THE OBENSON REPORT

Notorious scribe, Cheo Hodari Coker, is becoming a very busy man. A week after the B.I.G. biopic opened in theatres across the country, the first-timer is reportedly now attached to write screenplays for 2 other feature-length films.

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Coker has been hand-picked by mega-producer, Brian Grazer, to pen a drama set in the world of low-riding car culture, for Universal and Grazer's production shingle, Imagine.

The film will be aptly titled, Lowriders.

The project is based on an idea by Grazer, who is supposedly intrigued by the low-riding culture, unique to black and Latino communities - essentially, young men (mostly) who drive around in cars with adjusted suspension systems.

And this morning, The Hollywood Reporter also announced that Coker has been attached to adapt Bill Adler's Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run-DMC -- The Authorized Biography for DJ Classicz, the urban arm of Davis Entertainment. DJ Classicz president Dallas Jackson optioned the book recently and will produce with production partner John Davis.

Tougher will explore the history of hip-hop's first superstars: Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, who was shot to death in his Queens studio in 2002.

A timely event I suppose, as Run-DMC will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4.

"It's an extraordinary rags-to-riches journey that I'm eager to bring to the screen," Jackson said. "And I'm hoping to have Run, DMC and Russell Simmons' involvement. This will be a big movie about the 1980s hip-hop movement that took over the world."

A "big movie about the 1980s hip-hop movement" sounds ambitious, and he certainly has my attention. I grew up on hip-hop of the late 80s/early 90s, so I (and millions of others) have a vested interest in the production.

Don't screw it up!

Cheo Hodari Coker, for whom Notorious was his first attempt at screenwriting, was previously a journalist who wrote for Premiere, Vibe, Rolling Stone and Spin before transitioning to screenwriting. Looks like brothaman will be busy for awhile. Good for him!

via AOLBV // THR

a genetic abnormality caused Sandra, born of white parents in apartheid South Africa, to look like a black person. Her parents, rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, lovingly raise her as their 'white' little girl. Tormented and unaccepted by white society, though classified as white, she falls in love with a Black man and moves to a township, alienating her parents. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world.

“We’re doing it together – it’s going to happen,” Lee told MTV News in an exclusive interview at the Sundance Film Festival this week. The Oscar nominated director of “Do the Right Thing” and “Inside Man” lavished praise on Snipes. “He’s my man,” Lee said; but when it comes to the vocals on Brown’s classic tracks like “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “Get Up Offa That Thing,” expect to hear the authentic voice of James Brown being dubbed in.

“I want to hear James Brown’s voice,” the director said. “That’s just my personal taste.”

Ms. Barrymore recently blabbed to E! about wanting to add a third Angels film to the pair she already has... Sci Fi Wire managed to get an interview with her compadre Ms. Juvonen and pushed for as much info as she was willing and able to give.

[...]

“We’d have to do it with McG. I don’t think we could do it without McG and I think that the Angels all at least need to be there. Right?”

She also posited the possibility of a fourth Angel joining the team, adding “I’m having a Rihanna fixation myself. What are you going to do?”

The interview also addresses the passing of Bernie Mac, which was a sad reminder of his passing. Juvonen knows that she would have to act respectfully in the replacement of Bosley, and admits to having given it some thought… though what thinks she thunk, I dunno.