THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora

RZA Taking On Directing Duties

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I reported on Saturday that Wu Tang Clan's RZA had a martial arts film collaboration in the works with one of "torture porn's" finest, Mr Eli Roth (Hostel 1 & 2), under Quentin Tarantino's supervision. You can read that post here: RZA DEVELOPING MARTIAL ARTS FLICK. At the time, all we had to go on was a quote RZA made, almost in passing, during an interview with Billboard Magazine, in which he talks mainly about his music projects.

Now, David Faraci over at CHUD.com (Cinematic Happenings Under Development) was able to unearth a lot more about what we can expect from this RZA/Roth/Tarantino collaboration, and apparently, RZA not only wrote the screenplay, but he'll also be directing the film, his first attempt behind the camera!

According to Faraci's post, Roth says, "RZA's script is amazing. He has been studying directing with Tarantino for years, and he's really ready to get behind the camera. His impact on rap music and hip hop culture cannot be measured, and he's ready to add his own unique style and vision to the world of film. This movie will have everything martial arts fans could want, combined with RZA's superb musical talent. This project has been his dream for years, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. And fans should know that yes, there will be blood... This ain't no PG-13."

Well then... RZA's moving on from the microphone to the camera. What the results of this will be is anyone's guess, since we have little to go on. Like I stated in the original post, I'm not a fan of Roth's "torture porn" movies, and I'm not a big Tarantino fan either, so this collaboration doesn't really excite me much, despite RZA's involvement.

Time will tell... and of course, I'll be paying attention as this develops.

SOURCE: CHUD

Melvin Van Peebles Sues ASCAP Over His Baadasssss Songs

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I've always known he was a rennaisance man, but I don't think I've ever heard any of his music, other than what he created for Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and I didn't particularly care for any of it.

His discography includes the following: Brer Soul (1969), Watermelon Man soundtrack (1970), Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death (1970), Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song soundrtrack (1971), Don't Play Us Cheap soundtrack (1973), As Serious As A Heart-Attack (1974), What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! (1974), Ghetto Gothic (1995), X-Rated by an All-White Jury (1997) and his next project will be a double album with hip-hop impresario Madlib, to be released on Stones Throw Records. No word on when that will be out.

So, when I read the article below, I wasn't sure just how seriously to take his claim. But he's definitely serious alright.

From The Set List:

- Melvin Van Peebles explored his distrust of “the man” when he was making the films “Don’t Play Us Cheap,” “The Story of a Three Day Pass” and “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." A writer, director, actor and composer, he has now determined that ASCAP, which is responsible for the collection of royalties, failed to list close to 100 of his songs in their databank and therefore owes him $20 million.

Van Peebles claims ASCAP failed to maintain his catalog and make it available to potential licensees. (Seems to me that’s what a music publisher does, not ASCAP, BMI or SESAC). His beef is that between 1968 and now, he registered 157 compositions but some time between 1992 and 2005, ASCAP deleted or lost most of his repertoire. The mishap, Van Peebles appears to believe, occurred when ASCAP instituted its ACE system, which made the databank electronically based rather than paper based.

The entire article here: VAN PEEBLES SUES ASCAP

Wesley Snipes Watch - 2 Films On The Way

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According to the AP, Wesley Snipes will be allowed to leave the U.S. to work on two movies while his lawyers appeal his tax convictions.

The report states that "Federal judge William Terrell Hodges on Wednesday approved the actor's motion to travel to London and Bangkok, Thailand."

Sounds intriguing! And what movies is Mr Snipes working on in each of these cities?

For you UK folks, he'll be in England for three days this month for postproduction editing of Gallowwalker, (a film I profiled here: GALLOWWALKER); and then he'll be in Thailand for eight weeks to film Chasing the dragon. How phallic, won't you agree, not unlike the phrase "Draining the dragon."

Anywho... I couldn't find much on that film; but I did learn that the phrase, "Chasing the Dragon" is slang of Cantonese origin that refers to inhaling the smoke from heated morphine, heroin or opium, which is referred to as a dragon in some Asian cultures. So, I'll assume there's a connection. But something tells me both films will be straight-to-DVD releases. He's done quite a few of those I believe. Someone needs to ressurect Wesley, the way Tarantino helped bring Travolta back from oblivion, or as Jean Claude Van Damme appears to be doing for himself. Maybe a self-mocking piece - a film that carricatures the last few years of his life. I'll be looking out for both above films.

