*Urban Media Outlet*

Spike Lee begins production on an update to his Emmy-winning HBO documentary “When the Levees Broke,” about the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Premiering in the summer, the untitled follow-up will look at the current status in education, housing and population relocation in the five years since the storm devastated the region.

No word if “Levees” standout Phyllis Montana-Leblanc will make an appearance in the sequel, but at Lee’s suggestion, she makes her acting debut in HBO’s upcoming original series “Treme” [pronounced Tre-MAY], which takes place in New Orleans three months after Katrina.

“Spike read the pilot early on. I had very favorable conversations with him,” said “Treme” co-creator and executive producer David Simon (“The Wire”). “The only thing of substance where he kicked in an opinion was actually Phyllis Montana-Leblanc where he said, ‘You know, I think she could do one of these things for you. She’s great.’”

“And so we read her, and he was right. It was a good casting choice and all credit to him for that,” Simon told TV critics Thursday during a presentation of “Treme.”

Montana-Leblanc, a real Katrina survivor, plays Charlette, a love interest of the lead character played by Wendell Pierce. “Treme is scheduled to premiere on April 11.

(source)

Neptune’s Pharrell steps into new territory. He will completely score the 3D movie “Despicable Me” I wonder if he will keep his hip hop/pop flavor or switch it up for the family film

Singer, songwriter, producer Pharrell Williams will write original music for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming 3D CGI feature “Despicable Me.”

In addition to the film’s title track, which debuted with the feature’s teaser trailer [watch below], Williams has already begun to write the film’s orchestral score as well. It  marks the first time the artist will compose music for a film.

“I love cartoons and animation, and I’ve never seen such incredible 3D CGI,” Williams said in a statement. “To score ‘Despicable Me’ along with Hans and Heitor and write original songs for the film is a dream come true.”

The film’s producer Chris Meledandri comments, “Pharrell is one of the most important contemporary songwriters, Hans is one of the truly great film composers and Heitor is the next generation of Hans’ protégés. This is an extraordinary teaming of talent. With every note they write, our film is being enriched.”

“Despicable Me,” starring the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer, Mindy Kaling, Jemaine Clement and Julie Andrews, arrives in theaters on July 9, 2010.

(source)

Thanks to my bebe, Im now in love with Blaxploitation movies, especially ones set up in Harlem! Blaxploitation (from the words ‘black’ and ‘exploitation’) is a film genre that was very popular in the early 1970’s and targeted urban African Americans as their main audience. They usually have common characters (or at least the ones I’ve seen set in New York) like the smooth talking ‘jive turkey’, the corrupt ‘honky’ cop, the pimp or drug dealer and his hoe, the foxy afro wearing soul woman and the mob boss trying to keep a brother down.

As coonish and stereotypical as they seem, I get really excited to see the changes in location, lingo, fashion and so on (that’s the anthropologist in me.)  Some you may already know are Shaft, Foxy Brown, Cleopatra Jones, Blacula and Dolemite Now, the rumor mill is buzzing with the idea that Denzel Washington and Will Smith may star in a 2.o remake of the 1974 hit Blaxploitation Comedy “Uptown Saturday Night”.

Denzel Washington and Will Smith are reportedly in discussions to remake the 1974 film “Uptown Saturday Night,” which starred Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby as two friends who sneak out

According to Humor Mill, Washington has now expressed interest in the “Uptown” remake and in starring alongside with Smith.

of their homes to visit a legendary – yet illegal – nightclub.

When the place is inevitably held up and their wallets are stolen, the duo must recover a winning lottery ticket that was sitting in Cosby’s wallet.

Humor Mill Magazine is reporting that Will Smith bought the rights to the film in 2002 and has been trying to remake it ever since. Eddie Murphy was approached early on, but a deal with the superstar was never worked out.

(source)

I recommend Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) [Mario Van Pebbles before he had a big name], Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) [directed by Ossie Davis], Trouble Man (1972) [Marvin Gaye produced soundtrack], Super Fly (1972) [Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack for this movie is one of my fave albums of all time!], Across 110th Street (1972), Black Caesar (1973), Hell Up in Harlem (1973) , and especially for the ladies check out Mahogany (1975) which stars a young Diana Ross.

Here’s Brittany Murphy in one of my favorite films, Sin City

Legendary singer and actor Jimmy Cliff recently traveled to Nigeria to receive an award for Peace Ambassador from the Economic Commission of West Africa. While there he sat in an interview with Jamaican broadcaster Lindsey Barrett.

Jimmy Cliff as Ivanhoe Martin, 1972, "Hero Cyaah Dead Until Di Last Reel"

Cliff (who starred in the hit movie as Ivanhoe- the real life country boy turned elusive street rogue) reflected on his career and noted that this is definitly one of its high points

I feel that I have completed Act One in my life and I am now in the process of commencing Act Two. My very first international hit record, Wonderful World, Beautiful People, was a high point [...] The start of my movie career through, my role in The Harder They Come was a significant high point. That was the first Jamaican international movie and it is something I will forever be proud of.

When asked about any other movie prospects in the works Cliff spoke of two scripts he is working on himself

One is based on the life of a legendary Jamaican from my childhood who was known as Wappie King. You know when I spoke to a major Rastafarian intellectual Mortimer Plano and asked him about Wappie King all he said to me was “Jimmy that was a really bad man.” For me it is his fearlessness and his energy that I want to capture in a positive light.

The second film could be called a love story. I wrote it long before Usain Bolt made his mark. One of the central characters is an athlete, a sportsman who has the ability to succeed in any sport he chooses but he chooses to be an Olympic champion. Then there is a young woman who has the grace and the beauty to become a high fashion model and that is what she sets out to achieve.

The highly anticipated words came next

Then I am also still working towards doing a sequel of The Harder They Come.

A sequel im very anxious to see.

Congrats Jimmy and more power on your future endeavors. Respect due for all you’ve done for the culture.

Heres the fight scene where Ivan draws his first blood and leaves the naive country boy persona behind for “Johnny Too Bad”

(Source)

The Coconut Revolution is a documentary about a little known environmental war, where the island of Bougainville has entire ‘rural’ communities running hydro-electricity and using coconuts as the main resource for products such as oil, soap, VEHICLE GAS among others!!

Image from film

Read the rest of this entry »