Aficionados of Black cinema and television arts are ecstatic about the announcement of a TV deal involving Black & Sexy TV’s hit web series The Couple and powerhouse cable television network HBO. Rumor has it the deal will also involve legendary filmmaker Spike Lee as an executive producer. Black & Sexy co-creator Numa Perrier recently confirmed to JETmag.com that the Web superstars did clinch a deal with HBO.
News first leaked Monday at Sundance Film Festival during the Blackhouse Digital Panel, which included Black & Sexy TV founders Dennis Dortch and Numa Perrier, actor Jay Ellis (The Game), Lena Waithe (Dear White People), Edwin Benton and was moderated by Brickson Diamond. The deal was revealed while Diamond and Dortch discussed the task of how to maneuver creative content to new platforms.
For those unfamiliar, the Black & Sexy TV original web series, starring Numa Perrier and Desmond Faison, follows a young Black couple, chronicling the everyday nuances of dating and living together in a hilariously fresh way. Some may recall the unprecedented 2012 Kickstarter campaign that surpassed an original $25,000 goal to raise more than $32,000 in an effort to turn the web series into a film.
Black & Sexy TV offers original programming that is intentionally and unapologetically for us and is responsible for creating breakout web series hits such as Roomieloverfriends—which is also produced by Awkward Black Girl’s Issa Rae, That Guy and a new docu-series Yellow, which explores the “pleasures and problems of the light skinned Black man.”
The development deal with HBO is said to still be in its early stages.
article by Marissa Wallace via jetmag.com
Posts published in “New Media/Internet”
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The stars of the Miami Heat and head coach Erik Spoelstra joined Michelle Obama at the White House to help promote her “Let’s Move” campaign.
LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen were on hand to film a short video, encouraging viewers to eat healthy. The group eats apples and drinks water throughout the promo, which is capped off with the first lady dunking a mini basketball into a hoop held by James.
article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com
Maria Shriver will launch Monday on TODAY #DoingItAll, a series aimed at helping women overcome challenges described in “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink,” published in partnership with Center for American Progress. LeBron James wrote the following essay for The Shriver Report.
Gloria James raised her only child and future NBA phenomenon alone after becoming pregnant at 16. LeBron says it is her love and devotion that made it possible for him to pursue his dreams.
I am honored to participate in a project that is trying to help single mothers who are struggling to make a living and raise their kids, because that perfectly describes my mother when I was growing up. You think LeBron James is a champion? Gloria James is a champion too. She’s my champion.
My mother really struggled. She had me, her only child, when she was just 16 years old. She was on her own, so we lived in her mom’s great big house in Akron, Ohio. But on Christmas Day when I was 3 years old, my grandmother suddenly died of a heart attack, and everything changed. With my mom being so young and lacking any support and the skills and education necessary to get ahead, it was really hard for us.
We lost the house. We moved around from place to place—a dozen times in three years. It was scary. It was catch as catch can, scraping to get by. My mom worked anywhere and everywhere, trying to make ends meet. But through all of that, I knew one thing for sure: I had my mother to blanket me and to give me security. She was my mother, my father, my everything. She put me first. I knew that no matter what happened, nothing and nobody was more important to her than I was. I went without a lot of things, but never for one second did I feel unimportant or unloved.
Entrepreneurial tech hubs are emerging across the country. The opportunities once reserved for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley have now expanded beyond those borders, reaching Midwestern hotbeds like Detroit and Chicago, and even northeastern locales such as Newark and Washington, D.C. But the commercial capital of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta, has all the makings of a robust tech ecosystem.
With the nation’s busiest airport, a high concentration of colleges and universities, and Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola, Home Depot and UPS headquartered in Atlanta, among other things, the city’s emerging tech scene is slowly inching up on the highly-coveted “top” lists.
After visiting Atlanta during Digital Undivided’s START weekend earlier this year and exploring the scene, self-described mobile evangelist Sian Morson decided she wanted in. “I had some friends here who were telling me what was going on in the scene and so I made a couple of visits,” says Morson, who, at the time, also began floating her co-working space idea around. Before she knew it, the Oakland resident packed up her belongings and moved to Atlanta, opening Kollective South in the Castleberry Hill area in October. Located near Atlanta’s Central Business District, KSouth is the newest co-working community in town and already generating quite a buzz within the local tech community. “I just wanted to give back in my own way and so KSouth is my way to do that,” says Morson.
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with the Kollective Mobile founder to discuss the inspiration behind Kollective South, bringing tech innovation to urban areas and what’s next for the mobile maven.
SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is first out with its 2013 top search trends list, with pop star Beyoncé bumping Kim Kardashian as the most searched person on Bing this year. Women dominated 2013 in Microsoft search world. The top five most searched people of the year were women (Kardashian was No. 2).
