What you find when you are bored

While I was searching for something of interest in entertainment news, I happened upon an old item in the Huffington Post. Now I don't normally read that blog, as I tend to disagree with the views there - massively. But I had seen an interesting press release from N.O.W. (while following up a different post) and thought I'd check it out.

The post was of course about women's breasts. It was a poll to judge who has the best breasts. It followed up a similar poll asking the same thing of men. Well actually it was chests for both groups, but we know for women they mean breasts.

Out of the 19 choices of Hollywood starlets, there were quite a few women not on the list. But there were a couple of big names as you might expect. And of course the group chosen was geared to the young, and White, women of Hollywood.

The top 5 according to the poll (on the site since Sept 26th)?

Salma Hayek, Heather Graham, Scarlett Johansson, Halle Berry, and Christina Hendricks in that order. Which really surprised me. I have no idea what goes on in the minds of some of these guys voting on this list.

My favorites were: Beyonce
, Christina Hendricks, Salma Hayek, Kendra Wilkinson, and Scarlett Johansson in that order.

But here is the real interesting question. If you could chose any actress, alive or dead, who would you pick as #1? It's not that easy a question but let me make it harder. Let's ask who had/has the best body? And inevitably I think the personalities and talent of the women being considered plays into the answer. But who would you pick to have had the best body of all time (foreign actresses count too - as long as they were in at least 1 U.S. film)?

And for my female readers, pick the best male body of all time. Same rules apply.

Let's see what real people thing about this.

Where are the women of color?

As much as I deplore the secondary status that is generally imparted on actors and actresses of color, I do have to admit that there has been huge progress over the years. It's not that I accept the roughly 7% immersion of people of color in Hollywood, just that it far exceeds the perhaps 1% or less that was Hollywood just 3 decades or so ago.

But often I have to admit that I do not focus on actresses of color as much as the men. The fact is that male actors of color have found more success as Hollywood painfully slowly realizes that audiences aren't concerned as much with color as quality of acting. In just the last 2 decades we have seen Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Samuel Jackson, and a handful of others gain leading roles in big budget movies. At the same time women of color have barely gotten recognition.

It took some 50 years to go from Dorothy Dandridge to Halle Berry. And even with that, Berry is hardly in the position to pick and choose her films as other Oscar winners routinely do. There just aren't roles being provided to her. Kind of like how the proposed spin-off of James Bond, her Jinx character was supposed to receive just died on the vine. Name another Oscar winning actress' highly popular character that was proposed to get a leading film and was just forgotten about. I can't.

Of course there is Oprah Winfrey. But while she has more than enough power to appear in various roles, that generally has come to fruition due to her ability to fund her own projects. Her vast popularity may be the kiss of life to consumer products and recreation, but Hollywood is indifferent to her massive appeal.

There is also Queen Latifah. After decades of work honing her skill on television and small roles she has become a serious star. Yet serious roles are denied her, likely both due to the color of her skin and the fact she wears a dress size larger than 5 models put together. That's not fair, it would probably take more models as they can be stacked together like toothpicks but you get my point.

When I think about it, there just aren't any roles being given to women of color. That is unless they can pass as White. Which is not something they have control over, it's something that Hollywood seeks out. Take Carmen Diaz. How often is her Hispanic heritage ever spoken about? How many roles is she ever placed in that gives attention to any ethnicity to her?

I suppose my point is simply that there is more to the failure of Hollywood to see the talent before them. It is willful and it denies audiences of an experience that might be far superior to what they are getting. That alone just irritates me from time to time.

40th Annual NAACP Image Awards

For those that are needing another Awards show fix until the Oscar Awards, there is hope. The 40th Annual NAACP Image Awards show is just over 24 hours away. Rejoice.

Actually this awards show should be interesting for more than the fact that it highlights the achievements of people of color, something rarely done by the Academy Awards. This year is also the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. Thus I expect the television broadcast to be quite special.

There will be stars a plenty as well. Halle Berry and Tyler Perry will be presenting. Which says nothing of those celebrities in attendance. All of whom I expect to note the significance of what the NAACP has done over the years.

A special honoree will be Muhammad Ali. He is a man well deserving of recognition and I am happy to know he will be singled out for praise. He is one of the major catalysts in some of the changes that have occurred in sports, television, and international perceptions of African Americans. More should credit what he has done and achieved.

Another honoree will be Russell Simmons. He has been highly influential beyond just music. He has been a great role model of how successful any African American businessperson can be. His empire of clothing, music, finance, televison and film ventures is the match of most any business. Such is the power of a mind dedicated in its purpose.

But on the pure awards front here are a few of the categories and my thoughts.

