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Posts tagged as “Spike Lee”

LeBron James' Production Company SpringHill Entertainment Makes Overall Deal with Warner Bros.

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2015

Lebron James GQ

After a scene stealing turn in the Universal comedy Trainwreck, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is taking his talents to Burbank. He has partnered in a content creation deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment that will put his SpringHill Entertainment banner on the studio track to generate content in TV, movies and digital. Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros, James and his SpringHill cofounder Maverick Carter are calling the arrangement unprecedented.

“LeBron James has one of the most powerful, well-known brands in the world and we are excited to be in business with him and his partner, Maverick Carter, and SpringHill Entertainment,” said Tsujihara. “The combination of LeBron’s global media presence and Warner Bros.’ unmatched production and distribution expertise is a big win for fans everywhere. We’re excited to welcome LeBron and Maverick to the Warner Bros. family and look forward to partnering on incredible projects that will connect with consumers across a variety of platforms.” Said James: “Connecting with my fans and telling meaningful stories have always been my passion. In everything I’ve done, from Nike commercials to Uninterrupted and Survivor’s Remorse, it’s always about connecting with people of all ages and providing unique content they can all enjoy. And I’ve always loved movies, which makes Warner Bros. the ultimate partner to help us continue to push the envelope. I can’t wait to see what we come up with.”

James had been courted by several studios before he made his splashy acting turn in the Judd Apatow-directed Trainwreck, opposite Amy Schumer and Bill Hader. Among those projects that had heat at one time or another was Ballers, a film that had Kevin Hart poised to play the brother of an NBA superstar (James), who after living in his sibling’s shadow gets a chance to prove himself at a basketball camp operated by his bro.

There is a long record of basketball stars who’ve tried to transition to movies and TV. Most of it has ended in futility. Michael Jordan made a splash in “Space Jam,” and while he certainly had the poise and good looks to go further, he seemed to lose interest. Shaquille O’Neal had a few forgettable onscreen turns that included “Steel” and “Kazaam”, Julius Erving had “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.”  Ray Allen got strong notices starring opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s “He Got Game.”  Magic Johnson had a short lived late night talk show. Then there is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made two of the most noteworthy acting turns by a hoops star, shining as an airline pilot in the Zucker Brothers spoof “Airplane!,” and squaring off against Bruce Lee in that actor’s final film, “Game of Death.”  Jabbar also developed projects as a producer, and that is where James can make a mark. SpringHill’s output so far includes Disney XD’s inspirational series Becoming, the Starz’ scripted comedy Survivor’s Remorse; Uninterrupted, the multimedia platform for unfiltered athlete content hosted on Turner digital platform Bleacher Report, and an upcoming primetime game show for NBC.

article by Mike Fleming via deadline.com

Amazon Studios Acquiring Spike Lee Film "Chi-Raq" as Its 1st Release

By goodblacknews on July 15, 2015
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Studios says it has acquired Spike Lee‘s new film as its first Amazon Original Movie.
The film, with the working title “Chi-Raq,” features a cast including Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson and Teyonah Parris, as well as D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris and Angela Bassett, plus John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.
“Chi-Raq” was shot entirely in Chicago and wrapped last week. Directed by Lee, it was co-written by Lee and Kevin Willmott. It focuses on violence in inner-city Chicago.
Amazon Studios’ Ted Hope said, “It would be impossible to find a better filmmaker” than Lee to launch the studio with.
Amazon Original Movies, announced in January, was formed to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release as well as distribution to its Amazon Prime members.
article via blackamericaweb.com

NYC: A Screening Series Not to Be Missed Kicks Off Today! "Black Independents in New York, 1968–1986"

