A new musical inspired by the rap songs of the late Tupac Shakur is heading to Broadway. Holler If Ya Hear Me is scheduled to open at the Palace Theatre in New York on June 19, with preview performances set to begin on May 26. Holler isn’t a biographical account of Shakur, who was killed at the age of 25 in 1996 following a shooting in Las Vegas. Rather, the musical production will use the rapper’s lyrics to tell a story of contemporary inner-city lives.
Among the producers of the musical are Afeni Shakur, the rapper’s mother; movie and TV producer Eric L. Gold; and Chunsoo Shin, the prominent Korean theater producer who recently collaborated with the La Jolla Playhouse on another musical, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Kenny Leon (Steel Magnolias, A Raisin in the Sun), will direct Holler, which will feature a creative team that includes Wicked choreographer Wayne Cilento. Rumors of the Shakur musical had been circulating for months, though no official announcement from producers had been made until Wednesday.
article by David Ng via latimes.com
Good Black News
According to Variety.com, Zoe Saldana has been hired to star in NBC’s four-hour miniseries remake of the classic 1968 horror film, Rosemary’s Baby. Saldana will play Rosemary, the iconic young wife and would-be mother who, with her husband, moves into a Paris apartment building that has a dark, storied past. After finally getting pregnant, she becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child.
NBC announced the Rosemary’s Baby miniseries in December, with Lionsgate TV attached to produce. Joshua Maurer, Alix Witlin and David Stern are executive producing with Saldana, Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana. “Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel,” said Quinn Taylor, Executive Vice President, Movies, Miniseries and International Co-Productions, NBC Entertainment. “With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.”
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Amiri Baraka, the militant man of letters and tireless agitator whose blues-based, fist-shaking poems, plays and criticism made him a provocative and groundbreaking force in American culture, has died. He was 79. His booking agent, Celeste Bateman, told The Associated Press that Baraka, who had been hospitalized since last month, died Thursday at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Perhaps no writer of the 1960s and ’70s was more radical or polarizing than Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones), and no one did more to extend the political debates of the civil rights era to the world of the arts. He inspired at least one generation of poets, playwrights and musicians, and his immersion in spoken word traditions and raw street language anticipated rap, hip-hop and slam poetry. The FBI feared him to the point of flattery, identifying Baraka as “the person who will probably emerge as the leader of the Pan-African movement in the United States.”
Baraka transformed from the rare black to join the Beat caravan of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac to leader of the Black Arts Movement, an ally of the Black Power movement that rejected the liberal optimism of the early ’60s and intensified a divide over how and whether the black artist should take on social issues. Scorning art for art’s sake and the pursuit of black-white unity, Barak was part of a philosophy that called for the teaching of black art and history and producing works that bluntly called for revolution.
“We want ‘poems that kill,’” Baraka wrote in his landmark “Black Art,” a manifesto published in 1965, the year he helped found the Black Arts Movement. “Assassin poems. Poems that shoot guns/Poems that wrestle cops into alleys/and take their weapons leaving them dead/with tongues pulled out and sent to Ireland.”
According to Variety.com, NBC sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live added Leslie Jones and LaKendra Tookes, two comedians who recently auditioned for the program, as writers for the late-night series. Earlier this week, the show announced Sasheer Zamata, a veteran of improv troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, would begin as a featured player as of its January 18 broadcast.
The two new writers took part in auditions recently held in different parts of the U.S. with the express purpose of finding a female African-American to join the show’s cast of “Not Ready For Prime Time Players.”
While the current cast of Saturday Night Live includes two African-American men – Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah – it has not had an African-American woman in the cast since Maya Rudolph, a comic actress of mixed heritage, was in the cast between 2000 and 2007.
The show has not featured many women of color during its history. Yvonne Hudson, an African-American woman, was a featured player during the program’s 1980-1981 season. Danitra Vance, SNL‘s first African-American female full cast member, joined the show for its 1985-1986 season, part of show creator Lorne Michaels’ return to the program after an absence of several years. Ellen Cleghorne joined the cast from 1991-1995.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The two new writers took part in auditions recently held in different parts of the U.S. with the express purpose of finding a female African-American to join the show’s cast of “Not Ready For Prime Time Players.”
