LOS ANGELES — On March 21, 2012, the state of Alabama officially proclaimed “Octavia Spencer Day” for the native daughter who had captured the nation’s attention and a supporting-actress Oscar for her role as Minny in The Help weeks earlier.
The Montgomery native was granted stretch pink limousine service, slammed down the state Legislature gavel and heard a hometown marching band play a song in her honor. But after that Spencer, 43, stopped accepting accolades for her work.
“It’s hard to outdo a day in my honor, so I kind of wanted that to be the ultimate moment. I didn’t go beyond that,” Spencer says. “At some point you have to stop. I’d be running around accepting things, then I’d get rusty for the work.”
That’s not likely to happen. She is re-emerging with a vengeance, starting with her co-starring role in Fruitvale Station (opening wide on Friday), which garnered top honors at January’s Sundance Film Festival. The film by 27-year-old writer/director Ryan Coogler is based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area who was shot by police on New Year’s Day 2009.
Posts published in “Movies”
WHITE HOUSE DOWN Cast: Channing Tatum (John Cale), Jamie Foxx (President Sawyer), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Finnerty), Jason Clarke (Stenz), James Woods (Walker), Richard Jenkins (Raphelson), Joey King (Emily Cale) Directed by: Roland Emmerich Rated: PG-13 Sony Pictures
I figured out pretty quickly how great this movie experience was going to be and it started the second I decided to question the price of my ticket (it seemed a few bucks higher than usual). I confidently uttered to the guy behind the counter as I looked at the digital price board, then at my ticket, and finally at my phone for the correct time: “Hey… isn’t this supposed to be the matinee price?” I was ripe with evidence for a 10 a.m. AMC price battle. But Counter Guy was ready for me – he had that gleam those movie nerds get when they are super excited to share some precious movie nerd information with a movie-going civilian. He told me I was lucky, for I would be seeing the film in… ETX! “Okay… E…T… what? Do I really need that? Is it worth the extra few bucks?” He calmly leaned in and said, “Trust me, if you don’t see White House Down in ETX…you’ll regret it.” (I gave a quick “I doubt that” glance he wisely chose to ignore.) “It’s the enhanced theater experience and totally worth it,” he proclaimed.
The situation made me chuckle and I wasn’t in the mood to haggle anymore. Besides, I was about to miss the previews, not to mention I’d have to wait another 30 minutes to see the non-ETX version. So I was in, and Counter Guy seemed pleased I backed off so quickly. White House Down in ETX… recommended by Brian… and after all that, I’ve got to say, I enjoyed every bit of my enhanced theater experience.
White House Down may be down (ranked #6 this week)… but don’t count it out. This film is downright fun and exactly what I expected it to be – loud, funny and non-sensically entertaining, but in a good way. It’s a summer formula blast-and-laugh movie. Even though it didn’t blow the competition out of the water, if you are willing to go with it and have fun, it certainly delivers. I readily admit that the premise is sort of nuts. Divorced, ex-soldier, capital cop, John Cale (Channing Tatum), scores a Washington favor and gets his politically-obsessed daughter, Emily Cale (Joey King), a trip to accompany him to the White House while he interviews for his dream job of working Secret Service detail for the President (Jamie Foxx). Okay… so maybe that makes sense.
But then he randomly discovers that an old friend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is doing the interviewing. Okay, I’ll drink the Kool-Aid and buy that coincidence… but where it gets just straight-up preposterous is when Emily decides (after her Dad has lied to her about his chances of really getting the job) to take the White House tour and they run into the President who does a quick “shout out” to Emily’s blog followers and oh, guess what, today is the day that bad guys out-smart everyone and take over the White House. The bad guys’ paramilitary is ridiculously armed and seems to outwit everyone on the White House staff. They take out most of the in-house Secret Service and cops so it’s up to John Kale to save POTUS, his daughter and the world. And oh, did I mention World War III might happen and the bad guys also have missiles? And regardless of ALL THAT… I bit. It’s Popcorn Flick 101 and it’s awesome. The whole cast of White House Down gives some surprisingly memorable performances. In fact, the casting for this film is so spot-on, the actors help you forget that what they are saying really shouldn’t make any sense… but they sell it and it works.
This film doesn’t try to be anything that it isn’t, and you know it the minute the leads hit the screen. Tatum is the “Every Guy” every guy thinks he could be and the guy girls want to believe they can get. He’s got that quiet hunk thing going for him. Foxx is meeker than we are used to seeing on screen, but it works… he’s supposed to be POTUS after all (and despite having to play “Presidential,” he still manages to bring some funny). There is something very clever about teaming seasoned Jamie Foxx with the younger Channing Tatum, and the film offers several throwbacks to Gen-X times. There are pagers, Air Jordans and heck, just blowing up the White House (Independence Day anyone? Which, btw, was also directed by Emmerich) fondly recalls the 90s. But even the blockbuster/comic book film generation can appreciate this one… if they give it a shot.
