Thursday, March 26, 2020

Aretha Franklin Biopic To Open On Christmas


While many studios jockey to launch their awards-season fare in the thick of autumn, a movie can still go in the tail-end holiday season to garnish buzz and bucks, i.e., American Sniper, 1917 and Hidden Figures, all of which were blockbusters and Oscar-lauded movies.

Respect is directed by Liesl Tommy and stars Dreamgirls Oscar winner Hudson as Franklin, Forest Whitaker as C.L. Franklin, Marlon Wayans as Ted White, Mary J. Blige as Dinah Washington, and Tituss Burgess as Rev. Dr. James Cleveland.

Respect was set to go wide October 9 and moves away from 20th Century Studios’ Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie feature adaptation Death on the Nile and Warner Bros’ The Witches.

On December 25, Respect is the only exclusive release, though next to 20th Century Studios’ limited opening of The Duel (which could likely move since production was stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak).

The wide entries on January 15 currently include Sony’s Kevin Hart movie Fatherhood, Universal’s Simon Kinberg action thriller 355, Warner Bros’ Mortal Kombat and United Artists Releasing’s untitled Guy Ritchie film.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

For Gina Kronstadt 'October Comes Too Soon'


Jazz singer-songwriter Gina Kronstadt journals an alluring temptation on “The Threat of Love,” the first single from her third album, “October Comes Too Soon,” which dropped last Friday on FallOff Records. Kronstadt wrote and produced the storybook musing on love, intimate relationships, and astute observations. The single earned most added status on the Billboard chart in its debut week at radio. Debuting the same week was the sensual black and white video for “The Threat of Love” that was lensed on the streets of Los Angeles.


Kronstadt writes music as therapy – mental and spiritual - and she composed the eight songs that comprise “October Comes Too Soon” during a challenging eight-month period while recovering from multiple shoulder surgeries. She cleverly uses “real” lyrics and her soothing-caress-of-a-voice to capture and convey honest thoughts and emotions, feelings of vulnerability and heartache, and ruminations on love, bliss, and politics. When it was time to lay the tracks, Kronstadt called upon noted musicians to vividly illumine her tales: keyboardists John Beasley and Nicholas Semrad, bassist Benjamin Shepherd, drummer Joel Taylor, trumpeter Michael Stever, and saxophonist/woodwind player Bob Sheppard. A first-call violin player who has performed on an extraordinary library of crème de la crème recording projects and concert stages, Hollywood box office hits, and landmark television series, Kronstadt helmed the 12-piece string section that draped the tracks with lush backdrops, adding depth, drama, and elegance.
         
While the first single garners attention from smooth/contemporary jazz radio programmers, cuts from “October Comes Too Soon” have also been proliferating playlists at a second radio format: straight-ahead jazz radio. In fact, Kronstadt’s disc is already making its way up the Jazz Week chart.
       
Kronstadt is eager to share the music from “October Comes Too Soon” with listeners live on stage although current global circumstances may force the delay of her album release concert slated for April 23 at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in Studio City.    

Guitarist Pierre Bensusan's Latest CD Is 'Azwan'

  
PARIS (24 March 2020): Best laid plans, right? After spending the last few years off the concert trail in order to meticulously craft a new album, “Azwan,” preceded by an accompanying book, “Pierre Bensusan Guitar Collection,” and the unveiling of a handmade Lowden Guitars signature model, all of which were to be supported by an extensive 110-date US and Canadian concert tour running from March 7 into July, world music fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan suddenly finds himself back home on French soil after having to pull the plug one week into the concert trek due to the Coronavirus outbreak. While the entire tour is being rebooked for 2021, until then, listeners will have to discover the magic and masterful musicianship showcased on the 12-track digital and CD release composed and co-produced by Bensusan for his 3DADGAD Vision label, which is distributed by MVD Entertainment Group.