While the current cast of Saturday Night Live includes two African-American men – Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah – it has not had an African-American woman in the cast since Maya Rudolph, a comic actress of mixed heritage, was in the cast between 2000 and 2007.
The show has not featured many women of color during its history. Yvonne Hudson, an African-American woman, was a featured player during the program’s 1980-1981 season. Danitra Vance, SNL‘s first African-American female full cast member, joined the show for its 1985-1986 season, part of show creator Lorne Michaels’ return to the program after an absence of several years. Ellen Cleghorne joined the cast from 1991-1995.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
In her first screen starring turn since the ferocious portrayal as an abusive mother in 2009′s Precious won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Mo’Nique has joined Isaiah Washington in the Patrik-Ian Polk-directed Blackbird, an adaptation of the novel by Larry Duplechan. Washington took the lead in this indie last fall off his starring role as the DC sniper in Blue Caprice earned him a Gotham Award nomination. The film just shot in Hattiesburg, MS.
Mo’Nique is also executive producer with her husband, Sidney Hicks, through Hicks Media. Newcomer Julian Walker plays the star singer in the church choir who feels like a misfit in his high school and struggles with his sexual awakening and the realization he is gay, something that doesn’t land well in a religiously conservative small Mississippi town. This coincides with his younger sister going missing and his parents splitting up. Mo’Nique plays another character who’s not going to win mother of the year awards: the youth’s heartbroken mom, who blames her son’s lifestyle revelation for his sister going missing. Washington plays his supportive father trying his best to help his son’s transition to manhood.
“Blackbird is a film about the choices people are forced to make as they struggle to figure out how to be themselves,” Hicks said. “And why should just being who you are be a struggle? Since Mo’Nique won the Oscar, we have received a flood of scripts, but nothing captured our attention until Isaiah — who we have a high level of respect for — sent us Blackbird. We became instant fans of Patrik-Ian Polk and knew we had to get behind this important film.”
Polk is producing through Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions, Keith Brown through Kbiz Entertainment, Washington through his Coalhouse Productions, and Carol Ann Shine. Terrell Tilford, Gary L. Gray, Kevin Allesee, Torrey Laamar, Nikki Jane and D. Woods round out the cast. Worldwide sales for the film are being handled by Hicks Media and attorney Ricky Anderson of Anderson & Smith.
article by Mike Fleming Jr. via Deadline.com
According to the Los Angeles Times, Steve McQueen, the 44-year-old British director, garnered his first Director’s Guild of American Award nomination for 12 Years a Slave, an unflinching look at slavery in the U.S. McQueen is only the second black director to have received a DGA nomination in this category. Lee Daniels was the first to earn a DGA nomination for feature film for 2009’s Precious. McQueen received best director honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and is nominated for Golden Globe and Independent Spirit awards.
Other nominees include Martin Scorsese, who earned his ninth DGA nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street, his controversial dark comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio about a hedonistic stockbroker. Scorsese, 71, received his first DGA feature nomination for 1976’s Taxi Driver, and won the honor for his 2006 crime film The Departed, which also starred DiCaprio.
Alfonso Cuaron, like McQueen, is also a first-time nominee, for his lost-in-space blockbuster Gravity. Cuaron, 52, was named best director by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. for the thriller and is nominated for a Golden Globe Award. British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, 58, was nominated for Captain Phillips, a fact-based thriller about a container ship hijacked by Somali pirates. Greengrass is also nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the film. Rounding out the DGA feature nominees is David O. Russell for his Abscam-influenced con-comedy American Hustle. Russell, 55, was nominated in this category for 2010’s The Fighter. He is also nominated for a Golden Globe.