A jury convicted the action star in February of three counts of willfully failing to file his income taxes, and Snipes appealed the convictions and his three-year prison sentence to the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta.

Prosecutors asked Hodges to deny Snipes' request to travel abroad, saying he was a flight risk.

I guess the judge over-ruled them!

BTW, Wesley's new "Malcolm X-ish" look is interesting.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOO REPORTER

Sex For Gas

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With sky-high prices at the pumps, I guess this was inevitable...

From The Smoking Gun:

- JULY 2--A Kentucky woman is facing prostitution charges for allegedly trading sex for gasoline. Angela Eversole, 34, was nabbed last weekend during a police stakeout at a Days Inn, where she allegedly trysted with customer Kenneth Nowak. According to court records, Nowak admitted paying for Eversole's services, in part, with a $100 Speedway gas card. Eversole was hit with a prostitution rap and also charged with doing business without an occupational license. Nowak was charged with promoting prostitution. A local prosecutor noted that it was sad to see someone selling their body for gas, in this case about 25 gallons worth.

I want to laugh, but I'll be sympathetic instead :o) Looking closely at their mugshots above, don't they look like alternate versions of Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman? Or am I just suffering from Hancock overload?!

Read the whole report at THE SMOKING GUN.

Film Recommendation - 'Ganja And Hess'

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- Bill Gunn, the late African-American playwright, actor and film director, gave it a shot in his almost legendary Ganja & Hess, a bona fide cult film, the anti-Blacula, defiantly difficult and parochial, a vampire film in which the word itself is never used and its tropes mostly discarded. Ganja & Hess is jolting, jagged, lyrical, mythic and utterly unclassifiable, as avant-garde as the most independent film of today or any of the New American Cinema work from the 1960s or audacious studio films of the 1970s, with resonances one isn’t likely to encounter ever again.

Fellow Brooklynite, and Indie Film Blogger Brandon Harris of Cinema Echo Chamber, reviews Ganja And Hess. If you haven't seen the film yet, you really should! Read Brandon's excellent review here: GANJA AND HESS REVIEW.

Economics Of The Movie Theater - Where The Money Goes And Why It Costs Us So Much

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Found this useful piece over at The Movie Blog.

It's a concise detailing of the money trail currently followed by the studios and theatres alike.

Each point made could be expounded on, but I think this gives you a good enough start, so give it a read: Economics Of The Movie Theater - Where The Money Goes And Why It Costs Us So Much.

Be Kanye... Or Something

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Um... ok... Supposedly it's a viral video meant to promote Absolut Vodka. I'm not sure if that's entirely obvious.

A Little Something To Help You Along Your Way Today

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Well, it's 2008 and Matt's back at it again! But this time he brought some friends with him - lots and lots of friends!! Glad to see the spirit of it all is contagious. I wonder if he stopped in Brooklyn...?

Do your thing Matt!


'Hancock' Closes Holiday Weekend With $105M - Box Office Results

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No surprise, Will Smith dominates yet another Independence day weekend at the box office, with Hancock raking in approximately $107 Million since its July 1st opening - according to Box Office Mojo.

So much for all the negative reviews of the film by most film critics. Prominent movie review aggregator, Rottentomatoes.com, indicates that only 36% of all critical reviews are positive. This is probably one of the few times that there has been and probably will be such a disconnect between audiences and critics, and Will Smith is to thank for that!

Now, what we'll all be watching for is whether the film has any legs. Will it continue to dominate at the box office as it's done on its opening weekend to maintain the flow of dollars in ticket sales, satisfying Sony's bottomline? Or will stiff competition from the likes of The Dark Knight (in theatres on the 18th) derail its forward movement? And let's not forget the second installment of Hellboy, (directed by a director who's popularity amongst fanboys and girls is growing rapidly - Guillermo del Toro) which will be released this Friday. Buzz for it certainly isn't as high as it is for Batman, but reviews have been really strong across the critical board, with 100% of critics at Rottentomatoes.com giving it a strong positive rating. Almost the same can be said for Journey To The Center Of The Earth, another film opening this week, and more importantly, a family sci-fi film that will attract Hancock's audience, enjoying an 86% positive critical rating.

