Don Cheadle secures production deal with NBC

Don Cheadle is one of my favorite current actors. He has talent, charisma, and a strong sense of charity. He is among a small group of celebrities and entertainers that has a passion for the things he believes in, and not for the fame his abilities has generated.



Cheadle is continuing his record of success and wide ranging talent with his production company Crescendo Productions. His company just signed a 2 year deal with NBC to develop television shows. This is not the first time that he has done this. He already executive produced the Starz/Liongate series Crash, which is based on the Oscar winning movie of the same name (of which he also produced).

In fact Cheadle's Crescendo Productions has produced the movie Traitor and Darfur Now, both of which he starred in. And of course Darfur is a subject that Cheadle is highly aware of. He has helped to raise awareness of the genocide occurring right now, for more than 5 years, in that region of Africa more than any other actor/actress, celebrity, and entertainer that I am aware of. In fact he has done more to raise awareness than the entire news media combined in my opinion.

So considering his talent, ambition, and compassion I can't help but be a fan of Don Cheadle. And I am looking forward to his upcoming films. Perhaps not the kid-oriented Hotel for Dogs, but the biopic of Miles Davis and Iron Man 2.

And with the inauguration of President-elect Obama near, and February's Black History Month fast approaching I have to wonder why so much attention is being placed on a dead foolish entertainer that glorified a lifestyle of violence ignorance and crime versus those celebrities and entertainers, like Don Cheadle, that are living symbols of intelligence, compassion, success, and talent?

Movie Preview: Don Cheadle starring in Traitor

The rise and fall of the stars in the entertainment industry is always fickle. Often this or that actor goes unrecognized for decades sometimes, though their work is of the highest quality. And all too often other factors restrict an actor as well.

Harry Belafonte made huge strides until his politics interfered, Rob Lowe was untouchable for a decade, alcohol and/or drugs has stopped careers of Mickey Rourke, Forest Whitaker, David Hasselhoff and many others for years if not forever; and for some drugs and/or alcohol ended their lives – Anna Nicole Smith, Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Heath Ledger, and on and on.

But perhaps the worst reason an actor may be overlooked is because Hollywood decides that the actor just isn’t “leading” material. In some cases that is true, but I think that for one performer it is way off. Don Cheadle.

Don Cheadle is a great actor. His performances have won huge acclaim, and even the smaller more artistic films he has been in have done modestly well. Hotel Rwanda was a performance that would have rocketed any other performer to the top of the A-list in both pay and movie roles. But perhaps the vocal and humanitarian efforts of Don Cheadle, to help end the 5 years and continuing genocide in Darfur, Sudan [efforts that I strongly support] scared too many execs. Or perhaps the fact he is Black has kept leading roles from him, as they once were for Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier.

But he may get his chance to start getting the leads I think he deserves after his latest film Traitor comes out this month. This is the first film where Cheadle will have the leading role to himself in a big budget film. Up til now Hollywood execs have been fearful and only allowed him to co-star with other actors, which I feel he often out shone. His only other leading roles were in far smaller, limited release films – Talk To Me and Hotel Rwanda (which he was nominated for an Academy Award Best Actor).

This film is a topical one, dealing with the all too real difficulties of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, American influences in the Middle East, fanatical Islam and world politics. Prior films by Hollywood trying to depict these issues in the last 3 years have all failed both due to slipshod acting, and heavy handed scripts that were more self-aggrandizing political commercials than entertainment. But Cheadle has been very good at picking his films, and performing well in them.

The trailer gives us a hint that we may find a more Jason Bourne style look at these issues. Not just action for its own sake but a plot driven drama that uses the violence and confusion of war as a vehicle for the character to become greater than his surroundings. And the biggest question is if Cheadle’s character really is on our side or not. I expect that the film may well end without ever clearly defining an answer, just as the actual reality is equally undefined or clear in its outcome.

If my expectations are correct this will be a defining film for Cheadle. Like what Jason Bourne did for Matt Damon, and In the Heat of Night did for Sidney Poitier, this movie may well establish his rising star as not only the A-list actor he is, but a leading man with the ability to entertain all of us.

The movie trailer makes a bold statement that this will be a movie to capture you for at least its time on the silver screen. Don Cheadle makes that trailer promise far more tangible. I’ll see it and let you know more.