The COVID-19 global pandemic that has ensnared humanity underscores the oneness of our world and our interlocked connectivity. That’s Bensusan’s message and the meaning behind “Azwan,” the award-winning artist’s 15th album that dropped March 13. The French-Algerian guitarist-vocalist said, “Along my life’s journey, I have experienced unity off and on, being more or less aware of the impact and influence of every action upon the entire universe. As time goes on, the more I feel connected to all people, animals and universally to the whole of nature. Being that we are all connected, my intention is that every action and behavior contributes, supports and adds value to our interconnectivity, especially through my music. It feels like a nurturing or even a healing process for me and those with whom I share the music.”

Voted by Guitar Player magazine readers as Best World Music Guitarist, Bensusan’s music is contemplative, wistful, sublime and prodigiously performed with inspiration rooted in nature. “The concept of ‘Azwan’ came from observing bees, those solar insects working in the darkness together as one, and by observing flocks of birds flying and dancing together as one. It has been an inspiring symbolic representation of the continuum of music. When seeing ‘Azwan’ written, it can evoke a place, a city or a mood, but when hearing it said out loud, it sounds like ‘as one.’ I’ve been contemplating all the music from ‘Azwan’ for years before actually recording it, taking time to allow all the notes to come together as one.”

Bensusan is a storyteller, using expressive and lyrical acoustic guitar parlance and ethereal vocalization to allure, transfix and transport. “‘Azwan’ is primarily a solo instrumental album on which the guitar is conceived as an orchestra, delivering melody, bass, chords and counterpoint in the same space. To it, we add some vocal elements and several collaborations with guest musicians,” said Bensusan who has lived in Paris since age four.

“Azwan” opens with “Fils de la Rose,” a fragrant guitar and violin bouquet that welcomes the musical journey prepared to blossom. “Optimystical” is a seamless swoon of exquisite guitar, atmospheric vocalization and even sweet whistled melodies. On the title track, Bensusan’s simple, meditative and evocative fretwork dispenses poise, hope, and grace. “Abeilles” (“Bees” in English) enchants with a touch of celestial vocal harmonization and string accouterments. Bensusan deploys an endless array of dexterous fretwork on “Balkangeles,” which includes a special appearance by French guitarist Jean-Marie Ecay, who coproduced “Azwan.” Bensusan indulges his wanderlust on “Return to Ireland” and seductively romances with a Latin flair on “Without You.” On “Wee Dander,” Bensusan seems to delight by deftly constructing melodic licks over complex guitar rhythms at constantly vacillating cadences. Adding Christophe Cravero on alto and violin and Stephane Kericky on upright bass lend dramatic sensibilities to “Dia Libre.” Bensusan’s music is genre-defying and genre-uniting, which “Portnoo” exemplifies in its unique alchemy. The artist sings in French on the fun and playful romp “Corps Vaudou” and closes the set poignantly with the sensitive “Manitowoc,” an Indian title meaning “land of the great spirits.”

Teaching himself to play guitar at age eleven after four years of piano training, Bensusan inked his first record deal when he was 17, winning the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his 1975 debut album, “Près de Paris.” More recently, he won an Independent Music Award in 2014 for “Encore: Live,” a triple live record. He’s regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitar players of the 21st century, known for his immense sound vocabulary utilizing hues of world music, new age, jazz, classical, traditional, folk and pop with French, Arabic, Latin, and Celtic cultural references.    

“Azwan” contains the following songs:

“Fils de la Rose”
“Optimystical”
“Azwan”
“Abeilles”
“Balkangeles”
“Return to Ireland”
“Without You”
“Wee Dander”
“Dia Libre”
“Portnoo”
“Corps Vaudou”
“Manitowoc”


For more information, please visit https://www.pierrebensusan.com.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

28th Annual Pan African Film Festival Announces Audience Favorite Award Winners


LOS ANGELES – The people have spoken! The votes have been counted, and the 28th annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is excited to announce its Audience Favorite Award winners. PAFF wrapped its 12-day marathon of offerings from around the Diaspora. The winners include narrative two feature films, one boasting an all-star cast, starring Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr. and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, as well as the Oscar-winning sound team from “Shape of Water;” and another one, nominated for an NAACP Image Award that examines the criminalization of Black girls from a paternalistic juvenile courts, and inspired legislation called "Ending PUSHOUT Act," sponsored by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

