THE OBENSON REPORT

Forbes Magazine's list of the 10 highest paid actors and actresses in the business, for the year from June 2006 to June 2007. I believe they do this annually, so their next list, to be released later this year, will cover June 2007 to June 2008.

Some interesting points I notice about both lists:

1. The obvious lack of non-white faces, except for Will Smith on the actor's list. No surprise there, I guess. But, at least there's representation on the actor's side. I wonder who the highest paid non-white actress was for that time period... Halle Berry? Jennifer Lopez? Jessica Alba doesn't really count, I don't think.
2. It's still very much a man's world. There's still quite a gap between what the women are getting paid, compared to the men. The average earnings for women is roughly $12.5 Million, while the average for the men adds up to approximately $40.5 Million! WOW! An obviously significant difference. The lowest paid man, Matt Damon, at $24 Million, made more than every woman on the top actress list, except for one - Nicole Kidman, at $28 Million.
3. What the hell did Vince Vaughn do in 2007 that generated $25 Million in earnings for him???
4. In reading the full article on Forbes's website, the reason for this discrepancy between men and women became clear to me. The men tend to be more aggressive on the back-end side - meaning, their contracts with studios for films that they starred in, included a percentage of the films' profits, on top of their already gargantuan salaries. For example, in Johnny Depp's case, the $92 Million he made for the year came mostly from one single film - the 2nd installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest series. I believe his usual salary hovers in the $20 to $25 Million range, so, he pocketed at least $60 Million in back-end profits from a film which went on to become the 3rd highest grossing film in history, raking in over $1.1 Billion worldwide. So, what does this mean for the women? Simply, they need to be aggressive with their contracts and demand some, or more back-end participation.
5. What the hell are all these people doing with all this freaking money anyway? The cumulative 2007 earnings total for both actors and actresses is $530 Million!! That's a lot of money, and possibly the GDP of some small countries. How about spreading the wealth around a little bit.
6. It's actually good to see that most of the names on either list are what we could call Actors and Actresses (note the capital "A"). These are people who are popular not because of their off-screen shenanigans, but rather because they take their work seriously and they're mostly good at what they do... although, the Jessica Alba inclusion on the actress side, is a little discombobulating... as are Sandra Bullock and Adam Sandler :o) But for the most part, these are usually reliable, solid performers.

Alright, nothing else stands out to me at the moment, so I'll end it here. But feel free to add your $.02 where necessary.

Here are both lists:

ACTRESSES
	Nicole Kidman $28 mil Angelina Jolie $20 mil Jennifer Aniston $14 mil Cate Blanchett $13 mil Sandra Bullock $10 mil Keira Knightley $9 mil Julia Roberts $9 mil Jessica Alba $9 mil Scarlett Johansson $5 mil Reese Witherspoon $7 mil
ACTORS
	Johnny Depp $92 mil Tom Hanks $74 mil Ben Stiller $38 mil Brad Pitt $35 mil Tom Cruise $31 mil Will Smith $31 mil Adam Sandler $30 mil George Clooney $25 mil Vince Vaughn $25 mil Matt Damon $24 mil

Did You Know...

Will Smith was the preferred choice to play the role of Neo in the 1999 blockbuster surprise, The Matrix, which went on to birth two par sequels? Apparently, Mr. Smith turned the role down, which was later offered to Keanu Reeves.

I just can't picture Big Willy as Neo - it would've been a slightly different film altogether, as I think his performance would have made it such.

For all his faults as an actor, I think Keanu was actually the better choice for the role. Obviously, my perspective is tainted somewhat because I've seen Keanu thrice already as Neo, so it would indeed be a little difficult to imagine someone else in it, regardless of who that person might be. Keanu's seemingly natural vacuous, deer-caught-in-headlights look, actually turned out to be more of a compliment to the film than a detriment, as Neo's struggle towards self-awareness practically called for that kind of a performer or performance.

