EXCLUSIVE : The Juneteenth comedy Block Party is set for a wide theatrical release via Iconic Events Releasing on June 8, also having been picked up for linear and streaming by BET and BET+ starting June 16. The film from director Dawn Wilkinson centers on Keke McQueen (Antoinette Robertson), a recent Harvard grad who is eager to ditch her hometown of Grand Rapids, MI, for her dream job in Atlanta. But when Keke discovers that her once-super-sharp Grandma Janice (Academy Award nominee Margaret Avery) is showing early signs of dementia, she puts her career at stake in order to save Grandma’s renowned Juneteenth block party. In the process, Keke falls back in love with her hometown. Block Party also stars Faizon Love, Luenell, Golden Brooks, Charlyne Yi, John Amos, Gary Anthony Williams, Brad William Henke, Birgundi Baker, Bill Cobbs, Terayle and Merle Dandridge. Branch Out Productions’ Lisa Mathis wrote the script and story with Krista Suh & Matt Allen. Sui … [Read more...] about Iconic Events Releasing Sets Theatrical Release For Juneteenth Comedy ‘Block Party’; BET, BET+ Take Linear And Streaming Rights
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Pete Townshend on Mick Jagger and the Nature of Aging in Rock & Roll
M ick Jagger , Singer of the Rolling Stones , turned forty years old on July 26th. Apart from the fact that forty is a nice, round number, it also signifies the twentieth year of the Stones’ career. Looking for a maxim suitable to open an article in which I would try hard to find some reason why these events should be of interest, I came across a Proverb (22:6) in the May issue of Awake: “Train a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.” The Times is an appropriate place for me to be airing my thoughts on this moment in rock history. On June 30th, 1967, my group, the Who , took an advertisement in the Evening Standard to protest against the savage sentences meted out to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for possession of drugs. We really thought we were going out on a limb, attracting the attention of the police and the press and probably opening ourselves up for similar busts. On the following day, however, the Times … [Read more...] about Pete Townshend on Mick Jagger and the Nature of Aging in Rock & Roll
Cannes Review: Ethan Coen’s ‘Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind’
For his directing debut after brother Joel’s first solo outing with The Tragedy of Macbeth , Ethan Coen has chosen a similar saga of ruthless ambition and soul-devouring guilt, telling the rise and fall — and rise again — of Jerry Lee Lewis, from farmer’s son to rock’n’roll idol. Coen’s Special Screenings Cannes Film Festival entry Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind enters a very crowded music-doc field with an approach that may confound those expecting a linear narrative and the traditional talking-head format. What they’ll get is a largely first-person recollection, using snippets culled from many years of the singer’s TV interviews, interspersed with amazing live footage that highlights his incredible versatility, moving effortlessly between rock’n’roll, rockabilly, blues, blues-soul, country-rock and country-blues; acing subgenre after subgenre. A better title for the film comes from a conversation Lewis had back in the early days with Sun Records maestro Sam … [Read more...] about Cannes Review: Ethan Coen’s ‘Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind’
Inside George Miller’s 20-Year Quest To Make ‘Three Thousand Years Of Longing’, As ‘Furiosa’ Revs Her Engines – Cannes
EXCLUSIVE : George Miller is distracted. Five minutes into our meeting, he begs forgiveness to take a quick call. And then, on an iPad tilted in his direction, the filmmaker watches as a camera feed from the Australian outback offers him a live view of a pre-shoot for his next feature, Furiosa . His supervising stunt coordinator and second unit director, Guy Norris, whose work with Miller stretches back to 1981’s Mad Max sequel The Road Warrior , is already shooting sequences for the new film. Set 15 years before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road , the film will tell the backstory of Charlize Theron’s enigmatic Furiosa, this time played by Anya Taylor-Joy. “Here I am doing an interview with you halfway across the world, and I’m able to look at this footage being shot far west from where I am and we’re discussing it as we go through the process,” says Miller, marveling at the technology. “It’s amazing, really.” It has been seven years since Fury Road … [Read more...] about Inside George Miller’s 20-Year Quest To Make ‘Three Thousand Years Of Longing’, As ‘Furiosa’ Revs Her Engines – Cannes
NAACP Image Awards: ‘The Harder They Fall’ Named Best Film; Will Smith & Jennifer Hudson Take Lead Acting Honors – Full Winners List
The Harder They Fall was named Outstanding Motion Picture during Saturday’s televised portion of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards after the five non-televised ceremonies this week. The Western led the field with five wins overall during the week after being shut out of the Academy Award nominations. Will Smith and Jennifer Hudson scooped Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture for their respective roles as the Williams sisters’ father in King Richard and Aretha Franklin in MGM/UAR’s Respect . Hudson also took the marquee Entertainer of the Year award. 2022 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, SAG, BAFTAs & More HBO’s Insecure won Outstanding Comedy Series after its creator-star Issa Rae took Outstanding Actress in a Comedy earlier. It was her second Image Award this year, following one for writing, and the TV-leading fourth for the show , which wrapped its run in December . Network TV had a good night, with Angela Bassett … [Read more...] about NAACP Image Awards: ‘The Harder They Fall’ Named Best Film; Will Smith & Jennifer Hudson Take Lead Acting Honors – Full Winners List
