According to Glamour magazine, for fashionista Wintour's part, she says: "This is Anna Wintour from Vogue magazine.
- 12/7/2010
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
Filed under: Reality-Free, Celebrity Interviews
There aren't a whole lot of job openings these days for philosophers, public wits and raconteurs. Fran Lebowitz pretty much has the monopoly to herself.
As recorded by no less than director Martin Scorsese in his new HBO documentary 'Public Speaking' (which debuts Nov. 22), Lebowitz is the last of a breed that once included such sparkling conversationalists as Dorothy Parker, Oscar Wilde, Oscar Levant, Jack Paar, Truman Capote, William F. Buckley, James Baldwin and others who could dine out on their witticisms and pontifications.
Though Lebowitz, 60, hasn't published a book of new essays in decades (she famously suffers from a bout of writer's block so durable that she calls it "writer's blockade"), she still makes a living as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and, as the title of the documentary implies, on the lecture circuit. For her, "public speaking" really just means "talking back,...
There aren't a whole lot of job openings these days for philosophers, public wits and raconteurs. Fran Lebowitz pretty much has the monopoly to herself.
As recorded by no less than director Martin Scorsese in his new HBO documentary 'Public Speaking' (which debuts Nov. 22), Lebowitz is the last of a breed that once included such sparkling conversationalists as Dorothy Parker, Oscar Wilde, Oscar Levant, Jack Paar, Truman Capote, William F. Buckley, James Baldwin and others who could dine out on their witticisms and pontifications.
Though Lebowitz, 60, hasn't published a book of new essays in decades (she famously suffers from a bout of writer's block so durable that she calls it "writer's blockade"), she still makes a living as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and, as the title of the documentary implies, on the lecture circuit. For her, "public speaking" really just means "talking back,...
- 11/19/2010
- by Gary Susman
- Aol TV.
From the moment that Hal Holmes and I slipped quietly into his basement and he showed me his father's hidden collection of Playboy magazines, the map of my emotional geography shifted toward Chicago. In that magical city lived a man named Hugh Hefner who had Playmates possessing wondrous bits and pieces I had never seen before. I wanted to be invited to his house.
I was trembling on the brim of puberty, and aroused not so much by the rather sedate color "centerfold" of an undressed woman, as by the black and white photos that accompanied them. These showed an ordinary woman (I believe it was Janet Pilgrim) entering an office building in Chicago, and being made up for her "pictorial." Made up! Two makeup artists were shown applying powders and creams to her flesh. This electrified me. It made Pilgrim a real person. In an interview she spoke of her life and ambitions.
I was trembling on the brim of puberty, and aroused not so much by the rather sedate color "centerfold" of an undressed woman, as by the black and white photos that accompanied them. These showed an ordinary woman (I believe it was Janet Pilgrim) entering an office building in Chicago, and being made up for her "pictorial." Made up! Two makeup artists were shown applying powders and creams to her flesh. This electrified me. It made Pilgrim a real person. In an interview she spoke of her life and ambitions.
- 11/7/2010
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Poet Maya Angelou will be donating her personal papers and documents to The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem today. Through her donation of 343 boxes containing notes and letters, Angelou gives an intimate glimpse into her thought processes as she sat down to pen iconic books like "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and the poems "Still I Rise" and "Phenomenal Woman." The collection includes handwritten notes for "Caged Bird" and letters to friends like Oprah, Malcolm X, James Baldwin and Coretta Scott King...
- 10/29/2010
- Essence
Filed under: TV News
Further proof that the end is nearer than we think: Microsoft announced Tuesday that it is developing voice- and gesture-activated controls for televisions.
Yes -- in the very near future, not only will we be able to stay put on the couch when switching the TV from 'Teen Mom' to 'American Idol,' we won't even have to lift a burdensome remote control and point at our cable boxes to do so. Instead, all we'll have to do is grunt a command or swing a hand at the screen.