Keep in mind that Hancock has already been released in a few foreign territories, raking in an additional $78 Million from international markets, for a grand total of just over $185 Million. Looking at box office totals for Will Smith's last 5 movies, their average global box office return is roughly $380 Million, with I Am Legend at the very top, grossing almost $600 Million globally, and Bad Boys II at $273 Million.

So, the next 2 weekends will be crucial for Hancock if it's to sit at the same table with Will's previous 5 films.

Rounding out the top 10 films for the weekend:
TITLEW/E GROSSCUMULATIVEBUDGET
2. Wall-E$33,417,000$128,132,000$180
3. Wanted$20,607,000$90,775,000$75
4. Get Smart$11,125,000$98,115,000$80
5. Kung Fu Panda$7,500,000$193,395,000$130
6. The Incredible Hulk$4,975,000$124,917,000$150
7. Indiana Jones$3,940,000$306,590,000$185
8. Kit Kittredge$3,601,000$6,128,000-
9. Sex and the City$2,340,000$144,864,000$65
10. Don't Mess with the Zohan$2,000,000$94,780,000$90

'Notorious' Script Review

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The folks at New York Magazine read and reviewed the screenplay for Notorious, the biopic for late famed rapper, Notorious B.I.G., which is currently in production, and scheduled for an early 2009 release.

Bottomline - not-so surprisingly, it's not very good; so when the finished film is released in 2009, if you plan on seeing it, go into the theatre with lowered expectations.

Here are some snippets from the New York Magazine review of the script:

- If you, despite everything, were still holding out hope that Notorious B.I.G. might get the smart, probing biopic that his legacy deserves — through the delays, the director changes, the producers' appalling decision to cast the rapper via an Internet talent search, etc. — we have some bad news: We've read the script, and we're not optimistic.

- The 113-page screenplay for Notorious (by journalist Cheo Hodari Coker) makes the unfortunate decision to pack an entire (albeit short) life into a two-hour movie. Notorious — on paper, at least — plays like a loose-knit highlight reel; it's basically the screenplay adaptation of Biggie's Wikipedia entry. (Ouch!)

Read it all here, if you dare: NOTORIOUS SCRIPT REVIEW.

Weekly Obenson Report Recap - Top 10 Hits - 6/30/08 To 7/6/08

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This seemed like a good idea... so, I'm doing it.

From now on, at the end of every week, I'll post the top 10 most popular posts of the previous week, incase anyone missed an entry or two.

Here are the 10 for the week of 6/30/08 through today, 7/6/08, in chronological order - newest first.

Script Review 'Tonight, He Comes'/'Hancock"2 comments7/5/08
Black Box Office: Mid-Year Review 7/4/08
Trailer - 'Meet Dave' (Eddie Murphy) 2 comments7/3/08
9 Ways 'Hancock' Could Have Been Better 2 comment7/2/08
So... I Saw 'Hancock' Last Night...2 comment7/2/08
How About A Can Of Booty Sweat?6 comments7/1/08
'I'm Through With White Girls' 5 comments7/1/08
Vanity Fair's Hollywood Next Wave3 comments7/1/08
'Prince Of Broadway' Wins At LAFF3 comments6/30/08
I Was Profiled For A Documentary...2 comments6/30/08

Here's to another week of news and views!

Script Review, 'Tonight, He Comes' AKA 'Hancock'

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OK! Following up with what I said in THIS POST, I just finished reading the original 226-page script for Tonight, He Comes, the screenplay that the film Hancock is based on, written by Vincent Ngo. You can get a copy of the script here: TONIGHT, HE COMES.

I should first point out that this draft was written in 1996, 12 years ago! So, it's a project that's been floating around for quite awhile. During that time period, 5 different directors have been attached to it (some big names actually, like Michael Mann and Tony Scott), and almost as many writers; although Will Smith attached himself to star in the film in 2005. So, it went through several rewrites by different writers, which, history I think will show, is often to the script's detriment.