Interestingly, Will turned down the role to make Wild Wild West, which ended up a critical and slightly commercial flop.

So, indulge me here for a minute folks... we can only imagine what The Matrix could have been with Will Smith (a black actor) in the lead role, flanked by Laurence Fishburne (also a black actor), and one could assume that Trinity, Neo's love interest, would have been a black woman (maybe). The original Matrix, by the way, was allegedly influenced by a manuscript called The Third Eye, created by a black woman, (Google Sophia Stewart if you have heard nothing of this), although the producers and Warner Brothers, the studio responsible for distributing the film, have done their best to minimize the propagation of this knowledge, as well as the damage that this wonderful piece of news could do to their reputations). So, again, indulge me here... with all that in mind - a starring black cast notably - imagine what The Matrix could have been, or what it could have meant to cinema (specifically black cinema), given just how influential it became. Would it have been as successful? Would we have seen 2 sequels - sequels that introduced even more black characters?

To his credit, Will Smith later stated that, if given the role at that time, he "would have messed it up." I agree :o)

Hmmm... this looks somewhat promising - thanks in part to the fact that it tells a young black girl's story, something which we rarely experience on screen. Although the choice of director, Limp Bizkit's frontman-turned-director, Fred Durst, is a curious one. This is his second directorial effort. His first was a film released last year titled, The Education of Charlie Banks, which I didn't see, and don't know much about.

This raises a worthwhile question - one that I've discussed previously on my podcast - the question being, whether a film like this, about a young black girl, is one that should be helmed by a black woman/man director, as opposed to a white man (Fred Durst) in this case.

I should also point out that the screenplay was written by a pair of white men as well.

So, once again, we have a film that tells the story of black people written and directed by white men - as we've seen numerous times previously - most recently, in the case of Robert Johnson's Our Stories Films Inc, and it's 2 releases thus far, Who's Your Caddy? and the upcoming, Mission Intolerable. Granted those 2 films aren't exactly notable, worthwhile productions that would call for black talent behind the cameras, but what can't be dismissed so readily is the obvious lack of blacks in those off-camera positions. So one would expect that when an opportunity arises to produce films that tell the stories of black people, regardless of how inconsequential or fluffy the pieces might be, the producers of those films will go out of their way to hire available black talent to place at the helm of each production.

Obviously, I'm not saying that choices like this must be solely race-dependent. Whites have and can direct films about non-whites, as can blacks write/direct films about non-blacks - as well as Latinos, Asians, etc... In an utopian world, none of this would matter. But, alas, we don't live in a utopia, so color does unfortunately matter, and can't be wholly ignored. One has to consider what the overall lasting effects of some of these choices are. On the surface, it might seem somewhat trivial to even have this discussion, but any thinking person (and we are all capable, thinking people) should be able to see what might lurk beneath the covers.

Granted fictional films like some I mentioned aren't necessarily race-dependent, meaning the characters could be played by actors of any color or ethnicity, making that the only difference in what the audience sees in the final product. However, one could argue that having people of color on screen is itself a powerful, political move, regardless of the story being told, and any opportunity given to tell stories about people of color should indeed be handled with a certain sensitivity that might only be innate in a writer/director specific to the race of people in front of the camera.

I should also point out that the Fred Durst directed film in question is based on a true story.

Regardless, I can only hope that the end product in this case is a well-made, interesting, complex, entertaining film.

This is an ongoing discussion, and I'm sure it will come up again from time to time, possibly with no real eventual solution... if a solution is even necessary.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Read on...

Palmer joins Ice Cube’s pic

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) has joined Ice Cube in his untitled inspirational sports drama for Dimension Films.

Palmer will play Jasmine Plummer, the first female quarterback in Pop Warner history, who with her teammates draws support from her uncle (Ice Cube) and members of their Illinois town when the team plays in the Pop Warner Super Bowl.