James Baldwin, Microsoft's chief technology officer for television, said the company's Kinect technology, which allows users to interact with their video game consoles without controllers, could be adapted for hands-free remote control use, Variety reports.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
Further proof that the end is nearer than we think: Microsoft announced Tuesday that it is developing voice- and gesture-activated controls for televisions.
Yes -- in the very near future, not only will we be able to stay put on the couch when switching the TV from 'Teen Mom' to 'American Idol,' we won't even have to lift a burdensome remote control and point at our cable boxes to do so. Instead, all we'll have to do is grunt a command or swing a hand at the screen.
James Baldwin, Microsoft's chief technology officer for television, said the company's Kinect technology, which allows users to interact with their video game consoles without controllers, could be adapted for hands-free remote control use, Variety reports.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
- 10/27/2010
- by Jean Bentley
- Aol TV.
Plus firemen are hot, the Vma's get a host, Servicemembers United premiere a new ad, and will the Silver Fox remain silver?
Ricky Martin has decided on a title for his autobiography, which will be on shelves November 2. Tragically he passed on my suggestion, Menudo Dearest, and went with the um .. somewhat obvious Me. Wait a minute, isn't that the same title as Katherine Hepburn's autobiography? So what kind of tree would Ricky be? C'mon people! I need suggestions! Doesn't anyone have wood for Ricky Martin? Speaking of new book releases, The Cross of Redemption, a collection of essays and articles from gay civil rights pioneer James Baldwin will be released in a few days, and NPR has an audio interview with book editor Randall Kenan. Going from the sublime to the ridiculous, MTV has announced that Chelsea Handler will host this years Video Music Awards. which will be held on Sunday,...
Ricky Martin has decided on a title for his autobiography, which will be on shelves November 2. Tragically he passed on my suggestion, Menudo Dearest, and went with the um .. somewhat obvious Me. Wait a minute, isn't that the same title as Katherine Hepburn's autobiography? So what kind of tree would Ricky be? C'mon people! I need suggestions! Doesn't anyone have wood for Ricky Martin? Speaking of new book releases, The Cross of Redemption, a collection of essays and articles from gay civil rights pioneer James Baldwin will be released in a few days, and NPR has an audio interview with book editor Randall Kenan. Going from the sublime to the ridiculous, MTV has announced that Chelsea Handler will host this years Video Music Awards. which will be held on Sunday,...
- 8/19/2010
- by michael
- The Backlot
Directed by Alva French, Tria and Dan is the true story of the filmmaker’s grandparents – an interracial American couple who left the Us in 1949 to raise a family in Paris, France. Free from restrictions imposed by a segregationist government, Tria and Dan thrived in an artistic community made famous by Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, Chester Himes, James Jones, and Melvin Van Peebles.
- 6/9/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
From June 4th thru the 27th, the New Federal Theatre in New York City will present a series of play readings titled, Great Black Plays & Playwrights.
25 plays will be read, spanning the beginning of the Black Theatre Movement in the 1960’s thru the present day. Highlights include Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls…, Amari Baraka’s A Recent Killing, Lonne Elder’s Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, Laurence Holder’s When Chickens Come Home to Roost, Suzan Lori-Parks’ TopDog/UnderDog, James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, Lynn Nottage’s Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Pearle Cleage’s Flyin’ West, and many more.
Trezana Beverly, who won a Tony Award for her performance in the original Broadway production of For Colored Girls…, will direct the reading of it here. Other scheduled directors include Talvin Wilks, Clinton Turner Davis, Allie Woods and more. No casting has been announced yet.
Readings will...
25 plays will be read, spanning the beginning of the Black Theatre Movement in the 1960’s thru the present day. Highlights include Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls…, Amari Baraka’s A Recent Killing, Lonne Elder’s Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, Laurence Holder’s When Chickens Come Home to Roost, Suzan Lori-Parks’ TopDog/UnderDog, James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, Lynn Nottage’s Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Pearle Cleage’s Flyin’ West, and many more.
Trezana Beverly, who won a Tony Award for her performance in the original Broadway production of For Colored Girls…, will direct the reading of it here. Other scheduled directors include Talvin Wilks, Clinton Turner Davis, Allie Woods and more. No casting has been announced yet.