This case does nothing to end that trend.

It’s far from a perfect script; but I must say that what I read appealed to me much moreso than the film that opened last week.

I say the script is far from perfect because it has its share of flaws – flaws that are ironically similar to those that many of us found in the finished film.

Yes, there are a few similarities between script and film, but I was surprised at how really different the combined effect of the words on the page were to what I saw on screen.

The tone and mood of the script contradict what we experience in the film, but I think it works. Hancock is a dark, brooding, tormented soul – nothing humorous about this fella. Despite his vices – he smokes and drinks heavily, spending nights in shitty dives, drowning his ills in alcohol and cigarettes, while picking up prostitutes - he has taken it upon himself to be humanity’s savior. There are moments when he flies into action, and performs superheroic acts like foiling a bank robbery attempt. But, surprisingly, those moments are very few. There’s very little of the usual “Superhero” mechanics you’d expect in a superhero story, which, I’m sure, irked the studio execs who likely preferred a little (or much) more opportunities for spectacle. After all, it is a superhero movie, right?

Not quite.

The script is as much about superheroes, as E.T. was about alien invasions. Each grandiose idea attracts you to the story, but as you read/watch, you realize that there’s a lot more going on than originally advertised.

As I already stated, Hancock is a dark, brooding, tormented soul. I’d even add mercurial to the mix. Unlike the film, he’s the ONLY one of his kind (if you’ve seen the film, or read the spoilers, you know what I’m referring to). And he’s taken it upon himself to maintain peace and order on earth (or specifically, New York, since that’s where the entire story takes place). However, his choice has become his burden. He realizes he has a “gift” (although we never really learn where he came from, or how he got his powers), and, as the saying goes, to whom much is given, much is expected, a credo that he seems to live by.

He’s certainly no Superman - the pure, practically perfect superhero - Jesus Christ in leotards and a red cape, if you will – far from it. But he believes in something – truth, justice, altruism – despite his many vices, which are exploited repeatedly within the 226-page script.

Perfect he is not.

The only coda he seems to live by, which is voiced many times over by several different characters in the script, is, “I gotta do what I gotta do.” In essence, do what you must with what you’ve got, to get what you want. Or even possibly - make the most out of the cards that life has dealt you. No complaining! No regrets!

What Hancock ultimately wants is to be free of his burden. There are a handful of dream sequences in which he’s drowning in the cries and tears of the "simple" men and women, wanting to be saved from whatever troubles ail them, but he can’t silence the noises – something akin to Deanna Troi in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television show, the telepath who’s able to sense and feel the emotions buried within others. So, when others feel pain, their sadness becomes her sadness, and there isn’t much she can do to stop it, even though sometimes she’d like to. But it’s her burden to bear… it’s her “gift”… she's "gotta do what she’s gotta do.”

Hancock wants to be saved, a request he places on Mary Longfellow, the wife of Horus Longfellow (a security guard at a local mall and all-around wimp), and mother of Aaron Longfellow (an 8-year old replica of his father, and frequent target of school bullies) – in the filmed version, these 3 characters are instead represented by the Embreys: Charlize Theron (house wife Mary), Jason Bateman (Ray, Public relations pro) and the kid who plays their son (also a target for bullies).

The Longfellows are clearly a couple of notches lower on the socio-economic ladder, relative to the middle to upper middle class Embreys. Horus almost became a “real” cop, but failed out of police academy. So he becomes the next best thing, a security guard – one lacking big enough testicles to stand up to his bully next door neighbor, who regularly steals his daily morning paper, to the dismay of Horus and Mary.

Horus is rather pathetic, and his son, Aaron, hates that his father is without a spine. Aaron himself is no tough guy either, taking after his father, allowing 3 school bullies to make his life quite miserable as they find new ways of tormenting him, usually ending in a group beating.

Mary is simply wife and mother, providing man and boy with as much emotional support as they need to survive one day after another. She is the rock that keeps the household stable – as stable as it can be in its current state, anyway.

As expected, their rather mundane lives change when their paths cross with that of Hancock’s. Whether it’s for the better or worse isn’t entirely certain to me, even after reading the script through to the end.

