How enlightening to know that women directors are out there, and making notable films we’ve heard of and or seen. Like “Bessie” starring Queen Latifah, which just won a NAACP Image Award. The movie “Black Nativity” starring Forrest Whitaker, and even “Eve’s Bayou” all directed by women – black women. Something great to acknowledge and celebrate during black history month. Check out all five in the dedicated video below.
Via – http://blavity.com/5-black-women-directors-you-need-to-know/
So the lingering question about the historic 17.5 million dollar sale of this film is…why didn’t Nate Parker sell this to Byron Allen for his 20 million dollar offer? Why let this film get in the hands of the white folks over at Fox Searchlight for 2.5 Million less than a black owned media company? Especially a film about a slave revolt?
I asked myself the same question until I gave it more thought. I also read an article written in the Hollywood Reporter that gave me some much needed insight. Here are some excerpts from the article…
Birth came to Sundance with big expectations, with many major buyers seeing it as an Oscar contender, especially given the controversy surrounding the past two years of #OscarsSoWhite hashtags. Parker, 36, quit acting for two years to realize the passion project that he wrote, produced, directed and toplined. He put in $100,000 of his own money to fly around the country to talk to anyone who might want to finance it. A dozen investor groups — which included former NBA player Michael Finley and San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker — cobbled together the film’s $10 million budget.
For Parker, his main focus was not just the money, but finding the right fit for his film. “My responsibility to the project is to make sure to find a partner that is as passionate as we are about it socially, so if that meant we had to take less money, then those were conversations I was willing to have,” says Parker, who would not speak about specific suitors that did not submit the winning bid.
Multiple sources say there had indeed been a higher bid: Netflix offered $20 million for all rights but was insisting on a day-and-date streaming/theatrical release like it did with Beasts of No Nation last fall. At a Sundance fest that has been dominated by streamers Amazon and Netflix, such a massive offer must have been tantalizing. But sources say Parker and the producers wanted a large theatrical experience, so, similarly to the premiere, people would be rallied to action.
Parker says Searchlight was open to hearing all his ideas about how the film should be released, including his hope for it to be shown in high schools and colleges around the country. He opted for their package, then went to bed at around 6 a.m. (he had a panel in the morning) and let Taylor close the deal as the sun rose.
“It just felt like we were speaking the same language,” says Parker of Fox Searchlight. “There were sentences that were being finished on both sides, and the dialogue just flowed.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance-why-nate-parker-chose-859652
The message is most important and black people need to see it. I understand the frustration with the film being sold to Fox Searchlight, but the reason for that is their ability to place it on a larger scale platform for more of “us” to see the film. Like it or not, whites still control the film industry. Searchlight put out 12 years a Slave and The Butler. To the naysayers…did you support those films? If so, that’s why he chose Fox. They agreed to have this film showcased at highschools and colleges. Byron Allen is currently suing the FCC for racial discrimination now, because they are not letting him through the door. We still have work to do people.
So while we keep breaking down doors, let’s not block ourselves from getting our voices heard even while using their platform to do it.
Are you ready for white America to be outraged all over again? I don’t know if O.J. murdered his late wife and her lover…I just know he was acquitted. Paul Mooney, the iconic writer and comedian said he knew O.J. And Nicole personally…and everyone who was anyone knew Nicole was a hoe with a drug problem. He claims she was murdered behind drugs. Anywho…will you be watching on Tuesday? Peep the trailer below….
Now that #OscarsSoWhite is dying down, white folks have managed to piss people off again with this tragic casting choice to portray the King of Pop – Michael Jackson. The British actor was cast to play Michael in a made for T.V. Film about a road trip with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando after 9/11.
This is why people refer to Hollywood as culture vultures. They will go to great lengths to destroy and deminish the legacy of a world renowned Black artist and portray him as a white man. Pure thievery. Yes, no one can deny that Michael’s complexion has evolved over the years becoming ghostly pale, but the fact remains he was born black and died a black man. Why insult his family and legacy by denying his true heritage with this portrayal. It’s beyond disrespectful, yet as soon as the outrage begins, so does the quest to silence us. This just further proves how everything taught historically and written by whites has been manipulated and misrepresented.
The Film titled “The Birth of A Nation”, written and directed by Actor Nate Parker, was no doubt a hit at the SUNDANCE Movie festival. The movie tells the story of the 1831 slave revolt led by NAT Turner. The film received unanimous praise at the premiere on Monday evening, and sold to Fox Searchlight for 17.5 Million dollars, a historic record for a film debut at the SUNDANCE festival.