Although I’m grateful to Brian at AMC, I know the non-ETX version would have captured my fancy just fine, because White House Down is surefire summertime fun.
Kevin Hart‘s new stand-up comedy film Let Me Explain has been a surprise smash at the box office and could potentially become the most successful film of its kind ever. Hart, who has been on a winning streak following his hit film Think Like a Man and popular BET series Real Husbands of Hollywood, already has one very successful stand up film under his belt; 2011′s Laugh at My Pain.
But the performance of Let Me Explain is unprecedented. According to Deadline.com, the film has already earned $7.4 million in ticket sales during its first two days of release, which nearly eclipsed the entire run of Laugh at My Pain. And Variety reports that Let Me Explain made $29 million by Sunday night.
The movie achieved this feat while opening in 876 theaters. In comparison, Disney’s The Lone Ranger (starring Johnny Depp) opened in 3,904 theaters and yet only grossed $5 million more than Hart’s low-budget comedy.
Not exactly a Scandal, but this is certainly a surprise! Kerry Washington married San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24 in Blaine County, Idaho, E! News exclusively confirms. According to sports gossip site TerezOwens.com, which was first to get wind of the happy news, Asomugha has been dating Vanity Fair‘s August 2013 cover girl since last summer.
The 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowl star played with the Oakland Raiders, who drafted him following his graduation from UC Berkeley in 2003, for eight seasons and the Philadelphia Eagles for two before signing with the 49ers in April. The bookish athlete is no stranger to showbiz, either, having scored acting gigs on The Game, Friday Night Lights and Leverage in recent years.
Like his bride, Asomugha is also a dedicated activist and philanthropist and he has participated in the Clinton Global Initiative every year since 2009. This is the first marriage for Washington, 36, who went from generally lovely actress to mega-star over the past year thanks to her breakout roles playing not-to-be-messed-with political fixer Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal and Jamie Foxx‘s enslaved wife Broomhilda von Shaft in Django Unchained.
Visionary “Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas wed Ariel Investments president Mellody Hobson before an intimate gathering at Skywalker Ranch, in Marin County, California, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 22.
This is the first marriage for Hobson, 44, who wore a white dress by Peter Soronen and changed skirts between the ceremony and the party. Lucas, 69, has been married once before, to film editor Marcia Griffin. They adopted a daughter together, and Lucas adopted two more children after they divorced, in 1983. Lucas’ son, Jett, was his best man, and his daughters, Katie and Amanda, served as bridesmaids.
In addition to serving as president of Ariel Investments, Hobson is chairman of Dreamworks Animation and a financial contributor with CBS.
TV director Paris Barclay (Sons of Anarchy, Glee, House) has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America for a two-year term, succeeding Taylor Hackford (Ray, Officer and a Gentleman) . Barclay was selected at the DGA’s convention on Saturday at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles. He’s the first African-American to serve as DGA president.
“I got surprisingly emotional about it when I was giving my acceptance speech,” Barclay told Variety. Hackford announced earlier this year that he would not seek a third term in accordance with the DGA tradition of presidents only serving two terms. The well-liked Barclay has served eight years as First VP and six years as Third VP.
Barclay also told Variety that other DGA members such as Steven Soderbergh and former president Michael Apted have been urging him in recent years to consider becoming president. “As time went on, I began hearing that from more and more people,” he added.
Apted made the nomination Saturday and Soderberg seconded it.
Barclay asserted that he will maintain the tradition of the DGA president being a working director — in his case as the executive producer of the sixth season of “Sons of Anarchy.” Once that season’s shooting is completed, he plans to continue directing episodes of other series that interest him along with a feature film.
Oprah Winfrey Network will present a night of compelling conversation on Sunday, June 23, beginning with Oprah’s Next Chapter (9-10 p.m. ET/PT) featuring Oprah’s in-depth conversation with some of Hollywood’s most powerful female African-American actresses including Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad and Gabrielle Union. In the discussion, the iconic actresses open up about the challenges, criticism and competition they face as African-American women in Hollywood. In the groundbreaking conversation, the women shed light on a topic that is not often discussed in the entertainment industry.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsESEoV7GoE&w=560&h=315]
Immediately following is the world television premiere of the groundbreaking documentary Dark Girls (10 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET/PT) from filmmakers Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry. The film explores the prejudices that dark-skinned women face throughout the world. Women share their personal stories, touching on deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes of society, while allowing generations to heal as they learn to love themselves for who they are. From filmmakers Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, Dark Girls made its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. The DVD will be released September 24, 2013.
Sounds like must-see TV to us here at GBN. Be sure to tune in or set your DVRS!
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
According to Deadline.com, two weeks before its stand-up pic Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain opens in theaters, Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films has acquired U.S. rights to the romantic drama Things Never Said.