Justin Bieber — No. 6 — and President Barack Obama — 10th — were the only two men who made it into the top 10.
Also making Bing’s Top 10 list: Rihanna (3), Taylor Swift (4), Madonna (5), Nicki Minaj (7), Amanda Bynes (8) and Miley Cyrus (9) Swift jumped from No. 10 last year, while Bynes, Madonna and Obama are all new to the list.
Microsoft’s take on top trends has a decidedly pop culture bent, but Bing also offers a look at top news stories of the year. The birth of the royal baby was the most searched story of the year followed by the Boston Marathon bombing in April. You can read more about Bing’s top trends at www.bingtrends.com.
And now that we’re into December, look for Google, Twitter, Facebook and more to weigh in with the year’s top trends.
article by Nancy Blair via usatoday.com
Just recently, Google updated its terms of use and privacy policy. The goal was to allow Google to use your name and public photo in “Shared Endorsements.” In plain English, it wants to use you in ads. So, if you like or “+1” something on Google+, for example, Google can show your friends that you recommend it if it pops up their searches. I’m sure Google can expand that in the future to the channels you subscribe to on YouTube or music and apps you buy in Google Play.
To Google’s credit, you can opt out — if you know where to look. Head over to the Shared Endorsements page, sign in with your Google account and make sure the option at the bottom is not checked. Still, it’s a reminder where Google’s focus is. It’s keeping track of what you do so it can use that information in advertising. And don’t forget that your information is one subpoena away from ending up in a government database.
But it’s not like there’s a better alternative for search, right? Bing and Yahoo do the same thing. That’s true, but those aren’t the only alternative search sites around. Here are some that do the job and take your privacy seriously. Take a look at DuckDuckGo. Though it’s similar to Google, it doesn’t collect any information about you when you search. It matches Google Search in features and performance with a similar simple layout. Its “Goodies” features offer geographic search, calculators and more. You could literally spend hours checking out DuckDuckGo’s cool features.
Maybe there’s just one feature about Google’s search you really can’t live without, though. In most cases, you can find search sites tailored to that feature. Wolfram Alpha, for example, runs circles around Google when it comes to research and calculations. Just type in a question and it can usually figure out what you mean. You can even upload images to get more information about them.
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Morgan State University is launching the Global School of Journalism and Communication School to better prepare students entering the competitive field.
The Historically Black University explains their mission on the site:
Today, the mission of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication is to give voice to a broader group of people – people who struggle to contribute to the public discourse that shapes this nation and the world. We serve this cause with innovative teaching, cutting edge research, and exemplary service to Maryland, our nation, and the world.
Our goal is add to the diversity of thoughts, opinions and beliefs by offering students from a wide range of backgrounds the liberal arts education and skills training they need to effectively communicate ideas – to plead their own causes, or to accurately tell the stories of others.
In our global school, students travel the world in their classes and assignments, without leaving the campus. They also see the world through their interactions with our partner programs at universities in distant lands – and they are offered opportunities to travel abroad in our Worldwide Learning Lab program.
The great advances in technology have turned the world into a global village. The goal of our school is to make our graduates effective communicators in every way – and every corner of this village.
The school officially launches this fall and it will be commenced with a special ceremony on August 27, 2014.
article via blackamericaweb.com
Playing the role of a slave woman at one of the country’s top-tourist destinations, actress and comedian Azie Mira Dungey learned first hand how ignorant many Americans are about the institution of slavery. For two years, Dungey worked part-time at George Washington‘s Mount Vernon mansion in Mount Vernon, Va., often portraying one of the slave women who worked inside of Washington’s home. The role required her to read countless books on the plantation’s history over a two month period before she started the job.
Once she stepped into character, Dungey realized that she was more than just a recent New York University graduate milling around in a short-term gig until Hollywood called; instead, Dungey believed that she was something of a griot of Black history and took her role very seriously.
And her job wasn’t easy. Often, Dungey has had to answer challenging questions from mostly White tourists — all while staying in character.
During an exclusive interview with NewsOne, Dungey recalled the time someone asked, “What’s your favorite part of the plantation?” (Her answer: “My bed”) Then there was the guy who asked, “How did you get to be the house maid for such a distinguished Founding Father? Did you see the advertisement in the newspaper?”
(Her answer: “Did I read the advertisement in the newspaper? Why yes. It said, ‘Wanted: One housemaid. No pay, preferably mulatto, saucy with breeding hips. Must work 18 hours a day. No holidays. But, you get to wear a pretty dress. And, if you’re lucky, you might to get carry some famous White man’s bastard child.’ So, you better believe I read that, ran over and said, ‘sign me up.’” ).
But not all of the obtuse questions came from White people.