Outstanding Picture:
"Cadillac Records"
"Miracle at St. Anna"
"The Secret Life of Bees"
"Seven Pounds" – I expect this to win
"Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys"

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Derek Luke – "Miracle at St. Anna"
Don Cheadle – "Traitor" - This is my pick
Jeffrey Wright – "Cadillac Records"
Rob Brown – "The Express"
Will Smith – "Seven Pounds" - The main competition

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Alfre Woodard – "Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys"
Angela Bassett – "Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns" - Probable winner
Dakota Fanning – "The Secret Life of Bees" - main competition
Queen Latifah – "The Secret Life of Bees"
Rosario Dawson – "Seven Pounds"

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Cedric the Entertainer – "Cadillac Records"
Columbus Short – "Cadillac Records"
Dev Patel – "Slumdog Millionaire" - Great choice for popularity with the Oscars
Mos Def – "Cadillac Records"
Nate Parker – "The Secret Life of Bees"

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Alicia Keys – "The Secret Life of Bees"
Beyoncé Knowles – "Cadillac Records"
Jennifer Hudson – "The Secret Life of Bees" - The winner
Sophie Okonedo – "The Secret Life of Bees"
Taraji P. Henson – "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
"Ballast"
"Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom"
"Rachel Getting Married"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"The Visitor"

I am amazed that this category did not include A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy or Diary of a Tired Black Man. I would really have loved to see Diary win too. But such controversy is beyond the NAACP I suppose.

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
"Captain Abu Raed"
"The Class"
"Mongol" - Possible winner (but I have not seen it)
"Song of Sparrows"
"Under the Same Moon"

Outstanding Documentary
"The Black List"
"Black Magic"
"CNN Presents: Black in America"
"Dare Not Walk Alone"
"Trouble the Water"

I have no idea in this list, but I would guess it will be CNN. Mostly because of the very positive coverage of President Obama throughout the election.

I am not covering the television choices because I feel that there really is no choice available. There are virtually no lead actors, and too little diversity in television to really have a selection to choose from. That is not the fault of the NAACP, but Hollywood and its double standards. [Though I will say that Sean Combs should never win.]

So with that said, there is your next Awards fix.

Celebrities and entertainers that should retire

Things in Hollywood tend to happen in 3’s. Whether it’s a franchise of movies (before everyone stops caring about the series of films), celebrity deaths, or now early retirement. The current news flash about the silver screen is that Joaquin Phoenix, Angelina Jolie, and Nicole Kidman have all lost the acting bug. But does it matter?

What happened to the old days where good actors and actresses worked until they stopped getting roles or just sucked so bad that they stopped trying? When did entertainers publicly announce the fact that directors and Hollywood execs had lost faith, or found them too problematic, and stopped taking their calls?

Now this may not be true of each of the above movie stars. Angelina Jolie still packs in the crowds and her movies have been quite good of late. WANTED was a good film and made decent money (though she was way too skinny). Changeling seems to be doing alright in theaters, Beowulf and Kung Fu Panda don’t count as they were animated. And she was nominated twice for her work in A Mighty Heart. So to see her give up film work is a bit of a loss. Then again no one is really looking forward to Lara Croft 3.

Joaquin Phoenix is still riding high off of his work on Walk the Line (which was excellent). But his work on Gladiator, Ladder 49, and Hotel Rwanda easily cover the lesser known Two Lovers and Reservation Road. And the fact that he is Puerto Rican (which most do not seem to focus on) is a bonus to me at least. But like many actors, music is a drive that is currently consuming him.

Nicole Kidman though needed to retire years ago. Seriously, her retirement is more the fact that she does not deserve the pay she makes. The last success she had was Happy Feet, which was animated. It could be argued that Cold Mountain was a hit, but you really need to go back to The Hours or Moulin Rouge – roughly 8 years ago. Her career seriously peaked in 1990 with Days of Thunder, which former husband Tom Cruise (and the NASCAR cars) had more to do with.

But if every one of these actors stopped making films, who would care? Besides their fan clubs, not many. These are not the Humphrey Bogart’s, John Wayne’s, Lucille Ball’s, Lena Horn’s, or Katherine Hepburn’s of film. 2 of the 3 are very good, but not a single one is great. Their loss really amounts to nothing.

It’s not like the masses are losing anything. And telling the world that you won’t make another bad film we wouldn’t watch on DVD (mostly in Kidman’s case) only means we have something to look forward to, not lament.

No what this really says to me is that Hollywood is sitting on it’s laurels too much. That too many are overhyped. That the dearth of real talent is more obvious today than perhaps at any point in movie history. And that many of the more bankable and successful actors and actresses are still not going to get the attention they deserve.