Readings will...
- 6/2/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
This week! Dave Franco, the "first" comings out, and whether the "hoyay" in Merlin is intentional! Plus, what's with Rolling Stone's horrible Glee article?
Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)
Q: So I don't usually do this (fans self), but I have to know, Mr. Monkey, is Dave Franco, younger brother of super-awesome gay friendly James Franco, a friend of Dorothy? I only ask this because of a reference he made in a short interview: “Once a week I would meet up with the coolest teacher and we’d go over my work. All my friends were like, Soooo… once a week at lunch you meet up with Mr. Schulenberg to talk about poetry. (smiles) They all thought I was having sex with my teacher. But I really just loved to write and it was a nice outlet.
Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)
Q: So I don't usually do this (fans self), but I have to know, Mr. Monkey, is Dave Franco, younger brother of super-awesome gay friendly James Franco, a friend of Dorothy? I only ask this because of a reference he made in a short interview: “Once a week I would meet up with the coolest teacher and we’d go over my work. All my friends were like, Soooo… once a week at lunch you meet up with Mr. Schulenberg to talk about poetry. (smiles) They all thought I was having sex with my teacher. But I really just loved to write and it was a nice outlet.
- 4/14/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
James Baldwin's Another Country is a sprawling novel that details the lives of a group of musicians, writers and artists in 1950's Greenwich Village. Thrown right into a cold New York City night, the story begins with urgency, as we follow the young Rufus Scott wandering the dark city streets, broke and broken. Baldwin immediately draws the reader in, setting us on a bumpy and often harrowing path exploring interracial relationships, extramarital affairs, bisexuality, as well as self delusion and its consequences.
Baldwin began writing the novel in Greenwich Village in 1948. He completed it on a kitchen counter in Istanbul in 1962. From Paris he had traveled to Turkey, arriving in poor health, depressed, and feeling that he had lost sight of his aims as a writer. Carrying with him an "unpublishable manuscript" that was "ruining his life," Baldwin claimed the characters simply wouldn't speak to him. On the brink of suicide,...
Baldwin began writing the novel in Greenwich Village in 1948. He completed it on a kitchen counter in Istanbul in 1962. From Paris he had traveled to Turkey, arriving in poor health, depressed, and feeling that he had lost sight of his aims as a writer. Carrying with him an "unpublishable manuscript" that was "ruining his life," Baldwin claimed the characters simply wouldn't speak to him. On the brink of suicide,...
- 3/24/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Have a question about gay male entertainment? Contact me here (and be sure and include your city and state and/or country!)
A Note from the Flying Monkey: I’ve mentioned before how, completely coincidentally, I often receive emails around the same time all centered around a certain “theme.” This week, most of the mail involved questions about the past.
But with topics as interesting as these, it's not enough to merely write about the past. So join me this week as we make a full-fledged Journey Back Through The Mists Of Time!
Q: Oh magnanimous one, right now I'm really into creatures like fairies, fairy-adjacent creatures (such as elves), and really anything that can fly. Are there any books, TV shows, movies, or songs that involve creatures such as gay angels, gay fairies, gay elves, or anything that can fly that's gay? -- Kitty, Tennessee
A: Fairies, angels, and...
A Note from the Flying Monkey: I’ve mentioned before how, completely coincidentally, I often receive emails around the same time all centered around a certain “theme.” This week, most of the mail involved questions about the past.
But with topics as interesting as these, it's not enough to merely write about the past. So join me this week as we make a full-fledged Journey Back Through The Mists Of Time!
Q: Oh magnanimous one, right now I'm really into creatures like fairies, fairy-adjacent creatures (such as elves), and really anything that can fly. Are there any books, TV shows, movies, or songs that involve creatures such as gay angels, gay fairies, gay elves, or anything that can fly that's gay? -- Kitty, Tennessee
A: Fairies, angels, and...
