BLACK FILM HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

"In a world divided by black and white, Easy Rawlins is about to cross the line."

How come we don't have any "Hollywood" black movie franchises? Yeah, we had Shaft, Friday, House Party, and Barbershop, but those followed the tired-old tradition of blacks playing comedic roles. Why can't we have a serious, black franchise, one starring a black actor/actress and highlighting the black community in a non-satirical way?

A pretty note-worthy attempt was made in 1995 ,when Tri-Star pictures green-lit Devil In A Blue Dress, a crime-detective neo-noir adapted from a Walter Mosley (a prominent black author) series starring Denzel Washington. Carl Franklin both directed and adapted the screenplay with Mosley. The mission was to turn the crime series lead character, Easy Rawlins, into a franchise for Denzel. 

In the film, Rawlins, a World War 2 veteran, is recently laid off from his job and becomes a private eye to help pay his mortgage.  

What's unique about the Rawlins character is, even though a detective, he is an everyday man attempting to make ends meat. He recruits his gun-happy friend Mouse (Don Cheadle) and is hired to find a missing white women, Daphne (Jennifer Beales), whom is hiding in the black community. The film goes through a long accord of twist and turns until Daphne is found. But as far as kidnapping goes, whodunit is less important that whydunit. The final reveal involves race and shows that even though attitudes have changed, society's perceptions of racial interaction is still a complicated subject. 

The clip above is the last 10 minutes of the film. It shows how down-to-earth the Rawlins character was portrayed as well as why many considered this movie as Don Cheadle's break-out role. "You said don't shoot him, right? Well I didn't. I choked him. If you didn't want him killed then why did you leave him with me?"

The film grossed only 16 million dollars and sadly the franchise was discontinued. With blacks power in Hollywood increasing slowly, hopefully this won't be the last attempt. 

EXTRAS:

• Walter Mosley is a prominent African-American novelist who's published over 29 novels.
• President Bill Clinton stated Mosley was his favorite author. 
• Mosley's Easy Rawlins crime fiction series is his most popular work. 

BLACK FILM WATCH: THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is HBO/BBC six-part miniseries starring Neo-Soul singer Jill Scott. Precious Ramotswe learned the skills necessary to become a detective from her father. After his death, she sets up her own female detective agency in Botswana along with quirky secretary Mma Makutsi (Anika Noni Rose from Dreamgirls, and The Princess and The Frog).

The series premiered on HBO on March 29th and will soon be available on DVD. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is the first major film or television production to be undertaken in Botswana. The film is based of the 10-part novel series of the same name written by Alexander McCall. 

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES REVIEW

So much crying! This movie had as many emotions as Transformers had explosions. Clearly aimed toward black women, one would be quick to dub The Secret Life Of Bees a chick flick, but with the female movie demographic becoming more empowering, is that such a bad thing?

In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) escapes with her caregiver (Jennifer Hudson) from her abusive father to embark on a journey to learn about her late mother's past. She is lead to the Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys), three intelligent, independent, black women that make a good-living distributing honey. Here, Owens discovers the world of beekeeping, and deep racial prejudice of the south. The Secret Life of Bees was adapted by the novel of the same name written by Sue Monk Kidd, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and produced/executive produced by Will and Jada-Pinkett Smith respectively.  

This film is tailor-made for one demographic: black women. And it's about time. The film goes over and beyond in making a presence of strong black women known, including a scene about a black virgin mary. Spearheading this effort is the three women who portray the Boatwright sisters - Queen Latifah as August, Sophie Okonedo as May, and Alicia Keys as June. Later Rosaleen's (Jennifer Hudson) name is changed to July. For a film with three Oscar nominated actresses, the acting does fall flat. Latifah's southern accent and maternal instincts comes off contrived, Keys puts forth a solid but not outstanding effort, and Oscar winner Hudson comes off as novice. The true bright star here is Sophie Okenedo who's character is emotionally and mentally unstable.  SPOILER ALERT: May committing suicide is the most emotional part of the movie. Until the others ruin the moment by soaking it in tears. 

Other than the disenchanting performances, the film comes off decent. The story pulls of a multi-objective Spike Lee trick, intertwining a daughter's quest to learn her mother's past, empowering black women, and showcasing the deep racial prejudice in the south and senseless violence it led to. The film runs a bit slow, and too long, and doesn't really hit home a point in the end, but it's still nice to see a movie paying homage to the "sistahs" for a change. 