Offers came in from the Weinstein Company, Sony, and Netflix- who’s 20 million offer would’ve allowed the film to stream on their platform.
Critics have described the film as ” A biographical drama steeped equally in grace and horror…that grapples fearlessly with the intense spiritual convictions that drove Turner what he had previously thought unthinkable.” Other’s reported the movie had audience members crying in their seats, and jumping to their feet in a prolonged standing ovation at the end of the film.
I’m most definitely looking forward to the release of this film, and very proud of Nate Parker for writing and directing such a powerful important story in black history.
Racial tension is on the rise in this country. From the Oscars excluding Black actors to other racially charged incidents happening across our country, racial injustice has been pushed to the forefront of a national conversation.
Now, a new documentary will delve deeper into the issue. The EPIX film, titled America Divided, will be executive produced by Norman Lear, Common, and Shonda Rhimes. The project will explore how inequality is intertwined with the personal histories of celebrities. Rapper Common will return to his birthplace of Chicago to examine the inequalities within the criminal justice system; actress America Ferrera will go to Texas to take a closer look at the voting system and the lack of efficient healthcare for women, and actor Jesse Williams will explore deficiencies in the realm of education. “The promise of the American dream was a united country where everyone is treated equal,” said Shonda Rhimes. “That promise has clearly been broken; all you have to do is look around to see that our reality has been built on the back of inequality. It’s my hope that this series will inspire audiences to be part of a change that leads us into a stronger, more equal future.”
It doesn’t get any better than Danny DeVito speaking the blatant truth about American racism. While many have grown tired of hearing about #OscarsSoWhite, the topic can’t continue to be dismissed and swept under the rug. It’s about time for America to come to grips about race issues and tackle them head on. Racism exists. Admit it and do something about it.
Actor Don Cheadle also weighed in about the recent changes being made to the academy members to include people of color. He referred to it as “Dealing with the symptom and not starting at the root cause of how we even got to results like this”
Definitely a very valid point that points directly to the root being racist white privilege, that too often goes unnoticed by many white people. Watch the interview below to hear comments from both actors.
here’s a list of the films that Twitter came up with starring women of color and helmed by women directors. When cross-referenced with data sources from The Black List, Shadow & Act and others, there were about 85 titles that fit the bill.
Find them below. Watch, enjoy and most importantly, support!
“35 Shots of Rum” by Claire Denis (2008)
“A Different Image” by Alile Sharon Larkin (1982)
“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” by Ana Lily Amirpour (2014)
“Advantageous” by Jennifer Phang (2015)
“Ala Modalaindi” by Nandini Bv Reddy (2011)
“All About You” by Christine Swanson (2001)
“Alma’s Rainbow” by Ayoka Chenzira (1994)
“Appropriate Behavior” by Desiree Akhavan (2014)
“B For Boy” by Chika Anadu (2013)
“Bande de Filles/Girlhood” by Céline Sciamma (2014)
“Belle” by Amma Asante (2013)
“Bend it Like Beckham” by Gurinder Chadha (2002)
“Bessie” by Dee Rees (2015)
“Beyond the Lights” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2014)
“Bhaji on the Beach” by Gurinder Chadha (1993)
“Caramel” by Nadine Labaki (2007)
“Circumstance” by Maryam Keshavarz (2011)
“Civil Brand” by Neema Barnette (2002)
“Compensation” by Zeinabu irene Davis (1999)
“Daughters of the Dust” by Julie Dash (1991)
“Double Happiness ” by Mina Shum (1994)
“Down in the Delta” by Maya Angelou (1998)
“Drylongso” by Cauleen Smith (1988)
“Earth” by Deepa Mehta (1998)
“Elza” by Mariette Monpierre (2011)
“Endless Dreams” by Susan Youssef (2009
“Eve’s Bayou” by Kasi Lemmons (1997)
“Fire” by Deepa Mehta (1996)
“Frida” by Julie Taymor (2002)
“Girl in Progress” by Patricia Riggen (2012)
“Girlfight” by Karyn Kusama (2000)
“Habibi Rasak Kharban” by Susan Youssef (2011)
