Monday Links - SATC Venom, Girlfriends, Burn Hollywood Burn, Danny Glover For Prez, Sequels Galore, More...
(1966) Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint-Laurent (who died last night)
A slow Monday morning for news bits... but I'm happy to be awake and alive in New York City... no construction cranes fell on me after all...
- "The single biggest negative for the image of African Americans over the last 15 years was their widely reported elation when O.J. Simpson was found not guilty. People read those stories and saw the video clips and said to themselves, "What...?" The Sex And The City phenomenon, I submit, is on a par with this -- a cultural snapshot showing everyone in the world how utterly shallow and culturally nowhere mainstream American women have become, for the most part. " - How is that for analogous? The Sex And The City phenomenon is to mainstream American women what O.J.'s acquittal was to African Americans? Wow! I feel insulted by this actually. Obviously it's a white man speaking. The arrogance, superior and privileged tone are palpable. Regardless, I'm still amazed at the amount of venom still being fired at the movie! I don't get it. Who would've guessed it would create such a media frenzy! I think I'll have to see it now and judge for myself! But first, I'll need to dig up my sunglasses and hat so I can slip into the theatre incognito ;o) I'm guessing there'll likely be a sequel. Studio execs are probably meeting about that right now. I'm also guessing we'll see a string of similar themed movies over the next 5 years, until the well runs dry. But that could possibly mean big screen adaptations of other TV programs like the once labeled "black SATC" - Girlfriends! You heard it here first folks! Girlfriends, the movie, coming soon!
- An early morning fire broke out on the Universal Studios backlot Sunday, destroying important cityscape but no soundstages - When Public Enemy rapped, "Burn Hollywood Burn," is this what they meant? :o) Maybe someone over at Universal was trying to erase all traces of George Clooney's box office dud, Leatherheads!
- Another fictional Black president is on his way to the white house in yet another disaster movie. Danny Glover is in talks to play the president, with Thandie Newton to play his daughter in a film called 2012 which "centers on a global cataclysm and tells the heroic struggle of the survivors." Roland Emerich, the same cad who brought us other mega-budget disaster films like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, is writing and directing the film which, by the way, also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor. This is the second disaster movie I can think of in which the president is/was black - the other being Morgan Freeman in 1998's Deep Impact. Might there be a message here that Hollywood is trying to pass onto us? At times of crises in our country, we're best served in the capable hands of a black president :o)
- Inside Man 2? I Am Legend 2? Pink Panther 2? The folks over at Den of Geek clue us in on "30 Upcoming Movie Sequels That You Didn't Know About."
- Thanks to Sergio Mims for the info, George C. Wolfe, the black Broadway theater director, responsible (wholly or in part) for hits like Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, Top Dog/Underdog and Angels in America, has a new film on the horizon, his first since directing Lackawanna Blues for HBO, titled Nights In Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane and one of my favorite actresses, Viola Davis, in what looks like the archetypal BBF role ("black best friend," for those who don't know). In the film, based on a novel, a doctor (Gere) who is traveling to see his estranged son, sparks a romance with an unhappily married woman (Lane) at a North Carolina inn. It's set for an October release. Here's the trailer:
- An early morning fire broke out on the Universal Studios backlot Sunday, destroying important cityscape but no soundstages - When Public Enemy rapped, "Burn Hollywood Burn," is this what they meant? :o) Maybe someone over at Universal was trying to erase all traces of George Clooney's box office dud, Leatherheads!
- Another fictional Black president is on his way to the white house in yet another disaster movie. Danny Glover is in talks to play the president, with Thandie Newton to play his daughter in a film called 2012 which "centers on a global cataclysm and tells the heroic struggle of the survivors." Roland Emerich, the same cad who brought us other mega-budget disaster films like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, is writing and directing the film which, by the way, also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor. This is the second disaster movie I can think of in which the president is/was black - the other being Morgan Freeman in 1998's Deep Impact. Might there be a message here that Hollywood is trying to pass onto us? At times of crises in our country, we're best served in the capable hands of a black president :o)
- Inside Man 2? I Am Legend 2? Pink Panther 2? The folks over at Den of Geek clue us in on "30 Upcoming Movie Sequels That You Didn't Know About."
- Thanks to Sergio Mims for the info, George C. Wolfe, the black Broadway theater director, responsible (wholly or in part) for hits like Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, Top Dog/Underdog and Angels in America, has a new film on the horizon, his first since directing Lackawanna Blues for HBO, titled Nights In Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane and one of my favorite actresses, Viola Davis, in what looks like the archetypal BBF role ("black best friend," for those who don't know). In the film, based on a novel, a doctor (Gere) who is traveling to see his estranged son, sparks a romance with an unhappily married woman (Lane) at a North Carolina inn. It's set for an October release. Here's the trailer:
- Finally, I need content for ScreeningSights.com, so please send me a note if you're aware of any screenings in whatever city you're in, and I'll post it up! Thanks!
LOL! The SATC venom doesn't surprise me that much, actually. It seems to have pissed off soooo many people (mainly white middle-aged men and women who claim feminist leanings in order to feel superior to other women) that it's done so well.
For the critics who protest too much, they needn't worry, another movie with a white (and possibly even aging, nay, old) male engaging in feats of unbelievable derring do will be along shortly to save the world... If Will Smith doesn't get there first... LOL.
Girlfriends the movie...? Not so familiar with the TV series (only seen one or two episodes on visits to the US), but I'd go and see it!
Nights In Rodanthe looks... well, I loved Topdog/Underdog (and not just becuase I met the cast afterwards) and I quite liked Angels in America - what was his role here? - so I guess I'll give this time of day. Hated, Lakawanna Blues though...! Tried too hard to do too much and ended up achieving too little, IMHO.
And, um... Tambini, are you sure you didn't slip on your sunglasses and hat over the weekend and head to LA with a box of matches...?
:D
Hi Mr Obenson.
Lol @ what uk black chick said about you being the fire starter at Universal.
I haven't seen "Sex" yet but I will this weekend. I wanted to avoid the first weekend crowd.
What would happen in an "I Am Legend" sequel? Didn't Will Smith's character die in the first one? Are they going to bring him back from the dead?
I'll pass on "Rodanthe."
@ Wendy - I would be much more interested in seeing a Girlfriends movie than SATC for obvious reasons - and I won't even need my sunglasses and hat to walk into the theatre! Lackawanna Blues didn't do much for me either.
Wolfe's role in Angels In America was director - this is the Broadway stage version. He won a Tony award for it too.
@ albertine - Do let us know what you think about SATC after you see it.
I'm guessing Will Smith will have nothing to do with the I Am Legend sequel, if one ever does get made.
The Rodanthe trailer doesn't excite me either...
Might there be a message here that Hollywood is trying to pass onto us? At times of crises in our country, we're best served in the capable hands of a black president
I think the message is quite insidiously the opposite: Elect a president, and the world will move towards the brink of destruction! ;^)
I see your point UBM - I most certainly do...
You know, I never knew before now that Angels in America had been a broadway play. That must have been some play to behold! Sort of a more upscale, magical (or hallucinatory) 'Rent' without music - or was it a musical?
Actually, I didn't realise until only recently that Rent had been made into a movie! I saw it on stage some years ago and think I'd like to keep that experience alive. Mind you, if I ever catch it on TV...