Tasha Smith (Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?), Jill Marie Jones (The Perfect Holiday), Dash Mihok (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), Matt Craven (The Clearing) and Garrett Morris (Jackpot) also have joined the cast. Comedians Earthquake (Clerks II) and Michael Colyar (Norbit) also will appear in the film, which had been titled "Comeback."

Limp Bizkit frontman-turned-director Fred Durst is directing from a script by Doug Atchison.

Nick Santora, who wrote the original screenplay, is producing with Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez (Are We There Yet?) through their production company Cube Vision.

Production began in December in Shreveport, La.

Palmer, whose credits include Akeelah and Madea's Family Reunion, next appears in the crime drama Cleaner, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris.

Hmmm... I love it when my fellow brothas and sistahs take control in order to create further opportunities for themselves and others who look like them; but, for various reasons, this bit of news doesn't inspire much hope within me. If the films that come out of this venture are anything like the music he's produced throughout his career, then I dread what's to come. Good luck to him though.

50 Cent announced at the Sundance Film Festival that he is forming a production company with longtime manager Chris Lighty and producer Randell Emmett (Shottas, Home Of The Brave, Righteous Kill) to produce indie films. He made the announcement during a news conference over the weekend.

Of this new venture, the rapper-turned-actor told MTV: "It means I'll have creative control of some of the projects I commit to and I can choose things to develop. I won't be on camera for everything I'll be producing, but now I'll be producing films too."

As I've mentioned previously on my podcast, this year marks a record for the number of "black films" screening at the prestigious (although, questionably relevant) Sundance film festival, currently ongoing, in cold and snowy Park City, Utah. I'll be recapping the festival on the next episode of my podcast, next week Monday, the 28th. But I decided to post any relevant news that comes my way before then.

According to the good folks at Black Talent News, one of those "black films" playing at the festival, a documentary called The Black List, by photographer-filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, starring former New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell, was picked up for distribution by HBO.

Sounds intriguing enough that I'll likely watch it whenever it airs on HBO, probably later on this year.

With the New Year in motion, I thought it would be a good idea to list those few films that I'll probably pay to see as the year progresses. Here's the first:

Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation - Charles Burnett’s next film, the writer/director of Killer of Sheep, a film I love and have talked about several times on my podcast. Namibia will be the opening night film at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles next month, so I certainly encourage anyone in the L.A. area to be there opening night to see the film, and possibly return to share their thoughts on it. As far as I know, it doesn’t have a distributor yet, which certainly doesn’t surprise me. But I hope that someone, somewhere will give the epic film the theatrical release that it apparently deserves. It doesn't have the proverbial "big name celebrity stars" in it (I think Danny Glover is the biggest name starring, and given his recent relations with Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, he might actually prove to be more of a risk than a reward for the film); but it’s a Charles Burnett film, and hopefully that will be enough to generate some interest from distributors. Not that his name alone will sell the film, but I think his name does carry some weight, and he's well respected amongst his colleagues.

The film tells the story of Sam Nujoma, the first president of Namibia, from his political awakening, to his part in the country’s fight for freedom from occupation by South Africa. The film covers 60 years of history and was financed entirely by the Namibian government. Go to http://www.namibiathemovie.com/ for more info on the film – not a lot, but there’s enough there to whet your appetite.

Here's the only trailer that I believe exists for the film...

NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence, and police said drugs may have been a factor. He was 28.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let him know the masseuse had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

The Australian-born actor was nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain, where he met his wife, actress Michelle Williams, in 2005. Ledger and Williams had lived in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.

Ledger was to appear as the Joker this year in "The Dark Night," a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. He's had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot, and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball.

The Earliest Clips Of Black People On Film On Record
Courtesy Of The Black Film Center/Archive At Indiana University

Recorded Monday, January 21, 2008, 9PM
TRT 60 Minutes

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

- Joanna De'Shay of the Arizona Black Film Showcase talked about their upcoming event - go to www.azblackfilm.com for more info.
- Filmmaker Brandon Wilson (THE MAN WHO COULDN'T) joined me as we talked about the writers' strike, as well as some films we are looking forward to seeing in 2008.
- African American Literature Professor Danielle Elliott of Smith College discussed her critical essay on Spike Lee's documentary, 4 LITTLE GIRLS.