The film is written and directed by Charles Murray, who is making his feature debut after a decade in television (Criminal Minds, Castle, V, Third Watch). Shanola Hampton stars as an aspiring poet in a dangerous marriage who dreams of taking her work to New York. A surprise new love (Omari Hardwick) helps her find her artistic voice. Brian “Skinny B” Lewis produced the film, which is executive produced by Nicole Elliot, Steven LaBroi and Geofrey Hildrew. Codeblack Films, the Lionsgate unit that recently acquired Sundance drama The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete, will release Things Never Said this year.
article via Deadline.com with additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Close your eyes and listen to Juan Manuel Chavez launch into the Prelude of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, and you would never guess that, instead of spruce and maple, his instrument is crafted from an old oil can, a beef tenderizing tool, and a discarded pasta making device—all of it scavenged from the landfill that surrounds his home in Paraguay.
Chavez is a cellist in the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra in Cateura, an Asunción slum where bottle caps, door keys, and paint cans have been given new purpose. Under the supervision of local musician Favio Chávez, these utterly impoverished kids make beautiful music on instruments constructed almost entirely out of materials reclaimed from the dump.
Filmmaker and Asunción native Alejandra Nash first heard about the phenomenon back in 2009, and decided to produce a documentary about the kids—she and her co-producers are aiming for a 2014 release. She’ll have plenty of support. The teaser she posted online last November quickly went viral, with 2 million views on Vimeo, and nearly 1 million on Youtube. It’s inspiring. Check it out…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXynrsrTKbI&w=560&h=315]
Now her project’s Facebook page has more than 125,000 likes. And a Kickstarter campaign Nash launched in April to help fund the film’s completion has raised almost $200,000, well over the $175,000 she’d asked for. Beyond funding post-production work, the additional money will help finance a world tour for the orchestra, and an expansion of what has come to be known as the Landfill Harmonic Movement.
The idea for the orchestra first came about after Chávez brought a youth orchestra from the neighboring town of Carapeguá to perform in Cateura. The Cateura kids wanted to learn, too, but as Chávez points out in the teaser, “A community like Cateura is not a place to have a violin. In fact, a violin is worth more than a house here.”
So he and local garbage picker Nicolás Gómez began experimenting with instruments they constructed from trash: Tin water pipes, buttons, bottle caps, and spoon and fork handles make up the body and keys of the saxophones. Oil or paint cans and recycled wood are used for the string section.
So he and local garbage picker Nicolás Gómez began experimenting with instruments they constructed from trash: Tin water pipes, buttons, bottle caps, and spoon and fork handles make up the body and keys of the saxophones. Oil or paint cans and recycled wood are used for the string section.
At every performance of musical “The Phantom of the Opera,” on Broadway and around the country, the tortured title character rips off his mask to reveal his disfigured face. That deformed mug is the handiwork of production makeup supervisor Thelma Pollard, who’s been with the New York incarnation since it began in 1988. It’s her job to teach every new “Phantom” cast member how to apply character makeup correctly and then ensure they keep doing it right. But it’s the Phantom himself that’s her baby: Before each performance, she carefully paints the prosthetics pieces (made of one-use latex) and applies the actor’s makeup herself, a process that takes about an hour.
Besides fidgety thespians — “some actors are better at sitting still than others,” she says diplomatically — hurdles include dropped wigs and a clock-ticking makeup application for an understudy who was rushed into a performance when the lead was sidelined by laryngitis mid-show. And then there was the time she had to figure out the Phantom’s skin color palette for Robert Guillaume, one of the few black actors to take on the title role.
Pollard was born in what she describes as a small village in Barbados — “I didn’t know about Broadway!” — and eventually followed her parents to New York, going on to earn two licenses in cosmetology, specializing in hair and makeup. A chance meeting with makeup designer Stanley James in the salon where she was an apprentice led to gigs on the original Broadway production of “The Wiz” and a string of legit credits that include “Dreamgirls,” “Cats,” “Song and Dance,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”
Besides fidgety thespians — “some actors are better at sitting still than others,” she says diplomatically — hurdles include dropped wigs and a clock-ticking makeup application for an understudy who was rushed into a performance when the lead was sidelined by laryngitis mid-show. And then there was the time she had to figure out the Phantom’s skin color palette for Robert Guillaume, one of the few black actors to take on the title role.
Pollard was born in what she describes as a small village in Barbados — “I didn’t know about Broadway!” — and eventually followed her parents to New York, going on to earn two licenses in cosmetology, specializing in hair and makeup. A chance meeting with makeup designer Stanley James in the salon where she was an apprentice led to gigs on the original Broadway production of “The Wiz” and a string of legit credits that include “Dreamgirls,” “Cats,” “Song and Dance,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”