A common question that script readers ask screenwriters is, “what is your script REALLY about,” hinting at the fact that at the heart of every story, no matter the packaging, is some basic idea or message that guides the plot from “FADE IN” to the “FADE OUT.”

At its core, Tonight, He Comes wants to deconstruct traditional definitions of masculinity – asking age old questions like, “what does it mean to be a man?” But it doesn't quite succeed, as this theme isn't necessarily carried throughout the script, making it feel inconsistent, much like the film.

Is Hancock the ideal man? We see him, all-powerful, indestructible and confident, which breeds a certain kind of persona that women swoon over, as they throw themselves at him, even if it’s just for a night of physical pleasure, which we see happen at least twice. Yet, despite all of those “perks” as some would call them, inside, he longs to be a simple man, living a simple life, free of his “burden.”

Clearly Horus isn’t the ideal man – certainly the script doesn’t think so. Hence, while Hancock essentially longs for Horus’s kind of life, Horus wishes he had Hancock’s abilities. So, who’s really better off here? Who's the real man? Trading places wouldn’t solve their individual problems entirely, but it’s clear that both wouldn’t mind walking in the other’s shoes, even for a day. The conundrum created by this dynamic is actually quite fascinating I think, but unfortunately isn’t fully explored in the script. That alone – a besieged superhero and his desire to be human, intersecting with a wimpy human and his desire to be a superhero – could have been developed into something substantial, but the writer ignored that premise mostly, unfortunately.

What we instead get are 4 different stories that aren’t fully realized, much like the film. At the end of my reading, I wasn’t sure whose story was being told in the script. Each character got just about equal face time, but none of their individual stories develops into anything particularly interesting.

Like the movie, I was intrigued during the first half – the overall Dark Knight tone of it kept me interested. I remember imagining the city and sites as the writer described them in the script, and my mind’s eye frequently reverting to Gotham, right out of the last Batman movie - seedy, unwelcoming, Hades on earth. I loved that. It worked for me, especially given Hancock’s M.O. as I described above. For those first 60 pages, Hancock (the character) was interesting to me. I wanted to get to know him a little longer. His mercurial nature kept me wondering what was going to happen with him next.

The Longfellows in their individual roles were familiar; but their normality provided a useful contrast to Hancock’s troubled superheroics.

Also like the movie, the script loses its way in the second half. It becomes “regular,” relying on old favorites to push the story forward, which annoyed me a bit actually. It’s perplexing when a writer/filmmaker starts off with refreshing promise, building up expectations of a strong, rewarding finish, but then throws it all away in the end. The writer introduces some really interesting ideas early on that could have been explored further, but at the finish, he favors convention over invention.

Both Horus and Aaron (thanks in part to Hancock’s intrusion in their lives), finally decide to fight back against their “oppressors,” and I guess we’re supposed to cheer for them, in proverbial happy ending fashion, as each apparently becomes a man, displaying some testicular fortitude. However, Hancock is left still carrying his burden, unable to see his wish realized at the hands of Mary. So, Hancock essentially becomes the catalyst that Horus and Aaron needed to change, with Mary acting as not much more than a decoy; Horus, in a primordial way, fulfills his wish. He becomes a superhero of sorts - at least to his son.

As I said earlier, I wasn’t quite sure whose story was central. There doesn’t have to be some singular story, but having several that are half-cocked isn’t the way to go either.

As I read, I could see why this version of the script didn’t go into production. At 226 pages, it meanders too often, and carries with it other problems that I think could have been fixed in a second or third draft, while still maintaining the mood and ideas intact, creating what may have been a really strong finished product! I can see why a filmmaker like Michael Mann was intially drawn to it - just consider quietly intense films like Heat, The Insider, and Collateral, films he directed, and in 2 cases, wrote the screenplays for. Tonight, He Comes, even in its 1996 form, is right up his alley. Although, that version wouldn’t have seen the light of day. For a summer superhero movie, it’ll have been considered too profound – too philosophical/not enough action – essentially a superhero movie that’s missing one key ingredient: the superhero being superheroic. The comedic tone of Will Smith’s Hancock is likely closer to what the studio execs preferred, which is ultimately what we got, unfortunately. Although I'd like to think that a happy medium exists somewhere between both extremes.