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2015
Tell It Like It Is

Kicking off today, Friday, February 6, 2015, is a must-attend series, presented by The Film Society of Lincoln Center (NYC), titled “Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York, 1968–1986” – from the opener, Kathleen Collins‘ stately 1982 feature “Losing Ground” (read my review of the film here); to Ayoka Chenzira‘s humorous, though inciting short “black hair” travelogue, “Hair Piece A Film for Nappy-Headed People;” Camille Billops‘ devastating documentary on a young black woman’s struggles to come to terms with her physically abusive father (dead at the time of the making of the film) as well as a mother, abused herself, unable to protect her children in 1982’s “Suzanne Suzanne,” and more.
A series programmed by Michelle Materre and Film Society of Lincoln Center Programmer at Large Jake Perlin, co-presented by Creatively Speaking, other titles included in the program, which some of you would be familiar with, include Bill Gunn‘s seminal “Ganja & Hess” (a film that Spike Lee *reinterpreted* in his latest work, “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”); William Greaves’ instructive “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm;” another Bill Gunn film, “Personal Problems” (which came after “Ganja”), the work of cinéma-vérité, capturing a middle class black family in crisis; St Clair Bourne’s intimate documentary capturing Amiri Baraka‘s trial and conviction for “resisting arrest” despite allegations of police harassment, in “In Motion: Amiri Baraka;” and much, much, much more.
Of course, given the period and city covered, the early work of Spike Lee is well represented, with “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads” and “She’s Gotta Have It,” both scheduled to screen.
Tickets for this must-attend series of rare screenings can be purchased online here.
It’s quite exhaustive, so I strongly encourage you to take full advantage, because you may never get another opportunity quite like this again, or anytime soon, after this run ends. Check out the full lineup here.
In the meantime, here’s a just-released trailer for the series:

article by Tambay A.Benson via blogs.indiewire.com

EDITORIAL: Rediscovering and Celebrating Black History Month in Unexpected Ways

By goodblacknews on February 1, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-02-01 at 5.36.43 PM
At Good Black News, February is an especially invigorating time. When Black History Month rolls around, people have more interest than normal in African-American history, music and culture, and GBN inevitably benefits from the heightened exposure.  We make an extra effort to provide a wide variety of information and stories (historical and current) during this time, and point to events and programming we find to be educational as well as entertaining.
Even so, we are a small operation with limited (albeit growing) reach, and we know a lot of black folks feel skeptical about BHM — it always seems like the same old, same old — Martin, Malcolm, Rosa, and the black movie, tv show or person du jour get celebrated in the national news, and then everybody forgets (or tries to forget) about African-American history until next year.
Last night, however, as I was flipping through cable before going to bed, I noticed there was not only an increased amount of black programming (and not just on BET or TV One or PBS), it was more varied than ever.  So much so, I wasn’t even sure what to watch: “Angel Heart” with Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke, a horror thriller set in New Orleans and the world of voodoo (which reminded me of a time where the media considered Bonet the controversial one from “The Cosby Show”), “School Daze”, the Spike Lee movie set at an all-black college in the South, or “Iceberg Slim: Portait of a Pimp”, a 2012 documentary  produced by Ice T, primarily chronicling the author’s experiences in Chicago and Los Angeles.
I had been thinking about “School Daze” earlier that day, so I took it as a sign and flipped to that.  It was the scene where the light-skinned sorority girls (lead by Tisha Campbell-Martin and Jasmine Guy) bump into the dark-skinned girls (lead by Kyme and Joie Lee) and go into a full-on musical fantasy where they square off as they sing “Good and Bad Hair.”
My jaw about dropped — I saw this movie in the theatre when I was in college, but I’d forgotten how provocative the lyrics and the visuals were.  I mean, this movie was released in 1988 and had black women going hard for each other over hair, calling each other “high-yellow” and “jigaboo,” holding up fans with images of Hattie McDaniel as Mammy and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett to taunt one another!  Up until Chris Rock‘s 2009 documentary “Good Hair,” when had this subject matter ever received exposure in mainstream entertainment?
I’d also forgotten how talented the actors and dancers were/are, blending traditional and historical dancing styles and choreography with contemporary steps, and how creative and original Lee was to even imagine doing a number like this in what was then only his second motion picture.
The next scene was a frat hazing scene where pledges where being paddled and this all-too-real violence (as well as the abhorrent misogyny that would soon be coming down the pipe) made me realize the film was deeper and pointed to more problems and issues in the black community than I’d recalled.  “School Daze” received its share of flak (at the time and over the years) for being the hodgepodge of styles that it is, but it’s an important, innovative part of Lee’s work as well as black cinema, as relevant as “Dear White People” is in 2015, and fully worth a re-watch and discussion with the new generation of young people and college students.
Jazzed from this rediscovery, I flipped over to the Iceberg Slim documentary.  Although I’ve known about Iceberg Slim for decades, I’ve never read his work, dismissing it based on its categorization as “gangsta” literature.  Having matured since my 20s however (at least I think I have), I realized I really didn’t know anything about Iceberg Slim other than my perception, so perhaps I should learn more.  I’m so glad I did.  Not only was the documentary particularly well-executed (creative visuals, innovative music, interesting talking heads and dynamic footage of old Slim interviews), I learned what an intelligent man (Robert Beck) lay behind the Iceberg Slim persona, and how he wrote books such as “Pimp” and “Trick Baby” as cautionary tales rather than celebrations of street life.  Even though I don’t (neither does he in his later years) condone or excuse his repulsive criminal behavior and abuse of women, I do recognize he artfully captured and described a very real part of the black experience in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
I also had no idea “Trick Baby” was made into a motion picture by Universal, which helped spur the burgeoning “Blaxploitation” film boom in the 1970s, or that he lived for years only ten blocks away from my grandparents in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles/Inglewood.  It was equally fascinating to learn Birdman of Cash Money Entertainment acquired the rights to “Pimp” and Slim’s other works to keep them alive on the Cash Money Content imprint via Simon & Schuster.  And now I want to read those books and get that movie.
All in all, these late-night viewings made me even more excited and energized about Black History Month.  And when I looked at my DVR this morning, I saw a variety of options casually waiting for me there, too:  the latest episodes of the “Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, “Empire”, “Black-ish” and what I hear via Twitter was an incredible performance by D’Angelo on “Saturday Night Live” last night.  If that wasn’t enough, I started writing this piece while watching NFL QB Russell Wilson attempt to lead the Seattle Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowl wins, which, if he does, will be a first for an African-American quarterback.  (And btw, what an unexpected treat to see Missy Elliott featured in the halftime show with Katy Perry — Missy was fire!)
We all have the ability, even casually, to celebrate and discover (or re-discover) our history, music, literature and culture and I invite all GBN followers to comment, tweet, email or share any unexpected, positive BHM experiences you have.  I’m going to continue to chronicle mine alongside more formally-presented stories and articles — looking forward to hearing yours as well!
Onward and upward!

Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder/Editor-In-Chief

NAACP Image Awards to Honor Spike Lee With President's Award

By goodblacknews on January 22, 2015

Spike Lee will be honored at the NAACP Image Awards this year, where the iconic filmmaker will receive the President’s Award.

NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks calls the Do the Right Thing director a “trailblazer” and a “champion for minorities.”
Brooks continues, “His expansive body of work examining race relations, colorism in the Black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues reflect the fullness of the humanity of people of color — particularly African-Americans.”
The President’s Award is chosen by the NAACP president and recognizes special achievement and distinguished public service. Past honorees have included President Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali and, most recently, Kerry Washington.
Lee has had an active career, churning out a film per year on average. His latest movie, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, is a romantic horror comedy that follows a scholar who becomes cursed after a run-in with an ancient African artifact. It was partially funded through Kickstarter.
The 46th NAACP Image Awards will be broadcast live on February 6 at 9 p.m. Check your local listings for details.
article by Evelyn Diaz via bet.com

Sam Pollard Directs New Doc on Life & Legacy of August Wilson – Coming to PBS in February

By goodblacknews on January 13, 2015
August Wilson - American Masters

Coming to PBS primetime next month, as part of its AMERICAN MASTERS series, is the documentary, “August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand,” airing on February 20 at 9pm ET.
Directed by Emmy and Peabody-winner Sam Pollard (long-time Spike Lee editor, as well as a director and producer in his own right), the documentary explores the life and legacy of Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson – the man some call America’s Shakespeare — from his roots as a Pittsburgh activist and poet, to his indelible mark on Broadway.
Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews, and new dramatic readings, bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling each decade of the 20th century African American experience. The film features new interviews with Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, Laurence Fishburne, James Earl Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks, Phylicia Rashad, his widow/costume designer Constanza Romero, and others, sharing stories of the late great African American playwright’s rich theatrical canon.