PAFF is the largest Black film festival in the United States and the largest Black History Month cultural event in the nation. Here are the festival stats: PAFF has selected a record-breaking 225 film, representing 52 countries in 26 languages – that is, 86 feature films; 128 short films and 11 new media selection. Plus, ArtFest featured more than 100 fine artists from around the world. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animation short films. The festival was held from February 11 – 23, 2020 at the Cinemark 15 Theatres, located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles

The festival has cemented its role as a hub for breakthrough and award-winning Black films and filmmakers from around the world. PAFF is dedicated to the cinematic promotion and cultural exploration of peoples of African descent. It is PAFF’s goal to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help destroy negative stereotypes. PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way.

Below is a list of Audience Favorite Award winners from PAFF:


Audience Favorite for Feature Narrative
The Cuban, directed by Sergio Navarretta
(Feature Narrative/Canada/Cuba/109min)

Movie Synopsis: Luis is one of Mina’s most enigmatic patients – he has dementia and Alzheimers and spends his time in a wheelchair in a quiet corner of his room, retreated inside his own mind. To her surprise, Mina’s humming ignites a spark inside him and he begins to awaken. As each day passes, Luis reacts, reminisces, dances, and talks more and more. Their friendship blossoms – through his stories, Luis reveals his colorful past as a famous Cuban musician. “The Cuban” boasts an all-star cast with Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, as well as Giacomo Gianniotti (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Lauren Holly and Ana Golja “(Full Out,” “The Fanatic”). The film features the music of Grammy-nominated pianist Hilario Duran, as well as the Oscar-winning sound team from “Shape of Water.”


Audience Favorite for Feature Documentary
PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, directed by Jacoba Atlas
(Feature Documentary/US/76min)

Movie Synopsis: An indictment of the criminalization and miseducation of African American girls that have led to their alarming high school dropout rate and increase into the juvenile justice system. Schools, throughout the country, have become a key entry point into the juvenile justice system with Black girls being the fastest growing population in this system. PUSHOUT tells the story through the eyes of the girls themselves from elementary to post-high school and explores the many reasons for this increase in the criminalization of Black girls from paternalistic juvenile courts who do not understand the unique challenges these girls face, a lack of community-based, culturally competent and gender-sensitive responses to the way girls of color are perceived by mainstream society is often at the root of this push to criminalize our young people. This criminalization of Black girls disrupts one of the most important protective factors in a girl's life “education”. Update: Pushout inspired legislation called "Ending PUSHOUT Act" sponsored by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Audience Favorite for Narrative Short
My Father Belize, directed by Leon Lozano
(Short Narrative/Belize/30min)

Movie Synopsis: A man travels to Belize to scatter the ashes of his deceased father with whom he had an estranged relationship. While in Belize, he discovers things that force him to face his own conflicted feelings about fatherhood.

Audience Favorite for Documentary Short
Once in a Hundred Years: The Life & Legacy of Marion Anderson, directed by Bill Nicoleti
(Short Documentary/US/40min)

Movie Synopsis: In the 1930s, the great and acclaimed singer, Marian Anderson succeeded in breaking down one of the most daunting barriers closed to Black Americans – that is, the classical music stage. She was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

In addition to Audience Favorite awards, the festival also handed out a variety of juried prizes, including Best Narrative Feature, Best First Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, and Best Narrative Short during an awards ceremony at the close of the festival.

In honor of the late actress and co-founder Ja’Net Dubois, who unexpectedly passed away during the festival, prizes were re-named in her honor. Dubois was best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times.” 

PAFF celebrated its 28th anniversary in grand style with a string of highly-anticipated films, which included a comedy by the multi-hyphenated host and entertainer Nick Cannon; a feature, executive produced by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal; plus, a special screening of the action-packed series, “Queen Sono,” out of South Africa, presented by Netflix along with a wedding!