If anything I hope this leads to a flood of retirements among the current crop of entertainers out now. Perhaps the following could retire and save us the movies, trailers, and DVD’s that flood the market now. I’d love to hear that the following are going to avoid smiting my eyes in 35mm

Johnny Knoxville
Vince Vaughn
Jennifer Lopez
Halle Berry (yes she has an Oscar, but name the film she won for. Or a great role she has done? Or a great film she was in.)
Jennifer Aniston
Ashton Kutchner (he was bad on television. Take away Demi Moore and you have nothing worthwhile about him)
Topher Grace
Ben Stiller
Leonardo DiCaprio (over-hyped)
Jessica Alba (looks but no talent)
Hillary Duff
Lindsey Lohan
Jean Claude Van Damme
Steven Segal (his time is passed)
Beyonce Knowles (stick to singing)
DMX
Ja Rule
Virtually every gangsta rapper
Cedric the Entertainer
Ben Afflect

The list is not perfect (there should be more on it) but in each case it is clear that the people here are each in need of serious acting classes, or at least better screening of the scripts they agree to.

I’m sure some will not agree with at least a few of these choices. Every actor that makes it to the big screen has a few fans. And looks trump talent these days. But not one of these actors or actresses can match up to real talent – thankfully they don’t even appear in movies where real talents appear. As I recall none of the above have performed with

Denzel Washington
Jamie Foxx
Robert Downey Jr.
Terrence Howard
Michael Douglas
Al Pacino
Benicio Del Toro
Johnny Depp
Kiera Knightley
Susan Sarandon
Tom Hanks
Forest Whitaker
Morris Chestnut

I don’t think I need to go on.

But if you could pick anyone to remove from movie screens and television forever who would you pick? Do you agree with my choices, and who might I have left out?

AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

Over the last decade or so film festivals of all sizes have become quite popular. Cannes has long been the Super Bowl event for film festivals that the general public can name, though Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest running continuous festival. But others like the Sundance, Tribeca, and Raindance Film Festival are far more recent and followed by the media. Still there is a film festival that goes unmentioned even though 70% of its films go on to receive theatrical or DVD distribution, which I doubt most other festivals can boast.

AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (ABFF) has been around for 12 years, and the major news media seems incapable, or unwilling, to acknowledge it. This years festival will open Aug. 7th with a special screening of the Harry Belafonte / Dorothy Dandridge movie Carmen Jones introduced by the first Black actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress – Halle Berry.

Ms. Berry is hardly the only notable and talented actress or actor to be at the festival. Other entertainers present at the festival will include:

Evan Ross, Lauren London, Tatiana Ali, Columbus Short, Anthony Mackie, Holly Robinson Peete , Nate Parker, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine. Mos Def, Rockmond Dunbar, Idris Elba, Michael Ealy, John Singleton and Sanaa Lathan. Malik Yoba, Tina Andrews and Salli Richardson. Richard T. Jones, Paula Patton, Niecy Nash, and Dennis Haysbert.

That is quite the list of accomplish celebrities, each deserving of recognition and with fan bases that can fill any sized theater if not small and/or large cities.

But the purpose of the ABFF is not to go star gazing, nor to seek out the next up and coming stars. Its mission is

“To strengthen the Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education, artistic collaboration and career development.”

And there are more than just a few corporations that recognize the importance and need for Black films. The companies that support the ABFF include:

Allstate, HBO, Lincoln, Target, Blockbuster, Heineken, Nielsen Media Research, One Village Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Codeblack Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Fox Entertainment Group, Grey Goose® Vodka, SAG Indie, Writers Guild of America West, Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Illinois Film Office, FoxxKing Entertainment, Black Enterprise, Uptown, Upscale, Black Noir, Heart&Soul, Precious Times, Automotive Rhythms, Toy Box, Monarch, Hope Today Magazine, NV, Save the Date, KJLH-FM and EUR Web.

Obviously founder and CEO of Film Life, Inc. Jeff Friday has made an impression and is helping to promote the fact that quality filmmaking is something that African Americans can do as well as anyone. The fact that ABFF has been able to connect filmmakers and distribution channels at such high rates further shows that the market for quality Black films has hardly been scratched.

ABFF may not be as old as Sundance, nor have an international movie star as its creator like Tribeca, but that has not lessened its importance or the drive of those involved.

“We have worked very hard to appeal to a cross section of film aficionados and make our festival accessible to everyone. We are looking forward to members of the greater Los Angeles community coming out and experiencing the best new work by and about people of African descent,” said Melanie Sharee, ABFF Director.

If you are in the L.A. area I suggest taking some time this weekend to learn about the quality Black films that are out there and the directors and actors that have made them. The major news media may believe that the world has the diversity of the sitcom Friends, but the reality as presented by the AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL is proof that not only is America more diverse but that such diversity provides a richness that transcends color.

