THE OBENSON REPORT

“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.”

"They are all different types of movies that I bought the rights to, and we're developing projects. You will see different things from me in the future," he said.

Hollywood isn't a big deal in India, but Will Smith is. While Hollywood movies must make do with a market share of 5%-10% in a subcontinent dominated by Bollywood and other local varieties of cinema, Smith once again confounds expectations.

He helped launch Sony's Pix channel in India, has done guest turns on talent competition show "Indian Idol" and even has a production deal with UTV, one of India's leading studios.

According to previous accounts, Smith's interest in India came after release plans for the superstar's date-doctor pic "Hitch" were rejected by Chinese authorities. Angry at being locked out of such a growth market, the proactive Smith turned to Sony... who instead of suggesting a solution to the China problem, said they could be more helpful in India, a much more open market.

A month or two later, Smith and Overbrook partner James Lassiter took a five-day trip to India, where they met execs, directors and giants of the Indian scene, including superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and visited the Taj Mahal.

"On his first trip to India, not only did Will have a great time and meet a lot of interesting people, but I believe he really did fall in love with India -- the warmth of the people and the interaction and the buzz of the city and the creative energy of the people of the film world," says UTV topper Ronnie Screwvala.

"I really feel there is a marriage to be made between Hollywood and Bollywood," Smith said at the time, and he joked that he would like to be called "the Big W," an echo of Bachchan's nickname "the Big B."

Smith's global appeal may have much to do both with his interest in the world beyond the U.S. shores and his willingness to engage in a hands-on fashion.

"It's been said, 'Why sell something to 10 people when you can sell it to 10 million people?' You have to have a global perspective," Smith told the New York Times.

He is critical of stars who don't like to travel abroad in support of their movies, and he uses each of his Hollywood tentpoles to target a particular country for intense promotion work - and expansion of his inclusive, arms-wide-open brand.

[...]

Screwvala... saw an opportunity to build something, and he quickly followed up with meetings in L.A. and Gotham. That turned into a $30 million deal for UTV and Overbrook to co-produce movies that Sony would distribute.

Plan is to make a live-action film in the region of $10 million and an animated pic costing $20 million. Deal sees UTV provide coin up to a specified sum, beyond which Overbrook has to raise the money. Emphasis is on Smith and Lassiter to develop a script and hire the cast.

"We struck a chord, and it was clearly keeping in mind an Asia and India slant," says Screwvala...

[...]

Since that first trip to India 2½ years ago, Smith and Lassiter have returned regularly, visiting more stars, execs and locations. Danny Boyle reports that Smith visited him twice while the Brit helmer was lensing India-set "Slumdog Millionaire."

"There's going to be a massive coming together of Bollywood and Hollywood. It'll only take one person to bring them together, and it'll be huge," Boyle told the Indian press. The Big W could be the man for the job.

It's a controversial approach. Many ask why kids should be paid for something they are required to do?

On the other hand, kids in affluent homes are routinely paid allowances and given graduation trips of cars, trips and/or cash as rewards for acknowledgment of jobs well done. Fryer is simply determined to try anything to stem the out-of-control dropout rate and to close the achievement gap between black and white (and Asian) students.

Fryer's theory, to pay kids to do better in school, comes from many years of research and his own sense of desperation.

"The theory here is to try innovative things that will help children achieve," Fryer says. "In our urban centers, we're spending $12,000, $15,000 a kid, and we're not getting any results. So we must do something."

The scheme is still in its first year, but previously skeptical teachers have already begun to report marked improvements in their children's attendance and attention.

"I have to say that my first reaction when I heard of this project was, 'I can't believe they are doing this'," said Sheila Richards, the principal of the Brooklyn school. "I'm old school – I worked hard for good grades and no one ever gave me money."

Yet Richards has seen a "very good" increase in her students' grades and is thrilled that many of them are choosing to open bank accounts to save their earnings. "It's more than just an incentive," she said. "It has taught them the value of saving."

The reality for so many of our kids is that there are a lot of incentives to do all the wrong things out on the street, and we believe that having positive incentives for doing the right thing is a good counter balance to that.

My grandmother was really firm about how men are supposed to treat women... So for me, my worst nightmare is for an actress to... feel like I'm taking this opportunity to get a little quickie feel – you know, some legal cheating going on! I just need, specifically women, to feel comfortable around me... I just don't want to feel like I'm that dude.

Jada said, 'Listen, I know you're uncomfortable, but you better not embarrass me... She said, 'When you do that love scene, you better show 'em what you're working with!'

That question is perhaps too rarely posed by the millions of people who visit Amsterdam each year. For them, the city's liberal laws and attitudes offer a stark contrast to the heavy policing of sex and drugs elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S., and make this tiny neighborhood one of Amsterdam's most intriguing attractions. "Often people go to the museums and then to the red-light district," says the city's mayor, Job Cohen, sitting in his office with a sweeping view of the Ij River. "It is part of the image of tolerant Amsterdam."