SPONSORS
PAFF is sponsored by Los Angeles City Council President Emeritus Herb Wesson, Jr.; Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas; Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson (District 8); Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza; Cinemark 15; the Directors Guild of America (DGA); FilmLA; Sony Pictures; Brotherhood Crusade; as well as the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; the Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture, UMC, Independent Lens, Union Bank, FilmLA, the Los Angeles Lakers, Trinidad & Tobago, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Disney, CAA and Imagine Media.

Additional support of opening night festivities and the screening of “Hero” made possible by Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; Imagine Media; CaribbeanTales; and California Pictures.

ABOUT THE PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Celebrating its 28th anniversary, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is America's largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, it screens more than 150 films made by and/or about people of African descent from around the world. PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animation short films.

PAFF is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover (“The Color Purple,” “Lethal Weapon” movie franchise), Emmy Award-winning actress Ja’Net DuBois (best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times”) and executive director, Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs.  PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art, and creative expression.

The goal of PAFF is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience. PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way while at the same time, serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.



Monday, March 16, 2020

Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival Is Postponed


The following statement was released by representatives of the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival: 

Because of mounting concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak, the decision has been made to postpone the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival to a later date and after our virus subsides.

Our regard for the safety of our audiences and our performing artists is paramount.

Future dates will be announced as soon as it is determined that Festival events can be safely presented.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. This step is being taken out of an abundance of caution.

We suggest you visit the CDC website for additional information regarding COVID – 19 for the latest announcements.

We appreciate the support of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival and hope to again provide our artistic programming soon!

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Bad Trip Set To Open Nationwide On April 17 2020

 

Orion Pictures has released the official poster and trailer from BAD TRIP, starring Eric André (“The Eric Andre Show”, THE LION KING), Lil Rel Howery (GET OUT, UNCLE DREW), Tiffany Haddish (GIRLS TRIP, NIGHT SCHOOL), and Michaela Conlin (“Bones”).  From a producer of JACKASS and BAD GRANDPA, this hidden camera comedy follows two best friends as they go on a cross-country road trip full of hilarious, inventive pranks, pulling its real-life audience into the mayhem. 

BAD TRIP will be released in theaters nationwide on April 17, 2020.

Monday, March 9, 2020

In Conversation With Actor Sterling K. Brown

Sterling K. Brown

By Darlene Donloe
  
Sterling K. Brown is in a good mood as he sits in a conference room on the Universal Studios lot in all his thespian greatness, beaming that big, toothy smile he’s come to be known for.

He’s dressed casually in a white t-shirt, jeans, white kicks and a grayish sweater with the sleeves rolled up as he waxes masterfully about the entertainment industry and his place in it. There is a method to his madness that has graciously placed Brown in the right place at the right time.

The two-time Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning actor’s seemingly meteoric rise to stardom bares witness to his gift of acting.  Best known as Randall on the hit NBC series, This Is Us, Brown, who has a production called Indian Meadows Productions, named after his neighborhood back in St. Louis, has also amassed an impressive list of character portrayals on stage, on film, and on television.  There was Chris Darden in The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Dr. Roland Burton in Army Wives, and N’Jobu in Black Panther.

Brown, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, can currently be seen in the A24 family drama Waves, and in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He can also currently be heard in the animated feature Frozen 2.

An obvious in-demand actor with a number of projects in the chamber, Brown, a hot actor who is as cool as they come, has not allowed himself to become bigger than the work.

He has a calm exterior, no doubt due to the time he has put in therapy – something he doesn’t shy away from revealing. An obvious spiritual individual, he also doesn’t hide his love for the Lord – even frequently invoking the Name and occasionally clicking off quick prayers he consciously and adeptly inserts into conversations.

Sterling K. Brown

I recently caught up with Sterling K. Brown (SKB) to talk about, what else, him!

Q:  What do you like most about being a black man?

SKB: I think you become more cognizant that our story is one of achievement in spite of and not achievement because of. You look at all of the overcomers, who shoulders you stand on to be where you are right now and there is a tremendous sense of pride. Nothing was given. You know what I’m saying?   It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can go work for my father’s company when I’m finished. That will be my way in.’ I went to high school with people who knew that was going to a possibility for them. That was not a possibility for my dad who passed away as a grocery clerk and my mother who was a retired school teacher. People aren’t going to give you things. You have to go out there and get it. That is the story of us as a collective, right?  That gives me an extra……'didn’t nobody give us nothing.'  Started from the bottom now we’re here.