Got something to say? Call the show's voicemail hotline at 1-800-765-7249 and leave a message there; and if it's worthwhile, I'll play your message on the show. OR, email me you comments at talk@obensonreport.com.

A free copy of my film BEAUTIFUL THINGS for anyone who can name a previously released film that the upcoming Paramount release HOW SHE MOVE resembles. I've already come up with 3:

STOMP THE YARD

YOU GOT SERVED

TAKE THE LEAD

Anymore???

TAO

A new trend?

I noticed that there are two upcoming films by and about white people that employ what could be termed "black colloquialisms" - or at least phrases that originated from within black communities - as their titles.

It's no secret that Black culture is in effect American culture, as a plethora of units from within the culture have been adopted and embraced by the wider American and even global public - its music, fashion sense, and language notably. So I suppose it should be no surprise that specific phrases, usually considered slang, would become ubiquitous catch phrases, and eventually titles of mainstream Hollywood films, starring, of course white people.

The films I'm referring to here are BABY MAMA, starring Saturday Night Live alums, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, as well as MAD MONEY, starring Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Dana Owens (Queen Latifah).

Does thou (I) protest too much, or is something amidst here? I can imagine what could be on the horizon - STACKING CHEESE starring Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan; JUNK IN THE TRUNK starring Kim Kardashian and Matthew McConaughey; TALK TO THE HAND starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden... and the list goes on...

I'm certainly not entirely bothered by this "trend," but obviously thought it worth bringing attention to.

What says you?

:o)

TAO

And who says 53 year old fun-loving, rotund, Bush-hating, socialist rulers of South American oil producing nations can't get hot chicks? :o)

According to the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal (as well as numerous gossip sites and fishwrap), model Naomi Campbell has been in a relationship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for the past 2 months.

Naomi recently traveled to Caracas to interview Chavez for British GQ, and apparently the duo hit it off and have been involved since then, while carefully hiding their relationship.

Ok, ok... so normally I don't post shit like this, but I used to have a Naomi Campbell screensaver when I was in college some years back, and even reached for the Vaseline jar once or twice :o)

It's also worth noting that I've been seriously considering returning to my father's homeland, Cameroon, to start my own socialist party, overthrow the current dictator who has been in power for 25 years, and assume the position of president of the country. I wonder which super model will be charmed by my cumulative efforts after Cameroonian GQ sends over her to interview me.

TAO

So, Spike Lee's premiere opus, She's Gotta Have It, has finally been granted a long awaited DVD release.

Up until yesterday, the 15th of January 2008, any potential purchaser of the film would have had to spend their dollars on the archaic VHS version, with its washed out whites and fading blacks (as in celluloid colors not the cast). Thankfully, we now have another, better choice.

Unfortunately, it's not quite the DVD package I hoped for, as it's lacking in any extra features that I think a film classic like this surely deserves - for example, director's commentary, unused scenes, a documentary on the making of the film, and even the clichéd "where are they now" segment. I'd certainly like to know what happened to Tracy Camilla Johns.

I dug deep for a trailer or even a clip of the film on YouTube but my search returned nothing, which actually surprised me.

Regardless, pick up She's Gotta Have It on DVD today, at Amazon.com. It's only $14.00.

Just click on the image below...

Recorded January 14, 2008, 9PM to 10PM
TRT 60 Minutes

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

1. Does the Hattie McDaniel rule still apply? A glimpse into the lives and minds of today's Black actresses. Host Tambay A Obenson, along with the editor of The Black Actor Blogspot, in a virtual roundtable showcase, featuring actresses, Esosa Edosomwan, Nedra McClyde, Lisa Strum, and Leslie Jones, as they discussed various topics and answered questions in consideration of their lives as working African American actresses in the 21st century. Has anything changed almost 70 years since Hattie McDaniel's Oscar-winning "Mammy" role.