“Hiss Dokhtarha Faryad Nemizanand (Hush! Girls Don’t Scream)” by Pouran Derahkandeh (2013)
“Honeytrap” by Rebecca Johnson (2014)
“I Like It Like That” by Darnell Martin (1994)
“I Will Follow” by Ava DuVernay (2010
“In Between Days” by So-yong Kim (2006)
“Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” by Martha Coolidge (1999)
“It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” by Gurinder Chadha (2010)
“Jumpin Jack Flash” by Penny Marshall (1986)
“Just Another Girl on the IRT” by Leslie Harris (1992)
“Just Wright” by Sanaa Hamri (2010)
“Kama Sutra” by Mira Nair (1996)
“Losing Ground” by Kathleen Collins (1982)
“Love & Basketball” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2000)
“Luck by Chance” by Zoya Akhtar (2009)
“Mi Vida Loca” by Allison Anders (1993)
“Middle of Nowhere” by Ava DuVernay (2012)
“Mississippi Damned” by Tina Mabry (2009)
“Mississippi Masala” by Mira Nair (1991)
“Mixing Nia” by Alison Swan (1998)
“Monsoon Wedding” by Mira Nair (2001)
“Mosquita y Mari” by Aurora Guerrero (2012)
“Na-moo-eobs-neun san (Treeless Mountain)” by So-yong Kim (2008)
“Night Catches Us” by Tanya Hamilton (2010)
“Pariah” by Dee Rees (2011)
“Picture Bride” by Kayo Hatta (1994)
“Rain” by Maria Govan (2008)
“Real Women Have Curves” by Patricia Cardoso (2002)
“Saving Face” by Alice Wu (2004)
“Second Coming” by Debbie Tucker Green (2014)
“Something Necessary” by Judy Kibinge (2013)
“Something New” by Sanaa Hamri (2006)
“Still the Water” by Naomi Kawase (2014)
“Stranger Inside” by Cheryl Dunye (2001)
“Sugar Cane Alley/Black Shack Alley” by Euzhan Palcy (1983)
“The Kite” by Randa Chahal Sabag (2003)
“The Rich Man’s Wife” by Amy Holden Jones (1996)
“The Secret Life of Bees” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2008)
“The Silence of the Palace” by Moufida Tlatli (1994)
“The Watermelon Woman” by Cheryl Dunye (1996)
“The Women of Brewster Place” by Donna Deitch (1989)
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Darnell Martin (2005)
“Things We Lost in the Fire” by Susanne Bier (2007)
“Wadjda” by Haifaa Al-Mansour (2012)
“Water” by Deepa Mehta (2005)
“Whale Rider” by Niki Caro (2002)
“What’s Cooking?” by Gurinder Chadha (2000)
“Where Do We Go Now?” by Nadine Labaki (2011)
“Whitney” by Angela Bassett (2015)
“Woman Thou Art Loosed: On The 7th Day” by Neema Barnette (2012)
“Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl” by Joan Chen (1998)
“Yelling to the Sky” by Victoria Mahoney (2011)
“Young and Wild” by Marialy Rivas (2012)
Which of these are your favorite films that tell the stories of women of color, which are also directed by women?
Toni Braxton Lifetime Movie: When And Where To Watch ‘Unbreak My Heart’ On Jan. 23
BY MINYVONNE BURKE @MINYVONNEB
Toni Braxton Lifetime movie
Lex Scott Davis will play Toni Braxton in the Lifetime original movie “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart.”
PHOTO: LIFETIME
Toni Braxton’s iconic music career, family struggles and past money issues will be chronicled in the upcoming Lifetime original movie “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart.” The two-hour long film, which premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. EST, stars up-and-coming actress Lex Scott Davis as the 48-year-old singer.
“Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart,” based off of her 2011 memoir of the same name, will begin with Toni signing to L.A. Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmond’s label LaFace Records.
The “Braxton Family Values” star has often said that her big break in the music industry led to her feeling guilty because her sisters, Tamar, Trina, Towanda and Traci Braxon were not picked up by the label even though they had been singing together as a group since they were children.
I’m looking forward to seeing this tonight. Looks like they did an amazing job casting this. The lovely Toni Braxton seemed to be very involved with the project, so I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome. Watch the trailer below
Watch the full movie here:
http://www.brokensilenze.net/2016/01/24/full-movie-toni-braxton-lifetime-biopic-unbreak-my-heart/
Are you ready for April Fools?
“Meet the Blacks” is a comedy/horror hybrid spoofing the hit film “The Purge,” and stars Mike Epps, George Lopez, Mike Tyson, Bresha Webb, Lil Duval and Tameka “Tiny” Harris.
Check out the Trailer below
sheezacoldpiece 