CULTURAL INTROSPECTION:

Dakota Fanning is a white girl who lives with a group of black women in the segregated south. She sees the hardships but is still not able to understand where the black women are coming from. Hence, Keys blowing a fit when Fanning comes close to their black, Virgin Mary statue or taking offense when Fanning is surprised that their cultured. Queen Latifah says it best when referring to Fanning's mother, for whom she nannied- "We were living in two separate worlds. Love can never be perfect." I remember the South Park episode when Token makes Stan realize no matter how much he thinks he understands black people's plights, he'll never truly understand what they go through. I also remember during the democratic primaries, Joe Biden calling Obama a clean African-American and then white people not understanding why blacks were outraged. Biden treated "clean African-American" as an oxymoron. It obviously wasn't malicious, but it was still anti-progressive and hurtful. Hopefully in this so-called "post racial America", we can start seeing where each other is coming from a little easier. 

THE BLACK PERSPECTIVE:

This is an empowering film for black women. So much is debated about Jesus being black. If Jesus was black, then wouldn't Virgin Mary be as well? The Boatwright sisters are articulate, cultured, independent, entrepreneurial, and kind-hearted (except Keys who softens). Even the battered Rosalene comes into her own. This film goes far to oppose the stereotype of ignorant, oversexulized, angry black women a.k.a. Tisha Campbell is Zack and Miri Make A Porno. Just look how different both movies portray black women and you'll see how important movies like The Secret Life Of Bees are in today's mainstream society. 

SIDENOTE:

The Secret Life of Bees was okay, but I think it would have turned out better had it been for better actors. Latifah, Keys, and Hudson, put forth solid efforts, but there are a ton of black actresses that would have done the roles justice. It's obvious the three women were casted for their star power wattage, but that's Hollywood.  When the studios finance a movie they think big names equal profits, and the overall effectiveness of the storytelling takes a back-seat. A film like-this being green-lighted by a studio is an achievement in itself. Hopefully they give Gina Prince-Bythewood and other female African-American women directors many more chances to proudly represent this oppressed demographic. 

RATING:

= 3 Stars

= 5 Black Fists

EXTRAS:

• The Secret Life Of Bees grossed over 37 million dollars making it the highest grossing movie by a black, female director. Gina Prince-Bythewood topped her previous record, 28 million from Love & Basketball.
• Morale of the story: If We Support Positive Black Movies, We'll Get More Positive Black Movies!

Oscar Buzz for Mo'Nique

That's right. Its April, only 9 months from the 2010 Oscar Nominations being announced. Most films that will be honored haven't even seen daylight, yet the 41 year old former phone sex operator turned comedian is already garnering Oscar buzz for her role as an abusive mother in Lee Daniel's Precious. 

The Film Experience blog has announced it's monthly Oscar predictions and Mo'Nique has topped the Best Supporting Actress list. "Everyone who I've spoken to who has seen this says 'it's not just hype. She's in'. We'll trust them".  Now the list changes every month but last year Film Experience correctly predicted three-out-of-the-five eventual nominees in April.

Mo'Nique already won the Special Jury Prize for acting at the Sundance Film Festival. Precious also won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance, has been picked up for distribution by Lionsgate, and will receive additional promotional assistance through Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Tyler Perry's 34th Street Films. All of which will create a big release and hopefully ensure Mo'Nique's buzz lasts throughout the year. 

Let's not forget, Lee Daneils has a knack for making films that garner Oscars for black women. In 2001, he produced Monster's Ball which made Halle Berry the first African-American woman to win Best Actress. 

My, this month seems all about Lee Daniels doesn't it. At least it's well deserved. Precious is set premiere nationwide on November 9th, 2009.

 

Morgan Freeman is also garnering buzz for playing inspirational leader Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood's biopic The Human Factor. There is also some talk of Djimon Hounsou for The Tempest and Sophie Okonedo for Skin. 

LEE DANIELS FILMMAKER PROFILE

Filmmaker Lee Daniels exemplifies the focus, boldness, and hard-working grit it takes to become a successful black filmmaker. Openly gay at the age of 50, Daniels has built a lifetime of career achievements, from working up to owner of a profitable nursing home, to working up from casting assistant to casting director, to building a talent management empire. With as much success as Daniels has had he could no doubt become a powerful force in Hollywood, yet he continues to produces Indies to cater an issue close to his heart, the depiction of blacks on the big screen. 