Got something to say or question to ask? Call the show's voicemail hotline at 1-800-765-7249 and leave a message there, OR, email me you comments/question at talk@obensonreport.com.

Tambay A Obenson
tao@tambayobenson.com
http://www.obensonreport.com/

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO MY PODCAST AT BLOGTALKRADIO.COM, OR SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES.

As a black filmmaker, I've always prided myself on being sensitive of my portrayals of those marginalized groups of people, notably people of color and women.

I've sometimes passed, and other times failed "the test." But the more I make myself aware of how other marginalized groups feel about their representation, or lack thereof, by the Hollywood machine - undoubtedly the preeminent film production and distribution power in the world - I realize just how deeply ingrained many of the stereotypes have become in my psyche, albeit unconsciously, and later manifest themselves in my thoughts, as well as my actions.

In watching the clip below, I realized just how desensitized I've become towards the pejorative portrayals of Arabs in Hollywood films. I have been challenged in my acceptance of many of these films as strictly pure entertainment, when in fact they have essentially taught me what to think about an entire group of people. It goes to show just how powerful cinema is, something which I've talked about several times on my podcast. What we pass off as mindless entertainment is actually not as mindless as we think, because the repeated use of these derogatory images, fed to us ad nauseam, does have some impact, often negative, especially if we are almost never exposed to anything to the contrary. It's truly a dangerous dynamic.

Even what seem like the most harmless of films, something like the Disney animated ALADDIN, reinforce these dangerous, uninformed stereotypes, maybe somewhat subtly, or packaged in a wave of lush colors, cute song and dance, and mawkishness, and are then seen by millions of people, notably, sadly mostly children.

There have been films produced by Hollywood in cooperation with the Department of Defense, showing American men and women in the Armed Forces killing Arabs at random, like the Arnold Schwarzenegger box office smash, TRUE LIES, the Jamie Foxx starrer, THE KINGDOM, as well as films like NAVY SEALS, IRON EAGLE and RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. I had no idea that a film like RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, was co-written by Senator James Webb of Virginia, who also served as Secretary of the U.S. Navy under Ronald Reagan. So with Washington solidifying its connection with Hollywood, there'll likely be a bias, probably an intentional one - in essence going out of their way to reinforce our fears of Arabs as terrorists, making it significantly easier for our government to convince us into buying a so-called "war on terror;" something we all should be well aware of.

But as I started off saying... I feel obligated to make myself aware of the portrayals of marginalized groups on screen, not only because I'm a filmmaker, but as a fellow human being - one who has been fighting this battle against Hollywood's destructive stereotypes, notably of people with my skin color. And as I make myself aware, via literature I've read, or communication with people from other marginalized groups, I'm forced to confront many of my prejudices, and reexamine my attraction to certain films I've seen in the past. For example, films like DO THE RIGHT THING, or SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT - both hailed as treasured works within the realm of black cinema, and even in broader circles; but when dissected with a feminist slant (as was done so eloquently and extensively in a book called Redefining Black Film), they were revealed to be counter-feminist, misogynist and just plain old sexist (SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT notably) in their presentation of black women and their sexuality - facts I was completely oblivious of upon initially seeing these films, but which have now tainted my perception of the films, and in turn the filmmaker... not to disastrous effect, but enough that I'm now significantly more critical of Spike Lee's work than I ever was.

There have been several films that I loved upon initially screening them; but with this growing awareness and sensitivity, I feel obligated to be overtly critical of those films I see that reinforce stereotypes, especially of those "invisible" people (to borrow from Ellison), or that follow trends of marginalization. It makes for very unpleasant viewing experiences, which partly explains why I haven't seen many films recently; and I often wonder if I'm being too critical. However, with what I now know, and continue to learn, I just don't see how I could not be.