However, in closing, if I had to choose between Hancock in 2008 and Tonight, He Comes in 1996, without hesitation, I'd choose Vincent Ngo's original script! Despite being 12 years old, it's a much more superior and ambitious package than what Sony has given us.

I hear that there might be a sequel to Hancock, if it performs well financially - especially after this opening weekend. Tomorrow's numbers will tell...

RZA Developing Martial Arts Flick

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Found this over at Slashfilm.com:

RZA has developed a martial arts film with Hollywood pal Eli Roth called "The Man with the Iron Fist," which he says has "the blessing" of his "teacher," Quentin Tarantino..."

I'm not a fan of Roth's "torture porn" movies (Hostel and others of its ilk); in fact I actually despise them immensely. And I'm not that big of a Tarantino fan either, so this doesn't really excite me much, despite RZA's involvement. Besides, there isn't much else to go on - he didn't reveal anything about plot/story.

No ETA on when this project will come to fruition, but I'll certainly be on the alert.

SOURCE: SLASHFILM

Did You Know...? The First African American Bond Girl

Posted on 12:24 PM comments (3)
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Gloria now / Gloria Then

Long before Halle literally made a splash as Jinx in Die Another Day, there was Gloria Hendry who I'm sure made a few splashes of her own in Roger Moore's pants, when she assumed Bond girl duties, as Rosie Carver, in 1973's Live and Let Die.

In that film, she became the first African American woman to be romantically involved with 007. She is NOT, however, the first African American woman to have a role in a Bond film; that honor goes to Trina Parks who had an uncredited role as a bodyguard in Diamonds Are Forever.

When Live And Let Die was first released in South Africa, Gloria Hendry's love scenes with Roger Moore were cut out because it was prohibited by the Apartheid government.

Right before shacking up with Moore, Gloria was a Playboy Bunny.

She later starred in several 1970's Blaxploitation films.

She lives in Los Angeles today.

Now you know...!

Did You Know...? Laptop Follies

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Did you know... that travelers leave 12,000 laptops in American airports every single week and only 30% of them are ever recovered?

Wow! 12,000 laptops adds up to 624,000 machines a year! That's a lot of freaking laptops being left behind! I'm having a really hard time trying to understand how that many people would be so careless. But then again, it's really just another piece of luggage, and luggage is lost from time to time, although I've never be so unlucky.

And how is it that only 30% are ever recovered? If I get to my destination and eventually realize that I don't have my laptop, especially if I know I had it when I was at the airport in the city I left, I would immediately call that airport's lost and found department with the hopes of getting the damn thing back.

The article states that "most of the airports said they generally keep the laptops for some period of times, then destroy them if they are unclaimed." Really? Do they really destroy them? All of them? 12,000 laptops every week, with 30% going unclaimed, or about 3600 laptops? That's 187,200 unclaimed laptops every single year. And they really expect us to believe that all 187,200 of them are being destroyed! Come on! I'd bet a few of those babies are finding their way into the homes of some of the airport staff!

Actually, instead of destroying them, maybe they should be donated to those who could really use them, and who likely won't forget them at airports! Yes, I know, there's the privacy issue. As the article states, "Sixty-five percent of the business travelers admit that they do not take steps to protect the confidential information contained on their laptops when traveling on business." So, donating would first require a complete formatting of each machine, wiping each hard drive clean, in order to protect the privacy of the previous owners.

But even the erasure process requires that someone, likely an employee of the airport, or the FAA, would have to gain access to the hard drive within the laptop, which could mean a violation of the original owners privacy anyway.

If all 187,200 laptops are indeed being destroyed, that just seems like a waste to me. I'm sure the parts are being recycled, which is a good thing, but I'd like to see them (at least some) donated to those people who can't afford computers, especially since they have become so much a part of our everyday lives.

SOURCE: THE CONSUMERIST

A Cloudy, Somber Saturday Morning In New York City...

Posted on 10:59 AM comments (1)
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This put a little smile on my face..