The winner will be announced at the 66th awards dinner on Jan. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Alfonso Cuaron, like McQueen, is also a first-time nominee, for his lost-in-space blockbuster Gravity. Cuaron, 52, was named best director by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. for the thriller and is nominated for a Golden Globe Award. British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, 58, was nominated for Captain Phillips, a fact-based thriller about a container ship hijacked by Somali pirates. Greengrass is also nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the film. Rounding out the DGA feature nominees is David O. Russell for his Abscam-influenced con-comedy American Hustle. Russell, 55, was nominated in this category for 2010’s The Fighter. He is also nominated for a Golden Globe.
The winner will be announced at the 66th awards dinner on Jan. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The new year is here, and it’s time for students to get back to work. This year, more than $50 billion dollars will be given away in scholarships, and many of these programs have deadlines that are fast-approaching.
Scholarships are free monetary gifts that can be used to pay for college tuition, books, and boarding. Most scholarship programs require students to excel in academics, sports, or in an essay competition.
Here they are top 10 scholarships with upcoming deadlines in January 2014:
#1 – The Tom Joyner Foundation “Full Ride” Scholarship awards a full scholarship to one student to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/12/tom-joyner-foundation-full-ride.html
#2 – The Burger King Scholars program is designed to help high-school seniors who are looking to start college next year. Annually, the program awards more than $1.4 million in scholarships to more than 1,000 students. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/03/burger-king-scholars-program.html
#3 – The Gates Millennium Scholars Program (also known as the Bill Gates Scholarship) awards scholarships each year to African American students who plan to enroll full-time in a two-year or four-year college or university program. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/the-gates-millennium-scholars-program.html
#4 – The Ron Brown Scholar Program provides scholarship awards to African-American high school seniors who are excelling in their academics, exhibiting exceptional leadership potential, and actively serving in community service activities. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/04/ron-brown-scholar-program.html
#5 – The Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarship Program is sponsored by Discover Financial Services. The program recognizes students in their junior year of high school who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their communities. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/discover-card-tribute-award-scholarship.html
#6 – The National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA) provides four scholarships each year to African-American students currently in law school. Each applicant will be required to complete an essay on a topic that is related to the specific scholarship for which they are applying. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/02/nblsa-national-black-law-student-association-scholarships.html
#7 – Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarships (RMHC) for African American Future Achievers are awarded to eligible high school students with high academic performance and community service as well as financial need. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/ronald-mcdonald-house-charities.html
#8 – The Talbots Scholarship Program awards one-time scholarships to women who want to go back to school to earn their undergraduate degree after graduating from high school or receiving their GED at least ten years ago. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/11/the-talbots-scholarship-program.html
#9 – The Ronald Reagan College Leaders Scholarship Program awards scholarships to college juniors and seniors who demonstrate leadership qualities in support of freedom, American values and constitutional principles. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/ronald-reagan-college-leaders.html
#10 – The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in the field of aeronautics. It is a renewable scholarship for U.S. citizens and nationals. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/09/nasa-aeronautics-scholarship-program.html
To search hundreds of other 2014 scholarships, visit www.ScholarshipsOnline.org.
article via dallasweekly.com
Scholarships are free monetary gifts that can be used to pay for college tuition, books, and boarding. Most scholarship programs require students to excel in academics, sports, or in an essay competition.