The following clip is from a documentary called REEL BAD ARABS: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. You can buy the film here: www.reelbadarabs.com.

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO MY PODCAST AT BLOGTALKRADIO.COM, OR SUBSCRIBE VIA ITUNES.

I thought it worthwhile to start recommending Diasporic films that I consider required viewing for all. Here's the first of many. The Battle of Algiersreconstructs events that occurred during the Algerian war of independence from the French colonists, in the late 1950s.

It's difficult to start a revolution...
... even more difficult to sustain one...
... and still more difficult to win one.

I've never watched an episode of HBO's series, The Wire. Why, you wonder? Well, I don't watch much TV, and even if I did, I don't have cable TV, nor am I in any rush to make it a staple in my household of 1. It's too distracting. I have more important work to do.

However, I've heard nothing but grand things about the program, and will likely pick up the entire series on DVD, to catch up on all that I've missed to date. I'm ready to be impressed!

Despite not having seen the program, I still appreciate producer, David Simon's comments below (notably the last paragraph), and thought them worth sharing.

David Simon is white, by the way.

Anywho... here's a quasi stream of consciousness piece I thought I'd share.

The Hollywood black actress du jour, Zoe Saldana (yes, it appears they can have only one at a time; we can't have too many popular black actresses taking good roles away from their Caucasoid counterparts; although Ms Saldana's "blackness" has been in question, since she's actually Latin American; although one can certainly make a reasonable argument that certain Latin Americans/Hispanics/Latinos are indeed Africans. I'm not sure what's PC these days, so I certainly hope I'm not offending anyone. Feel free to school me if necessary)... anyway... as I was saying, Hollywood "black" actress du jour, Zoe Saldana (notice "black" is in quotes) will be assuming the role of Lieutenant Commander Uhura in the upcoming, highly anticipated theatrical update of the popular Star Trek TV series from the 1960s. The film is slated to be released later this year, and is being directed by Lost creator (J. J. Abrams), on a $150 Million budget!

As you may already know, the role was initially played by the fabulously sexy (and black) Nichelle Nichols (ok, so some might say she's fairer skinned than most - or light-skinnededed, as some might say... or caramel-complected as others might say... but think of the era in which the series aired and you'll understand why). She's now 75 years old, and still looks quite ravishing!

BTW, did you know that the kiss she shared with Captain Kirk (William Shatner) in 1969 - I can't remember which episode - was the first interracial (black/white) kiss that ever aired on national television? Of course it had to be a white man kissing a black woman for it to be accepted by the flock, although it did cause quite a stir. However, imagine if Sidney Poitier stuck his tongue down Katharine Houghton's throat in GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, in 1967? I should watch that film again actually. I don't think there's even a scene where they peck each other on the cheek. I could be wrong though.

Oh, and here's a humorous bit of related info - during the Comedy Central roast of William Shatner in 2006, Nichelle Nichols referred to their 37-year-old kiss, and said to Shatner, "Let's make TV history again... and this time you can kiss my black ass!" HA! MILFy and funny! Perfect combo!

Alright, I'll shut up now... I found this old clip of her from Star Trek at what maybe was her most ravishing moment... I especially dig her demeanor after she slaps Sulu and falls back onto the rail, as she utters the words, "I'm afraid I've changed my mind... again." YES! Freaking haute, I tell ya! Let's see Zoe Saldana pull off that kind of sexuality...

I'm feeling groovy today, and hope you all are too. It's going to be a good year. I can feel it :o)

And while you're at it, you should get yourselves one of these...

TAO

Got something to say? Call the show's voicemail hotline at 1-800-765-7249 and leave a message there; and if it's worthwhile, I'll play your message on the show. OR, email me you comments at talk@obensonreport.com.

OR, email me you comments at talk@obensonreport.com; or go to http://www.obensonreport.com/ and leave your comments.