PBS is premiering the film in honor of the 70th anniversary of Wilson’s birth, as well as the 10th anniversary of his death, and for Black History Month.
The DVD will be available on February 24 from PBS Distribution.
“Having the opportunity to explore Wilson’s creative process and his tenacity in looking at the African American experience in the 20th century was one of the most exciting endeavors I have ever had in my film career,” said filmmaker Sam Pollard.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via indiewire.com

Pharrell Named to Apollo Theater’s Board Of Directors

By goodblacknews on November 3, 2014

pharrell-williams-getty
“It’s Showtime!”
Pharrell Williams continued his incredible run of musical accomplishments on Tuesday, by being named to the Apollo Theater’s Board of Directors. The multi-talented producer joins a list of 32 that includes New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Quincy Jones, John D. Dempsey of Estee Lauder, and many more.
Skateboard P made his debut on the famed stage on June 3, which was streamed live as part of a digital series, Unstaged. The project was directed by Spike Lee and sponsored by American Express, and seemed to open new doors for hollowed grounds. The global reach of Pharrell’s performance coincided with the technological upgrades that the venue is going through, as part of a $20 million dollar initiative for its 21st Century Apollo Campaign.
The singer/songwriter stated that he’s excited to preserve and expand upon the Apollo’s legacy in American culture. In other words, he’s “Happy.”
article by @TheKidSkoob via theurbandaily.com

Little League Pitching Sensation Mo'ne Davis Throws out 1st Pitch at World Series

By goodblacknews on October 25, 2014

Mo’ne Davis, the first female pitcher in Little League World Series history to pitch a complete-game shutout accompanied by players from the Jackie Robison West Little League team, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 of baseball's World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Mo’ne Davis, the first female pitcher in Little League World Series history to pitch a complete-game shutout accompanied by players from the Jackie Robison West Little League team, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 of baseball’s World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Cameras flashed, the crowd rose for a thunderous ovation and Mo’ne Davis did exactly what she was expected to do — fire a strike right down the middle.  From Little League phenom to the star of her own commercial to World Series celebrity, the 13-year-old Davis has been on quite a ride these past few months.
She continued her remarkable journey on the biggest baseball stage of all when she threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 4 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals on Saturday.
“Just to be at the World Series is pretty cool,” Davis said. “If I didn’t throw a strike, I don’t know what I would do. Throwing a strike was probably the best part.”
On a night when the attention of the sports world was focused on AT&T Park, Davis managed to stand out.  She paused to take photographs with fans, munched on a vanilla-and-chocolate sundae in the press box and managed to squeeze in some face time with Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson.
The eighth grader even got a phone call from her favorite player, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.  “I think that tops it all,” Davis said with a grin.
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Spike Lee, who directed the television commercial for Chevrolet that stars Davis, was also in attendance to watch the young pitcher.
Davis has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon. Throwing out the first pitch at a World Series game seemed like the natural next step.
“When I found out that the commissioner was going to have her throw out the first pitch tonight, I said, ‘I’ve got to be here,'” Lee said. “She’s amazing … and she’s on the honor roll, too. And she’s only 13 years old.”

Respectful Mourning and Calls for Action at Funeral for Michael Brown

By goodblacknews on August 25, 2014
Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s mother, at his funeral in St. Louis. (RICHARD PERRY / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

ST. LOUIS — They came by the thousands to pay their respects. Among them were the parents and extended family — some 500 strong — of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed more than two weeks ago by a Ferguson police officer.