- 3/1/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
'I'd really like to be Emma Thompson when I grow up'
Maggie Gyllenhaal, 32, was born in New York, the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. She made her film debut in 1992, in her father's Waterland, and a decade later won a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Secretary. In 2007, she was nominated again for SherryBaby. Her new film, Crazy Heart, is out on 19 February. She is married to the actor Peter Sarsgaard and they have a daughter.
When were you happiest?
The day after I got married.
What is your earliest memory?
I was tiny, less than three, looking up at my mom, who was pregnant. We were saying, "When is this baby going to come?" about my brother, Jake.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Lately, Emma Thompson – we worked together last summer. I'd like to be her when I grow up.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, 32, was born in New York, the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. She made her film debut in 1992, in her father's Waterland, and a decade later won a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Secretary. In 2007, she was nominated again for SherryBaby. Her new film, Crazy Heart, is out on 19 February. She is married to the actor Peter Sarsgaard and they have a daughter.
When were you happiest?
The day after I got married.
What is your earliest memory?
I was tiny, less than three, looking up at my mom, who was pregnant. We were saying, "When is this baby going to come?" about my brother, Jake.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Lately, Emma Thompson – we worked together last summer. I'd like to be her when I grow up.
- 2/6/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
By Rahman Dukes
If you ask iconic New York City graffiti artist Phade (better known as Shirt King Phade from the legendary Shirt Kingz) about the current state of hip-hop, he'd more than likely tell you it's alive and breathing and resides in the Bronx, New York.
Whether you agree or disagree, Phade has been around the culture for decades and just like any other passionate hip hop fan is entitled to his opinion. But the difference between Phade and your average fan is Phade has lived the life of a rapper. And his crew, the Shirt Kingz, are his clique.
For those who may not be aware, Phade and the almighty Shirt Kingz carved a name for themselves in hip hop history by hooking up some of the '80s biggest acts with customized clothing. From LL Cool J to Bbd to Biz Markie to Jay-z, you weren't considered...
If you ask iconic New York City graffiti artist Phade (better known as Shirt King Phade from the legendary Shirt Kingz) about the current state of hip-hop, he'd more than likely tell you it's alive and breathing and resides in the Bronx, New York.
Whether you agree or disagree, Phade has been around the culture for decades and just like any other passionate hip hop fan is entitled to his opinion. But the difference between Phade and your average fan is Phade has lived the life of a rapper. And his crew, the Shirt Kingz, are his clique.
For those who may not be aware, Phade and the almighty Shirt Kingz carved a name for themselves in hip hop history by hooking up some of the '80s biggest acts with customized clothing. From LL Cool J to Bbd to Biz Markie to Jay-z, you weren't considered...
- 12/23/2009
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
Following the critical (and almost box-office, given its thus far limited release) success of Precious and given the comments generated by Tambay’s post here about casting news for Lee Daniels‘ next project, Selma, the much lauded and lambasted director’s recent interview in the Guardian/Observer and the film, once it’s finished, just might ignite a veritable conniption and/or full blown tirade from some of you out there – but he seems prepared for the onslaught.
It’s not unusual to hear complaints from the blackerati when mainstream films featuring real-life black characters are made – Biko, The Last King of Scotland, American Gangster, Invictus… It would seem that, despite (or maybe because of) the lack of high profile roles dedicated specifically to black characters in mainstream movies, when they do come up, even if they’re a pivotal part of the story, they’re not the main, or only,...
It’s not unusual to hear complaints from the blackerati when mainstream films featuring real-life black characters are made – Biko, The Last King of Scotland, American Gangster, Invictus… It would seem that, despite (or maybe because of) the lack of high profile roles dedicated specifically to black characters in mainstream movies, when they do come up, even if they’re a pivotal part of the story, they’re not the main, or only,...