Born Lee Louis Daniels on December 24th, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Daniels expereinced his fair share of heart-ache early on. While attending Junior High School, his father was shot and killed in the line of duty. He watched his mother, Clara Daniels go on supporting five school-aged children. This image of diligence push him later in life. 

He enrolled in Lindenwood College in St. Louis, Missouri, planning to study theatre and film. However, he saw little connection between the information he was being taught and the actual Entertainment industry. So, with $7 to his name, he quit, heading off to L.A. to write screenplays. A path also chosen by his sister, Leah Daniels-Burton, who was then a casting director for Warner Brothers Television. 

Times came down hard on Daniels in L.A. and he recognized the need for financial stability. He worked at a nursing agency, dispatching caregivers to treat a number of crippling diseases. Here, the image of his mother's dilegence served him well. He advanced from dispatcher, to manager, to owner, expanded the nursing staff from 5 to 500 and garned 1 Million dollars by the age of 21. 

A producer, whose mother Daniels established care for, saw Daniel's tenacity and suggested he get into casting. He started out as a casting assistant and rose to casting director in two short years. Wanting to ascend even higher, he left casting to form Lee Daniels Entertainment, a respected talent, management agency in New York City. For over 20 years Lee Daniels Entertainment guided the careers of many successful actors in both theatre, television, and films including Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Loretta Devine, and Morgan Freeman. 

In 1995, Daniels came across a script about a disturbing bi-racial romance. The project had been turned down by directors Sean Penn & Oliver Stone, and actors Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, and Tommy Lee Jones. Despite this, Daniels saw potential in it, admiring the script for it's honest portrayal. "Remained true to the world I know - the black world". 

Daniels beef with Hollywood was always it's depiction of blacks. He hated the standard portrayals of black being over-sexed or laughable, and decided he should do something about it. Daniels left the entertainment management business to produce an interracial drama destined to become the anti-Hollywood classic known as Monster's Ball. 

With a meager 2.5 million dollar budget, Daniels signed swiss born independent director Marc Foster fresh off Sundance's Everything Put Together. Next, he searched for two leads whom could play the unlikely pairing of a destitute roadhouse waitress and a racist prison guard. Halle Berry hammered away at Daniels until she was given the role, also agreeing to work for bare minimum pay.

Monster's Ball was nominated for two Oscars at the 74th Academy Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress. That night, Halle Berry became the first African-American woman  to win the Best Actress statutette, also marking Daniels as the first African-American to solely produce an Acadmey Award winning film. 

After the Oscar win, Daneisl saw a new day for black talent. "Blacks still have to go out and make it happen. I don't think things are going to be offered too us. We have to take it." 

Shortly after he made he produced The Woodsman, staring Kevin Bacon and Mos Def in 2004. Then made his directorial debut in 2006 with The Shadowboxer, starring Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr. 

2007 & 2008 proved to be busy for the trailblazer. He produced Tennessee, a tale of brothers, one terminally ill, and their trek to New Mexico to find their father. Mariah Carey co-stars in Tennessee as well as Precious, Daniels other endeavor that year. Precious is the story of an overweight girl in Brooklyn who is abused by her parents and pregnant with her second child. The film also stars Mo'Nique, newcomer Gabourery Sidibe, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, and Paula Patton. 

Daniels is known as an actor's director. Often taking risks with with casting such as Mariah Carey as a social worker in Precious, and Sean "Diddy" Combs as a prison inmate in Monster's Ball.  In 2004, Daniels briefly dipped into politics, producing public service announcements to inspire people of color to vote. The project was requested by Harlem neighbor Bill Clinton, featured Alicia Keys and LL Cool J, and was launched in March of 2004. 

"Material that is raw, with a powerful statements makes great film" - Lee Daniels (one of the greatest independent black filmmakers of our time)

AWARDS:

1 AFI Film Award Nomination (Movie of the Year, Monster's Ball, 2002)

1 Urbanworld Film Festival Award (Visionary Award, Monster's Ball, 2002)

1 Indpedent Spirit Award Nominations (Best First Feature, The Woodsman, 2005)

2 Sundance Awards (Audience Award;Dramatic, Precious, 2009);(Grand Jury Award;Dramatic, Precious, 2009)

SOURCES:

Answers.Com
Lee Daniels Entertainment
Wikipedia