But the crowd of mourners also included the Rev. Jesse Jackson; film director Spike Lee; T. D. Jakes, the bishop of The Potter’s House, an African-American megachurch; several members of Congress; representatives from the White House; and two children of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
During a deeply religious service here on Monday at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, several speakers exhorted mourners to work for justice, not just for Mr. Brown but for others, long after the funeral was over.
“There is a cry being made from the ground, not just for Michael Brown, but for the Trayvon Martins, for those children in Sandy Hook Elementary School, for the Columbine massacre, for black-on-black crime,” the Rev. Charles Ewing, Mr. Brown’s uncle, said.
Speaking before the overflowing crowd, the Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the militarization of the police and their treatment of Mr. Brown, while calling on African-Americans to push for change instead of “sitting around having ghetto pity parties.”
On Sunday, relatives of Mr. Brown had asked for quiet during the funeral. The fatal shooting had set off weeks of protests and a severe police reaction in Ferguson. Several speakers echoed pleas from Mr. Brown’s family for people to refrain from protesting on Monday.
“Please don’t exacerbate the almost unbearable pain of this family,” said Bishop Edwin Bass of the Church of God in Christ. “It is imperative that we resist the temptation to react by rioting.”
Many mourners, most of whom were black, wore buttons showing Mr. Brown’s picture, and large photos of Mr. Brown stood at the front of the church. Rousing hymns by the Missouri Jurisdictional Choir repeatedly brought the entire crowd to their feet.
Among the family members who spoke, Cal Brown, Mr. Brown’s stepmother, said that just weeks before he was shot, Mr. Brown had described a dream in which he had seen bloody sheets hanging on a clothes line. “He pretty much prophesied his own death and he didn’t even realize it,” she said, calling him “an awesome man” who wanted to have a family and “be a good father.”
In addition to numerous readings from the Bible, there were readings from Dr. King and references to significant court cases in black history. Referring to the original determination in the Constitution that blacks were counted as three-fifths of a man for the purposes of voting, Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who is representing Mr. Brown’s family, said that the teenager “was not three-fifths of a citizen. He was an American citizen and we will not accept three-fifths justice.”

Jamie Foxx to Play Mike Tyson in New Film

By goodblacknews on August 2, 2014

jamiefoxx & mike tyson
Having already played the corner man to one of the greatest boxers of all-time in “Ali” starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx looks ready to get back in the ring and take on the lead role to portray one of the most recognizable boxers and sports figures of this generation.
Foxx is attached to play Mike Tyson in an untitled biopic that Terence Winter (“Wolf of Wall Street”, “Sopranos”, “Boardwalk Empire”) is set to script. Rick Yorn, who is Foxx’s manager, will produce the movie.
As one of the most polarizing figures in sports, producers are eager to tackle Tyson’s life story. Known for the power and ferocity he displayed in the ring, Tyson became not just the top boxer at the end of the ’80s but one of the most popular sports figures, with a rough around-the-edges personality he displayed both in and out of the ring.
After losing his heavyweight title in 1990 following the upset loss to Buster Douglas, Tyson’s life began to spin out of control, including a six-year stint in prison after being found guilty of rape. Tyson returned to boxing but never quite returned to form, and became more known for his losses to Evander Holyfied (a match which made headlines when Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear) and Lennox Lewis.
After leaving boxing in 2005, Tyson still had hurdles to overcome, such as his 2003 bankruptcy and the death of his young daughter. In recent years, he has kept out of trouble.
He premiered a one-man show in Vegas in 2012 that he later took to Broadway with the help of Spike Lee and released a memoir “Undisputed Truth” that made the New York Times bestseller list.
Though it’s unknown exactly which parts of Tyson’s life Winter will focus on, he has plenty of material to cover over the past 30 years. HBO tackled the story before with the 1995 pic “Tyson” starring Michael Jai White, but no one has tried to adapt his story as a feature film, though boxing is a popular sport for films.
Foxx played Dwight “Bundini” Brown in “Ali” and also cocky quarterback Willie Beamen in Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday.” Winter, on the other hand, is no stranger to taking on controversial figures after receiving an Oscar nom for adaptation on Wall Street bad boy Jordan Belfort’s life in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Foxx can be seen next in Sony’s reboot of “Annie.” He is repped by CAA and LBI Entertainment. Winter is repped by CAA and is currently working on the final season of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.”
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com