- 12/7/2009
- by MsWOO
- ShadowAndAct
Precious, the story of an obese and abused black teenager, is the year's most reviled as well as praised film in America. But director Lee Daniels is used to trouble, he tells Gaby Wood. He grew up gay on the streets of Philadelphia, after all, and is drawn to the most disturbing truths. That'll be why he's heading to America's Deep South for his next film…
For the past month, one particular actress has filled American movie screens and visited American minds. She is obese and very dark-skinned, and the character she plays – a 16-year-old illiterate girl from Harlem who is abused by her mother and pregnant by her father for the second time – has been dealt one of the worst hands society has to offer. Yet what's most often said about Gabourey Sidibe – in this Aniston-adoring, holiday-spirited culture – is none of those things. It's that she is completely wonderful,...
For the past month, one particular actress has filled American movie screens and visited American minds. She is obese and very dark-skinned, and the character she plays – a 16-year-old illiterate girl from Harlem who is abused by her mother and pregnant by her father for the second time – has been dealt one of the worst hands society has to offer. Yet what's most often said about Gabourey Sidibe – in this Aniston-adoring, holiday-spirited culture – is none of those things. It's that she is completely wonderful,...
- 12/7/2009
- by Gaby Wood
- The Guardian - Film News
A Serious Man may be getting rave reviews – but it's like nothing the Coens have made before. Joe Queenan on weird one-offs and the directors who make them
About halfway through the very funny, very disturbing, very ethnic new film A Serious Man, the modern-day Job who is the serious man in question climbs up on to the roof of his ghastly 1960s Minneapolis suburban home and tries to adjust the antenna to improve his TV reception. Beleaguered on all fronts – conjugally, professionally, medically – Larry Gopnik, a dorky physics professor who may be about to lose his job and is very likely to lose his family, is a bright, principled Jewish man whose children have begged him to fix the antenna so they can watch F Troop, an idiotic 1960s comedy. Many of Larry's travails unfold as songs from Jefferson Airplane's seminal 1967 LP Surrealistic Pillow play in the background.
About halfway through the very funny, very disturbing, very ethnic new film A Serious Man, the modern-day Job who is the serious man in question climbs up on to the roof of his ghastly 1960s Minneapolis suburban home and tries to adjust the antenna to improve his TV reception. Beleaguered on all fronts – conjugally, professionally, medically – Larry Gopnik, a dorky physics professor who may be about to lose his job and is very likely to lose his family, is a bright, principled Jewish man whose children have begged him to fix the antenna so they can watch F Troop, an idiotic 1960s comedy. Many of Larry's travails unfold as songs from Jefferson Airplane's seminal 1967 LP Surrealistic Pillow play in the background.
- 11/29/2009
- by Joe Queenan
- The Guardian - Film News
Have a question about gay male entertainment? Send it to aftereltonflyingmonkey@yahoo.com! (Please include your city and state and/or country.)
Q: On last week’s episode of The Amazing Race, both Sam and Dan’s groin areas were pixelated during their mudflats volleyball game in Tallinn, Estonia – but no one else was. Upon arrival at the mudflats volleyball court, Sam, after a thorough survey of their male competitors, remarked how gorgeous and good-looking they all were in their black trunks. Could it be a case of uncontrolled standing ovation or just attire malfunction? – Anonymous
Sam (left) and Dan McMillen
A: What are you suggesting – that they both had uncontrolled standing ovations? That makes me wonder what’s in the water back in Liberty, Missouri.
But it’s true: plenty of viewers were perplexed by the curious case of the pixilation of the underwear of Amazing Race’s hot gay brothers.
Q: On last week’s episode of The Amazing Race, both Sam and Dan’s groin areas were pixelated during their mudflats volleyball game in Tallinn, Estonia – but no one else was. Upon arrival at the mudflats volleyball court, Sam, after a thorough survey of their male competitors, remarked how gorgeous and good-looking they all were in their black trunks. Could it be a case of uncontrolled standing ovation or just attire malfunction? – Anonymous
Sam (left) and Dan McMillen
A: What are you suggesting – that they both had uncontrolled standing ovations? That makes me wonder what’s in the water back in Liberty, Missouri.
But it’s true: plenty of viewers were perplexed by the curious case of the pixilation of the underwear of Amazing Race’s hot gay brothers.
- 11/23/2009
- by brent
- The Backlot
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