Q:  You do film, stage, and television. What does each one of those mediums give you that the others don’t?

SKB: I feel like any actor that wants to have longevity in their career needs to start on stage.  There is a musculature that is required to hit the back wall. It’s easier to turn it down than to turn it up – if you haven’t gotten used to using your whole body to communicate.  There is an intimacy that the camera provides and you don’t have to work so hard because if it can see you change your eye direction, it can see you raise an eyebrow – that can be so effective in and of itself. TV gives you a chance to develop a character over a longer arc because you know you’re going to be coming into somebody’s house over a multitude to times.  Film has fewer chefs in the kitchen. It’s a director’s medium, whereas TV is a producer’s medium. So, artistically you’re usually going to have the most unfiltered purist thing because one person gets to put their stamp on it. That doesn’t mean I don’t love television. We have a really great show-runner, but like when you get a chance to work with someone like a Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) and they make it their own, without network notes, without studio notes, without all those other things, there is a purity of vision that can come through. I’m not saying one is better or worse, but I think if you’re going to do it for real–for real, you should start on stage.

Q:  Do you feel a sense of responsibility in showing Randall being an understanding and good parent on This Is Us, particularly when it comes to one of his daughters coming out?

SKB:  I was in an airport after Tess (Eris Baker) came out to her family and a family came up to me and said, ‘I was not as gracious when my daughter came out to me, but seeing you and Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) have that level of grace with your child lets me know that I can do better.’  I thought, ‘Man if that’s not why you do it.’ It was a beautiful moment. The representation that we get to put into America’s houses on a weekly basis as a black family, supportive and who went through what we went through last year…….folks have been overwhelming in saying, ‘Thank you for showing us someone who cares.’

Q:  What scares you?

SKB:  You know my mom would always say, ‘God did not give me a spirit of fear, but the power of love and a sound mind.’ That’s something I always reiterate. I think a lot of things scare me artistically – if I don’t think I can do it, but then those are the things I’m most drawn to. The fear isn’t something that keeps me moving backward. It’s something I’ve learned to lean into.

Q:  When you were a kid, what were your favorite shows?

SKB:  A lot of Norman Lear, whether it was The Jeffersons or Good TimesAll in the Family. I loved the idea that this dude, Archie Bunker, a total bigot, but they didn’t wash away his humanity.  The flip to him was Fred G. Sanford (Sanford and Son), who freaked out every time he saw a black doctor. It was so ignorant but so real.  Shout out to Norman Lear. He was the guy that made me recognize what this medium could be.

Q: What was the vision you had for yourself as a child – and how has that manifested?

SKB: I had no idea I was going to be an actor.  There was a stigma. What you gon’ do, grow up and wear tights and do Shakespeare. It wasn’t a path I thought would happen. And then I fell in love with it – and it shifted, right?  Still didn’t think it was something I could actively pursue. I went to Stanford as an economics major. I thought I was going to work in investment banking or something like that. I remember writing in a college paper that I wanted to own one of each fast-food company so that I would constantly be in competition with myself. That was my vision for myself – to own Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue and just put hotels on top of them. I would be a slumlord and I would kill it.  I would give something to my family and everybody would be taken care of. It shifted in a way that made me realize that money was important, but it wasn’t the end goal. The end goal was how can I maximize my own joy.  I feel like I’m a lamp. When I go home I try to be the kind of individual that lifts the energy of a room up, instead of bringing it down.

A Quiet Place Part II Has World Premiere in NY



The World Premiere of A QUIET PLACE PART II took place Sunday night at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.  #AQuietPlace


SYNOPSIS
Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.



WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
John Krasinski

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY
Allyson Seeger, Joann Perritano, Aaron Janus

PRODUCED BY
Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, John Krasinski

BASED ON CHARACTERS CREATED BY
 Bryan Woods & Scott Beck

STARRING
Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, and John Krasinski