Monique, Author at JUST ADD COLOR-Affirming Ourselves Through Entertainment

Interview Rewind: "Wedding Palace" Co-Screenwriter Robert Gardner

By Monique on Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Originally posted on Moniqueblog.net in 2013.

Wedding Palace, directed by Christine Yoo and written by Robert Gardner and Derek Draper and starring Brian Tee, Hye-jeong Kang, Bobby Lee, Jean Yoon and Margaret Cho, is a film that has charm, humor, and tons of sweet likability. The film is also unique–even though the film is one that’s about Korean culture, the writers, Gardner and Draper, are both African-American. So how did this film come to be, and what type of research was done to get the film’s voice just right? I was able to discuss this with Gardner in an email interview. Check out his insight into the writing process and what his favorite film from the scene is. Also look below for a behind-the-scenes video about the making of the film. Wedding Palace is now available to home audiences.

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movies

Egypt and Morocco Ban "Exodus: Gods and Kings"

By Monique on Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Exodus: Gods and Kings has had a rough road. Hundreds (probably thousands) of people rose up in arms over the inaccurate casting of the film, with the hashtag #BoycottExodusMovie. The film had a lousy opening weekend and has since fallen off the map domestically. Now, the film is facing even more heat from Egypt and Morocco. Both have banned the film over it’s “historical inaccuracies.”

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MOC Monday

MOC Monday: Takeshi Kaga

By Monique on Monday, December 29, 2014

Are there any fans of the original Iron Chef here?

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WOC Wednesday

WOC Wednesday: Angela Bassett

By Monique on Wednesday, December 24, 2014

This woman should have been Storm.

I saw Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got to Do with It? and, like almost everyone who’s seen that film, I became a fan. I then re-watched Waiting to Exhale and became an even bigger fan. In any film or show she’s in, she’s amazing. She is often seen playing powerful women (one of the reasons she should have been Storm and not Halle Berry–sorry Halle), and this quote from a 2001 interview in The Guardian backs it up:

You always seem to play strong women. Is that what you like?

Yes. That’s the image that I like to put out there, and those are the parts I’m attracted to. But not iron-fist kind of strong, just self-assured. I’m nice too.

What do you love about Angela Bassett? Talk about it in the comments section below! You’ll be able to see Bassett in the upcoming American Horror Story: Freak Show airing on FX Oct. 8 at 10/9c. And if you’ve got your own WOC Wednesday nominee, email me at monique@moniqueblog.net and I’ll write a post!

Angela Bassett in Black Nativity. Credit: Fox Searchlight

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Making Sense of the New Pictures and Video from "Sleepy Hollow"

By Monique on Wednesday, December 24, 2014

“Here we are again—that old familiar place, where the winds will blow…” I think this, lyrics from Whitney Houston’s spectacular “Don’t Cry for Me” is an appropriate way to start out this post, seeing how a lot of Sleepy Hollow fans might feel like they need to start mourning the rest of Season Two.

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movies

New Trailer for Margot Robbie-Will Smith Starrer "Focus" Released

By Monique on Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Here’s a film that you might not have heard about until now. Focus, starring Margot Robbie and Will Smith is coming to theaters Feb. 27,

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movies

"The Hobbit" Owns the Box Office, "Exodus" Fails Completely

By Monique on Wednesday, December 24, 2014

The box office battle has been a little crazy with all of the ridiculosity that is The Interview. But guess what? The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has owned the box office proper!

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movies

Movie Review: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

By Monique on Tuesday, December 23, 2014

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Racially Sensitive Casting

Racially Sensitive Casting: Tamara Tunie, "The Red Road"

By Monique on Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Marie Van Der Veen, the matriarch of the show The Red Road, is a character that is special to Tamara Tunie, who we know previously from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Tunie, who is of Native American, African-American and European ancestry, loves playing a character who represents all facets of herself.

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books

Draco Grew Into a Less Awful Person, States J.K. Rowling

By Monique on Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy is an amazing character. He’s one of those characters who are racist, growing up in a household where certain “ideals” are taught, but soon realize how terrible their minds have been when the real world gets dropped on them. Draco had that happen to him in spades, and for years, I liked to think he was better for it. But J.K. Rowling had denied me that pleasure in canon. Until now. Through Pottermore (which you need a login for), she finally shared the rest of Draco’s story.

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