Here they are top 10 scholarships with upcoming deadlines in January 2014:
#1 – The Tom Joyner Foundation “Full Ride” Scholarship awards a full scholarship to one student to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/12/tom-joyner-foundation-full-ride.html
#2 – The Burger King Scholars program is designed to help high-school seniors who are looking to start college next year. Annually, the program awards more than $1.4 million in scholarships to more than 1,000 students. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/03/burger-king-scholars-program.html
#3 – The Gates Millennium Scholars Program (also known as the Bill Gates Scholarship) awards scholarships each year to African American students who plan to enroll full-time in a two-year or four-year college or university program. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/the-gates-millennium-scholars-program.html
#4 – The Ron Brown Scholar Program provides scholarship awards to African-American high school seniors who are excelling in their academics, exhibiting exceptional leadership potential, and actively serving in community service activities. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/04/ron-brown-scholar-program.html
#5 – The Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarship Program is sponsored by Discover Financial Services. The program recognizes students in their junior year of high school who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their communities. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/discover-card-tribute-award-scholarship.html
#6 – The National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA) provides four scholarships each year to African-American students currently in law school. Each applicant will be required to complete an essay on a topic that is related to the specific scholarship for which they are applying. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/02/nblsa-national-black-law-student-association-scholarships.html
#7 – Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarships (RMHC) for African American Future Achievers are awarded to eligible high school students with high academic performance and community service as well as financial need. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/ronald-mcdonald-house-charities.html
#8 – The Talbots Scholarship Program awards one-time scholarships to women who want to go back to school to earn their undergraduate degree after graduating from high school or receiving their GED at least ten years ago. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/11/the-talbots-scholarship-program.html
#9 – The Ronald Reagan College Leaders Scholarship Program awards scholarships to college juniors and seniors who demonstrate leadership qualities in support of freedom, American values and constitutional principles. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/ronald-reagan-college-leaders.html
#10 – The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in the field of aeronautics. It is a renewable scholarship for U.S. citizens and nationals. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/09/nasa-aeronautics-scholarship-program.html
To search hundreds of other 2014 scholarships, visit www.ScholarshipsOnline.org.
article via dallasweekly.com
NBC has handed a series order to a half-hour comedy from The Office co-star Craig Robinson. Mr. Robinson centers on a journeyman musician who gets a job as a music teacher at a middle school. While teaching the kids everything from rock to the blues, he simultaneously learns how to put the school’s rules to the test. NBC has given the project a six-episode order.
Robinson will star in the comedy, which was initially ordered to pilot in early 2013. The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was attached to the laffer last year but has since departed Mr. Robinson. Universal TV and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce Mr. Robinson, with Mark Cullen, Rob Cullen, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman executive producing.
article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com
According to Variety.com, Sasheer Zamata will be the latest young comedian to join NBC’s Saturday Night Live, Zamata will make her debut as an SNL featured player on Jan. 18, the late-night program’s first live show of this new year. Zamata is a University of Virginia alumna and trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Zamata will be SNL’s first black female cast member since the departure of Maya Rudolph in 2007. SNL and its producer Lorne Michaels came under fire in late 2013 over the cast’s lack of diversity, and the series poked fun at its own controversy during its opening segment when Kerry Washington hosted SNL in November 2013. News broke at the end of the year that SNL was holding auditions specifically to find black female cast members to join the program in 2014.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
DETROIT, Mich. — On a cold December day in East Detroit, a dozen kids form a human assembly line stretching across the parking lot of the Downtown Boxing Gym. With strong arms, the kids grab and push boxes of food from the delivery truck. “The kids don’t go without a meal,” Coach Khali Sweeney told NBC News. “Forgotten Harvest, the local food bank, they’ll bring food here for ’em, so we have food for the kids to eat healthy.”
According to a 2010 report, more than half of the city’s households with children under 18 receive food assistance from the state. But that food is just one of the reasons the kids depend on this gym, which is the only building left standing on its city block.
To learn more about the Downtown Boxing Gym, please click here to visit their website.
It is surrounded by a handful of vacant lots and remnants of abandoned buildings, where the kids sometimes run laps at night. “It’s not, like, really safe for us to go out there and train,” 19-year-old boxer Anthony Flagg Jr. said. “But we do it anyway. They say boxing, you’re risking your life.”
For these kids, there are risks both in and out of the ring. Across train tracks, less than a mile away from the gym, there’s a scene of a different kind: a new Whole Foods grocery– a sign of new life for the struggling city. “I appreciate and applaud all the efforts goin’ into […] buildin’ the city,” Sweeney said. “But the residents themselves, they’re not gonna see that for a long time, and they’re still suffering. So places like this is a good place for kids to go. ”