For tickets to ABFF or for more information go to www.abff.com or www.ticketweb.com

Teen pregnancy: the Hollywood connection

I recently noticed a couple of things about various celebrities and entertainers that are either giving birth, pregnant, or otherwise in an issue with their children. It’s been hard to not notice this of course, just scanning cable channels will give you all the facts you could care less about (or at least I do) in 15 seconds or less.

But there is a bit of other news that factors directly with that. Far less covered or mentioned is the fact that teen births are up. Not a lot but up all the same.

In the past year we got to hear about Jamie Lynn Spears. Very young, unwed, and now a parent. The fact that she is currently engaged to the father of her child does not change the fact that she was unwed when she got pregnant at 16. The fact she is looking to live in Louissianna to give her child a “normal life” belies the fact that it’s really not possible since she is so young, no matter what money she has made or her celebrity status. In fact, if we look at most young Hollywood entertainers, the money and celebrity status make them even less normal than their peers. Adding a baby just ups the ante on this.

Yet she is being placed on magazine covers like she won an Oscar Award.

Of course there is always the older Britney Spears. Hollywood fame, money, and celebrity status has done wonders for her. I’m sure her children won’t be the least bit screwed up, nor have any affect on their cousins.

Then there are the older celebrities. Matthew McConaughey just received a healthy 7 lb 4 oz son. He is unwedded to the mother. Nicole Kidman just had her 6 lb 8 oz daughter. She is unwedded to the father Keith Urban. Jessica Alba had her daughter recently and is unwedded. Nicole Ritchie and Halle Berry can say the same. And Clay Aiken can’t even say that he has a girlfriend he got pregnant. His friend/producer Jaymes Foster was artificially inseminated and though they are not a couple will share parenting.

Can Hollywood get any more screwed up?

Now I know there are feminists and others that will say this is all positive. That it shows women can raise their kids without help. That each of these couples love each other (with the exception of Aiken I suppose) and that is all that matters.

Bullshit.

I know women can be great mothers and raise children by themselves. I know because my mother is a strong Black woman that raised me and my siblings. Her 4 children have all gone to college, 2 own houses, all are well-employed and successful. And she did this on an income most would be shocked to know of. Suffice to say there were days mom did not eat.

But that is a great success story. And my mother had her first child (me) in a world that was far different than today [and my mother is still 30, don’t you dare question her age]. Then the world was kinder, people cared and helped to a degree. Kids playing on the block had every parent on the street watching out for them. Today you’d be lucky to have someone notice your kid exists (if they aren’t doing something wrong to that person’s property).

And children today are having kids in numbers that are unprecedented. It’s not just a few girls having kids without any fathers. It’s most of them. And they don’t have skills, unless you consider text messaging a skill. And like most of the youth today they are clueless. [Sorry to my young readers, but on average the youth of today have the common sense and abilities of 6th graders back when I was young.]
And their numbers are increasing.

“In 2007, 57 percent of children were white, non-Hispanic, 21 percent were Hispanic, 15 percent were black, 4 percent were Asian, and 4 percent were of all other groups. …

The report describes a long-term increase in the unmarried birth rate between 1960 and 1994, followed by a "relatively stable" unmarried birth rate between the mid-1990s and 2002 and a rapid rise since 2002. A related measure, the proportion of births to unmarried women, also saw an increase; 38 percent of all births were to unmarried women in 2006, up from 37 percent of births in 2005….

The adolescent birth rate (among married and unmarried adolescents) increased from 21 births per 1,000 teenage girls ages 15–17 in 2005 to 22 births per 1,000 girls in 2006. The 2006 increase was the first seen in this measure since the increase between 1990 and 1991…”

Do the numbers sound huge? Well look at in a different way. There are roughly 22,500,000 teenagers in the nation right now (my quick math). If we just look at girls we get about 11,475,000. That means about 546,000 are pregnant right now. That is larger than virtually every city that I have a reader in, across the globe.

Is this all the fault of Hollywood? Of course not. But when children are making pacts because they want attention and think being pregnant is cool, and Jamie Lynn Spears is on the cover of magazines I see a correlation.

50 years ago there was a shame to being an unwed mother. That was wrong. But Hollywood supported that image. Today Hollywood supports the thought that being a teenager and pregnant is the new James Dean. That is equally wrong.

Maybe it won’t sell as many magazines, or get people to watch the latest celebrity news show, but how about we admonish this reckless action in Hollywood. Just a little. Or do we have to wait for the unwed daughters of the Hollywood moguls and Congress to get pregnant (or god forbid infected with an STD like AIDS – another factor that is connected) before anything is said??