Guns, Rhymes, God, and Politics: Shyne’s Epic Fall and Rise
At an empty beach bar in Corozal, a shaggy town of a few thousand people just minutes from where northern Belize meets Mexico’s share of the Yucatan Peninsula, waves crash into a jagged, rocky breakwater. It’s 9 p.m., the kitchenis about to close, and the only people left are some young, very loud, and very sober American missionaries. Another languid Caribbean day is winding down, but my dinner companion, Moses Michael Levi “ Shyne ” Barrow, has no desire to linger over a meal and conversation. He’s shoveling in his fried fish, rice, and beans faster than an escaped hostage, and brushing off my questions about his remarkable life — from Brooklyn-raised rapper to convicted felon to Orthodox Jewish convert to prominent politician here in the country of his birth — with blunt rejoinders. “I want you to be more specific, rather than just sitting here having a therapy session,” he grumbles, raising his hand to make a drink order. Folks come to Corozal to fish, visit … [Read more...] about Guns, Rhymes, God, and Politics: Shyne’s Epic Fall and Rise
Jack White’s ‘Fear of the Dawn’ Is a Bizarre, Euphoric Experiment
“When you cut into the present, the future leaks out,” declares a craggy-voiced sample of late Beat novelist William S. Burroughs near the middle of Jack White ’s avant-rock tune “Into the Twilight.” In the Fifties, the Naked Lunch author popularized a radical style of writing he dubbed “the cut-up technique,” which involved typing out his thoughts, vivisecting the sheet of paper, and then rearranging the composition into something fresh, hoping the words made new sense in a new order. That spirit seems to be what modern-art enthusiast White (remember De Stijl ?) is chasing on Fear of the Dawn, the sometimes euphoric, sometimes bizarre solo album he made during the quarantine years. “Into the Twilight” begins with jazzy “ba-da-da” vocal scatting (courtesy of a Manhattan Transfer sample), then interpolates trip-hoppy drumming, samples of voices sped up to helium pitches that sound like ear candy from early-Nineties Prince albums, and buzzsaw guitar dive-bombs. But, like … [Read more...] about Jack White’s ‘Fear of the Dawn’ Is a Bizarre, Euphoric Experiment
Vision Films Closes Deal For Theatrical Distribution Of Six Titles In Ukraine
EXCLUSIVE : Vision Films ’ CEO and Managing Director Lise Romanoff has closed a deal with Andrei Bocharnikov of Ukraine ’s Festivals Cinema to theatrically release six films in the region—the goal being to provide a little respite, distraction and hope for all those in the country who are struggling, amid Russia’s invasion. Festivals Cinema, based in Kharkiv, will first exhibit Paul Schneider’s inspirational family drama Just Another Dream , starring Kristy Swanson and Dean Cain, and produced by Charles Franz. It will then release the sci-fi pic Alpha Code , starring Denise Richards, which Keoni Waxman directed with Milan Friedrich producing. Thrillers 7th Secret and Seal of Desire will follow, along with the documentaries Queen Elizabeth II: Her Glorious Reign and Prince Philip: The Man Behind the Throne . Festivals Cinema will also expand its theatrical release of Tango Shalom to Poland, with full support of the filmmakers. The film, which has … [Read more...] about Vision Films Closes Deal For Theatrical Distribution Of Six Titles In Ukraine
Duchess Of York Sarah Ferguson Launches Paris Production House With Mark Gill & Cyril Cadars
The Duchess Of York Sarah Ferguson has co-founded a Paris-based production house with Oscar-nominated The Voorman Problem director Mark Gill and The Open’s Cyril Cadars. Vestapol Films also counts financier Gertjan Rooijakkers as co-founder and will focus on the independent development and production of films and TV for international audiences and markets, especially the U.S. and Japan. On the slate already is a TV mini-series expanding on Gill’s The Voorman Problem written by Gill and Cloud Atlas scribe David Mitchell, along with The Paris Quintet, led by Call My Agent! star Fanny Sidney and Ravens – The Many Deaths of Masahisa Fukas e, a surreal biopic about the iconic Japanese photographer. Ferguson, the former wife of now-disgraced Prince Andrew, is known for her charitable work and also produced 2009 Jean-Marc Vallée film Young Victoria. Gill was Oscar nominated for live action short The Voorman Problem starring Martin Freeman and Tom … [Read more...] about Duchess Of York Sarah Ferguson Launches Paris Production House With Mark Gill & Cyril Cadars
Brown Sugar
D’Angelo is cut from a heavier cloth than the majority of his New Jack brethren: He’s a singer/songwriter with a mellifluous, sturdy voice that can coo and growl with equal conviction. He’s no trailblazer — Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Prince have all walked down the same musical paths where D’Angelo meanders. Yet he manages to build on the examples of the masters. No matter how delicate or dusty sounding a track may be, D’Angelo flips the script with B-boy savoir-faire: He makes the nasty rhythms bubbling underneath his multilayered love songs seem old and new at the same time. Call him an ndegéocello (Swahili for “free as a bird”), a rebel soul. The title track, “Brown Sugar,” oozes into the ears with dark, gooey, molasses-like texture. Bolstered by the smoky sounds of a tricky old stage organ, D’Angelo sets the mood here for the rest of his album; his highly agile falsetto vocals merge with the gutbucket rhythm mélange. Like lotion applied to dry skin, this sonic … [Read more...] about Brown Sugar