Black Box Office: Mid-Year Review

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As we begin the second half of the year, I thought I'd take a quick look at how we've done at the box office so far. When I say "how we've done," of course I'm referring to how black films (those that enjoyed theatrical releases anyway) have performed from January to June of this year. How am I defining "black film?" For this purpose, I'm including only those films that primarily tell the stories of people of the African Diaspora.

Looking down the list of films that have enjoyed theatrical releases this year, with Box Office Mojo as my source, there have been just 6 films that fit my above criteria - 6 out of roughly 300, or about 2% of all films that were released theatrically in America for the first 6 months of 2008.

And those lucky films are: First Sunday, College Road Trip, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Meet The Browns, Redbelt, and How She Move.

College Road Trip (Martin Lawrence) scored the highest in ticket sales, pulling in $45,218,566, followed closely by another Martin Lawrence starrer in Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, which made $42,193,500 during its entire run.

And right behind Roscoe is Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, with $41,975,388 in ticket sales.

Rounding out the list are the remaining 3: First Sunday (Ice Cube) banked $37,931,869; How She Move managed $7,070,641, which isn't bad considering that it was a small-time affair, starring a group of unknowns. And finally Redbelt (Chiwetel Ejiofor) raked in $2,342,445 (I actually reviewed the film on this blog: REDBELT REVIEW).

So, there you have it! A ridiculous 6 films out of 300 (2%), released during the first 6 months of 2008, and every single one of them exists somewhere between "garbage" and "average," although I'd say most fall closer towards the former.

The marginalization continues, although we are certainly not helping ourselves either. And so I'm not surprised by the results. For the remaining 6 months of the year, the forecast doesn't change very much, which means be prepared for more harsh times ahead!

Should you care? I certainly hope you do. When you're invisible, you don't matter, and when you don't matter, your life has little to no value - a statement with widespread significance.

I suppose the expected segue here would be for me to rant about "what's wrong with black cinema," who's doing or not doing what and why, etc... But I won't, because it's all rather pointless and useless now, in my humble opinion. I've already done all of that, and, as far as I'm concerned, it's time to stop bitching and start acting! I think we can all agree that more will be accomplished by doing the latter.

So, what can you do, you ask? Well, go see some independent black cinema this summer, instead of filling your head up entirely with the usual Hollywood spectacle. I've been slacking on updating my Screening Sightings blog because I spend so much time on this one! Throw in the time I allocate to other writing projects on my agenda, and I'm left without even seconds to devote to ScreeningSightings.com. I will get to it shortly however, so hang in there. But that's no excuse. There are likely a few microcinema screenings happening in your city; you may just have to do a little research to find out where they are, especially since most are without hefty marketing budgets. And as always, do notify me of any screenings in your town so that I can add them to the site's listings.

Happy weekend to all!

"Little Jesse" Has Left Us... Finally!

Posted on 1:02 PM comments (1)
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So... As I'm sure you've heard - Jesse Helms died today at age 86.

Are those champagne bottles I hear popping!?

Indeed... indeed...

Happy Day Off! Or As Some Like To Call It - Independence Day.

Posted on 11:45 AM comments (1)
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Not much to report on today for obvious reasons...

Trailer - 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' (Co-Starring Will Smith's Son)

Posted on 10:06 PM comments (1)
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Just spotted the trailer for yet another end-of-world/alien attack/disaster movie - we sure love those don't we. You know what they say about willing something to happen...

This time it's a remake (we sure love those too, don't we) of the 1951 sci-fi movie of the same name - The Day The Earth Stood Still - starring the automaton known as Keanu Reeves that tells the story of a humanoid alien (the appropriately cast Reeves) who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or face likely devastating consequences. Altogether now... Ooooohhhh... spoooooky!

The film also stars Jennifer Connelly, and (drum roll) Jaden Smith, the 9-year old son of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, playing the role of stepson to Jennifer Connelly's character. Interesting!

You'll spot the little tiger in 2 or 3 different moments in the trailer, displaying more emotional range than pops ever has! Jokes... just jokes... that's all.

Here's the trailer for the film which hits theatres December 12, which by the way is the same day that Big Willie's second film this year, Seven Pounds, also will reach a theatre near you... the competition begins:
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