Donating to help Darfur - 4.9.2008.1

On March 13th of this year I wrote a post (Not On Our Watch, Cheadle and Clooney, donate $500,000 - 3.13.2008.1) discussing Darfur and the efforts of Don Cheadle, George Clooney, and many others to end the genocide that has been on-going for the past 5 years in the Sudan. In that post I mentioned that this is a subject that has not been covered properly by the media, politicians, the Government, and the Presidential candidates (all of them).

My discussion of this subject has been consistent for some time, and I will continue to do so. Torwards that end I promised to make a donation to Not On Our Watch on April 6th. That day was my 40th birthday and a Sunday.

I promised to donate every dollar and dime that was donated to the site up to that date. So far in 2008 there has been 6 dollars in donations, as noted by the widget on the sidebar.

While I have delayed my donation I never forgot it. At the same time I do not believe that $6 was enough to donate to this issue, though ever dollar does count and help. Therefore I donated $46.

As I promised I have donated every dollar the widget shows received this year. I have not used those funds but my own, and as more donations are made to me I will use those funds for the various charities and gift giving contests that I run from time to time. The additional $40 dollars represented my age. While I wish I could have made the gift larger, I’m not independantly rich and the growth of my corporation does constrain some of my efforts from time to time.

Even so, I do not intend to make this my last donation or effort for Darfur.

For those that might doubt my donation I provide the following confirmation

Donation made to Groundspring.org for Not On Our Watch, Inc.
    Date: 04/09/2008
    Transaction #: VLCA2BF773FB-742401
    Donation Amount : $46.00
    Tax Deductible Donation Value : $46.00 

The movies of 2007 in retrospect - 12.12.2007.1

As 2007 is coming to a close I looked back on the films of the year, and the actors that made them what they were. It’s quite the mixed bag, with far too many massively overpaid for underperformance. Quite a few are, in my opinion, without the ability to justify the pay they receive, while others are a bit surprising in the modest pay they receive, relative to Hollywood payouts. Thankfully there are many that are worth the money that are a bit long in the tooth, making ‘older’ folks like myself feel a bit better I suppose.

In terms of the films that were hits, that lived up to the hype we all seemed to have. Included in that list The Bourne Ultimatum, Live Free or Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Saw IV, Harry Potter, 300, Spiderman 3, I Am Legend [I include this because the storyline has been good enough to make this the 4th version of the film, and I have that much confidence in the ability and choices made by Will Smith] and to a lesser amount Hitman.

There were several films that failed, and most were no surprise to me. That would include Underdog, Fred Claus, The Mist, The Comebacks, Halloween, Code Name: The Cleaner, Alpha Dog, Hannibal Rising, The Hoax, Rush Hour 3, The Brothers Solomon, Lars And The Real Girl, 30 Days Of Night, The Invaders and a few others.

And then there are the special mentions like Aqua Teen Movie, Red Line, Georgia Rule, Ocean’s 13, Talk To Me, Bratz Movie, Rendition, Darfur Now, Lions For Lambs, Redacted, This Christmas, and American Ganster.

The leading films all boasted great casts with some of the best in the industry. It’s no surprise that Johnny Depp made a reputed $92 million this year. The same can be said of the $32 million for Matt Damon, the $23 million paid to the top 3 in Harry Potter and the unknown amounts for Bruce Willis and Will Smith (I would guess in the range of $20 million a piece). As for 300 or Spiderman, every dollar spent on the effects was worth it as that was the real stars. And Saw is just what you expect so it did its gore fest above par.

The worst films, which the list is hardly complete for, were all bloated poorly written refuse that amazed me someone greenlighted. Underdog proved that not every show or cartoon from the past needs to be remade or done live action. Stephen King continued his long streak of failing to convert his quality and success from books to film. Rush Hour, and Hannibal show that making sequels just for the money doesn’t always make money, and Cedric may be an entertainer, but he’s not an actor. Didn’t anyone get the clue from the horrendous Honeymooners movie? They just need to stop making him the lead in movies. The rest were just really bad ideas that turned into really bad movies.

The list of movies that qualify under that last sentence is too long to write. I’m sure we all could think of a couple of those movies, if we wanted the torture of thinking about that. The good news is that 2007 is over and they can only be reseen on DVD, if you get bored burning $20 bills. (The bad news is that 2008 will probably have at least as many gruesome failures – at $20 million a film Nicole Kidman is burning buildings full of them)

As for the last category of films, well they are special. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a special interest – mostly targeting college kids up late watching cartoons that are distracting and meaningless (which is why we like them). Georgia Rule deserved to fail because of 2 things Lindsey Lohan and Hanoi Jane. I cannot fathom any film that contains the America hating Hanoi Jane that deserves to make a single dime. I dislike her and revel in her failures, personal and professional. [And I don’t care if anyone likes her for any reason, I despise her.] Equally fathomless is the concept that a film based on anorexic dolls could work. Seriously, anorexic dolls with attitudes?

