Black Or White looks seems like it could be a very interesting film in the landscape of “January” films. It’ll certainly have a lot more to say than a lot of them, that’s for sure, and it’s timely, seeing how so many of us have been focusing on race relations in America.
There’s a lot of Selma news to discuss, so let’s just dive right into it.
You might have already read my interview with Wedding Palace co-screenwriter Robert Gardner, so you’re already aware of this cute and charming movie. But there’s something else important about Wedding Palace; it offers Hollywood a different pathway towards making films. This pathway should be a no-brainer, but it’s path that Hollywood regularly averts, which is actually casting actors and actresses that represent the characters and their heritage.
I think my articles on Exodus: Gods and Kings, the Sony hack, and Ghost in the Shell say it best: Hollywood is messed up when it comes to real representation of non-whites in entertainment. Another thing it shows is that there needs to be a studio or agency that will handle films that otherwise wouldn’t get sold in the traditional Hollywood system so that new and important stories can finally get out of the script ghetto. Enter Charles King and his new venture, MACRO.
Those who live in Selma, AL will get a great surprise this Friday when the Golden Globe nominated film Selma will screen for free to Selma’s citizens this Friday (Jan. 9). This special screening is on behalf of the film’s director, Ava DuVernay, and Paramount Pictures.
The Angela Bassett-directed lifetime biopic Whitney, about Whitney Houston’s rise to fame and the pitfall that come with it, is coming Jan. 17, and I haven’t been writing anything about it. Until now.
It’s official: Scarlett Johansson is going to play Major Mokoto Kusanagi in the Hollywood adaptation of the Japanese classic manga and anime series Ghost in the Shell. Color me and thousands of other Ghost in the Shell fans disappointed and oddly resigned. Resigned to resisting, that is.
I’ve been inspired by my last post, “How to Sleep in Luxury like Thranduil” and, thankfully, folks on Facebook, Twitter, and the comments section loves it. So I’m going to keep going as long as I can on this idea.
I bet you’re wondering why I have Ursula down as a queer-coded character. Well, I’m not going to write anything like her villainy is coded in queerness (well…technically, it could still be, if you want to get really deep with it). The reason Ursula is queer-coded is because she is, in fact, based on a very infamous drag queen.
It’s J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday, and what better way to celebrate than to, as his son feels about the films, further desecrate his lifework with fashion and frivolity?