After speaking to an older Black man about a runaway slave who attempted to flee Washington’s plantation, the man seemed shocked at the slave’s attempt at freedom. “He was like, ‘Wait a minute, why did he want to run away?’” Dungey recalls the man asking. “‘I thought that George Washington was a good slave owner.’”
“I just looked at him, like, Are you serious?… You can be the nicest in the world but people don’t want to be your slave. And the man was like, ‘Yeah, that’s true.’”
As aforementioned, though, as comical as some of the questions were, Dungey never broke character. Dungey was committed to ensuring that she conveyed the reality in which her character lived. In her role, Dungey realized that she may be one of the few people from whom they can get some sense of how Blacks lived during a very repressive period in American history.
“History is our narrative,” she said. “It shapes what we think of ourselves and our society. How it is controlled, and whose stories get told (or not told) has a strong effect on culture, and even on public policy. Black history is not a separate history or a less important one. Misconceptions about Black history and the modern Black experience is really dividing us politically and socially. If we don’t understand racism and where it comes from, how can we end it? How can we weed it out? We have to be critical of these things to make true progress.”
She left that job late last year and has since moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, but the two-year experience motivated her to turn the hilarity of the tourists’ ignorance into the YouTube web series “Ask A Slave.” As “Lizzie Mae,” Dungey sits in front of a TV and answers viewers’ questions about slavery and George Washington.
All of the questions are ones tourists actually asked while she was working at Mount Vernon.
Watch Episode 1 of “Ask A Slave” here:
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Since going live with two videos Sept. 1, the first episode has garnered more than 301,100 views, while the second episode has more than 119,000 views. It’s not a bad start at all, especially considering that Dungey raised the funds for production herself.
Watch Episode 2 of “Ask A Slave” here:
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Back in April, she raised $3,000 through the crowdsourcing site GoFundMe to shoot six episodes, which will be published on YouTube each Sunday. The series was directed by Jordan Black, creator of the improvised comedy web series “The Black Version.” The first two episodes have gotten positive reviews from Jezebel, MadameNoire, as well as other sites, with Gawker’s Neetzan Zimmerman calling it “the best web series since “Drunk History.”
What does your hair mean to you? For some of us it’s important enough; but for Asha Mandela, the woman with the world’s longest dredlocks, her hair is life itself. Mandela, 50, began growing her locks out 25 years ago in spiritual quest to change her life. Initially, her family didn’t support her decision but in 2009 when she earned the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest dredlocks and started gaining notoriety, they warmed up to the idea. (Ain’t that the way it goes.)
Since 2009, her hair has gotten even more impressive. Today it’s 55 feet long and weighs 42 pounds. When she goes out in the street Asha has to wear a baby sling on her back just to carry it all. Being the black Rapunzel might sound like a cool title, but having this much hair comes with its drawbacks. Health side effects actually. Doctors have advised Mandela to cut her hair because it has already lead to a curvature in her spine and could lead to neck spasms in the future.
But cutting it is not an option. Mandela says she and her hair are connected now– not just by the root, but spiritually. She credits the growth of her locks for helping her to overcome cancer, two strokes and two heart attacks. In fact she says, “If I ever gut my hair, I’d really be taking away my life.” So instead, of taking a pair of scissors to her hair, Mandela is going to keep living the life she’s adapted and grown accustomed to, which includes washes once a week, (which can take up to two days to dry), and that baby sling.
Check out Asha and her hair in the video below:
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article by Veronica Wells via madamenoire.com
Spike Lee has surpassed his Kickstarter goal of $1.25 million, with 4 days remaining in his campaign. The 56-year-old director launched his campaign on July 21, in an effort to raise money to make his next film. Lee describes the movie as a “psychological bloody thriller,” about human beings who are addicted to blood (and not a remake of Blacula). Since launching his campaign 26 days ago, Lee as amassed more than 5,400 financial backers, (including Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh) and raised $1,304,000.
But Lee’s Kickstarter campaign wasn’t a seamless endeavor. The Do the Right Thing director generated strong criticism from the media. Weeks ago Lee made an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s Street Smart and had a heated debate about the backlash he’s received for using Kickstarter. During an interview with theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon, Lee talked about his reason for using Kickstarter.
“I needed to go to Kickstarter to get this film made because this is not necessarily a Hollywood film, Lee said. “It’s more like an independent film.” The 56-year-old Brooklyn native then said he doesn’t envision his contemporaries in the industry, like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg or Clint Eastwood, following in his footsteps and turning to Kickstarter to fund their future films. “Anybody could do this, but Steven Spielberg,” Lee said. “Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Scorsese, they don’t have to do that.” Why? “Because they don’t have to do it,” he said. “They’re great filmmakers and they’re beloved by the studios.”
Lee’s next film, which is scheduled to hit theaters in October, will be his remake of the Korean thriller Oldboy.
article by Chris Witherspoon via thegrio.com