I equally reveled in the failure of equally America hating films Rendition, Lions For Lambs, and Redacted. The abject failure of these films to garner any interest is a testament to the good taste of everyone except the people who greenlighted them. I can only hope that the actors in these films were doing them for the paychecks and not their political views. I would also say that if the producers and writers of these films feel that strongly (especially Mark Cuban) give up your citizenship and move to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or any other nation that will take you. I will not mourn your loss or the money you have.

But there are also films that should have gotten real attention and distribution. Talk To Me and Darfur Now were thrown to the wayside, the corporate execs sleeping well at night because they got them into theaters. In fact both were solid films deserving of recognition for what they had to say and the performances. Luckily both have Don Cheadle in them, though he is only acting in one. I have to wonder, considering the wide release of Cedric’s movie, that execs fear promoting a film with a Black actor that makes any serious political and social statement. You can’t pay a major media company to acknowledge Darfur has been going on, least of all for 4 years, and America has yet to do ANYTHING about it. We can run around the world and help fix everyone’s problems, but forbid we even distribute a movie about a genocide we can do something about.

Lastly there is American Gangster and Ocean’s 13. Denzel Washington is a solid, brilliant actor. The film is quite good (even with 3 rappers in it). But I have a problem with the promotion of a negative style of life for African Americans. Far too many will see this as a vindication or motivation. The mindless find inspiration in odd places, thus the film upset me. And Ocean’s 13 just proved that sometimes you can make a sequel just for the money and it’s ok.

So there are my thoughts on the films of 2007. Get the DVD’s of those you like, target shoot the ones you hate and get as a gift. And gird yourself for 2008, because Carrotman (it’s an old obscure comic book character) the movie hasn’t been greenlighted, yet.

[Again I say, Iron Man will be the massive big winner of the year.]

Iron Man, Dark Knight, Darfur Now, I Am Legend and more movie previews Part 2 - 11.3.2007.2

Continued from Iron Man, Dark Knight, Hitman and more movie previews Part 1...

Then there are the films that are seriously interesting. Most notably is the film Darfur Now.



I am a fan of this film. I support the call to action that people like Mr. Don Cheadle and others have been championing for years. I am angered by the failure of the United States to address or act in behalf of the people being killed in Darfur. This movie deserves to be seen. Not because it is a fantasy, or escapism, but because it is real and we can do something about it. The major media has failed to address this. Politicians have stuck their heads in the sand about this. Even ultra-liberals fail to discuss this, let alone having had this as part of a single Presidential debate to my knowledge. Watch this film and then do something. Or just do something. Seriously.

Another film for the holiday season goes in a very different direction. A family oriented film, The Ten Commandments will be brought back to the theaters. This is a remake of the classic Charleston Heston film. But the difference this time is that it will be animated. Similar to the Heston classic the voice actors are a group of renowned actors including Mr. Christian Slater (as Moses), Mr. Ben Kingsley, and Mr. Alfred Molina.

Sadly after so many years we still don’t get a decent racial diversity in the telling of this story. The characters may look Black, as they should, but the voices are solidly not. I will never get over how in the Heston Classic, which is well done, everyone except Yul Bryner is White. Now it seems that in this animated film we will have virtually no one that is African or Black, yet this is happening in Egypt.

Oh, add to that the fact that it will also probably be dumbed-down as it is targeted to children. Still the artwork is quite good, and the story it is based on is quite good. And the actors are well up to the task, if not a diverse group. It will easily make $100 million, but the quality I’m not so sure of.

Not to be forgotten is the Will Smith lead remake I Am Legend. I’ve already spoken about it but here is that trailer now. It should do well, and the storyline is quite good. Good enough to have been made into 3 different versions over the years. Definitely a winner.



Of course if this is all too high a quality, you can always watch Harold & Kumar 2 or Fred Claus. But I wouldn’t advise it.

On the far horizon, keep an eye out got Hulk 2 (pray they don’t have Eric Bana in it, and they get a real story), Captain America (now who will play that enigmatic role?), and Wolverine. Not to mention the next installment of Star Trek with the young versions of Spock, Kirk, Bones and the rest of the crew.