Hip Hop Caucus Tribute to Benjamin Hooks (1925-2010)

See the full tribute at Hip Hop Caucus.
Civil Rights leader and former head of the NAACP, Benjamin Hooks, was a lawyer, minister, and activist. Hooks passed at his home in Memphis, TN on Thursday, April 15th. He was 85 years old.

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▌CONTROVERSY ▌MEET JANE GOLDMAN: Everybody Loves A Hit Girl!*

(*That is, except for Roger Ebert.)

Anywho!

Check the interview Women & Hollywood did with the scribe responsible for that punchy, kick booty tween!

Jane Goldman doesn't really care if you don't like 11-year-old, Hit Girl. In so many words, she tells W&H, that's why it's rated R--if you don't like it, don't go see it!

To the masses' naïveté (or maybe it's more wishful thinking? Idealist thinking?): what 11 year olds have you known?

I won't get too soapy, but let me just say this--if you could've been a fly on the wall my 6th grade year...all your sugar and spice illusions would've flown out the window a long time ago.

Annnnd...not much has changed since then. 

I think the frustration enters where presumptions about how little girls "should" be clashes with how and where we think art "should" and "shouldn't" imitate life.

Personally, I can't offer any opinion yet on whether Hit Girl's going to be a good or bad thing, but it does kinda sound like Hit Girl's going to own every minute of her pre-pubescent maturity and adult themes. 

And I CAN'T WAIT to see this movie!

Just saying.

Here's my money shot from Jane Goldman, and trust there are many, so DO read in full HERE:

"Often, when you have all that girls and guns nonsense it’s such a sexualized thing and it doesn’t really help any woman’s benefit. And I think that is what fascinated me about Hit Girl being so young. You’ve removed all of that sexualized stuff and what you’ve just got is a genuinely scary little anti-hero. She’s a real little female Han Solo, in a way that you couldn’t do if she was 18."

Kick Ass opens today. It is rated R.

CANNES: ALAS! Is this the fleeting Black face in the running for top prize??

As a part of the 101 crowd myself, I'm only surmising, but the gentleman smiling back at you could be the first Black face--no matter what part of the Diaspora--to pop a film into Cannes with top billing from the fest.

The "In Competition" category is pretty hot and bothersome, hence the reason (albeit an awful one) there have been no faces of African heritage in contention in more than a decade.

A Screaming Man, brought to you by Chadian director, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, could be the first "serious" entrant--with this much melanin--in more than a minute.

Check Shadow & Act for the details and surmisings. And somebody let me know if he's "the one" everyone's been waiting for--iight?

NO GIRLS ALLOWED? : Cannes Lineup Announced

Here's an interesting point as you peruse the Cannes features: No lady directors to speak of. I guess there's color at least, right...?

{super sadface}

Read the full article aqui via THR.




In Competition
"Another Year," Mike Leigh (U.K.)
"Biutiful," Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Spain, Mexico)
"Burnt by the Sun 2," Nikita Mikhalkov (Germany, France, Russia)
"Certified Copy," Abbas Kiarostami (France, Italy, Iran)
"Fair Game," Doug Liman (U.S.)
"Hors-la-loi," Rachid Bouchareb (France, Belgium, Algeria)
"The Housemaid," Im Sang-soo (South Korea)
"La nostra vita," Daniele Luchetti (Italy, France)
"La Princesse de Montpensier," Bertrand Tavernier (France)
"Of Gods and Men," Xavier Beauvois (France)
"Outrage," Takeshi Kitano (Japan)
"Poetry," Lee Chang-dong (South Korea)
"A Screaming Man," Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (France, Belgium, Chad)
"Tournee," Mathieu Amalric (France)
"Uncle Boonmee who can Recall his Past Lives," Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Spain, Thailand, Germany, U.K.-France)
"You, My Joy," Sergey Loznitsa (Ukraine, Germany)

Un Certain Regard
"Adrienn Pal," Agnes Kocsis (Hungary, Netherlands, France, Austria)
"Aurora," Cristi Puiu (Romania)
"Blue Valentine," Derek Cianfrance (U.S.)
"Chatroom," Hideo Nakata (U.K.)
"Chongqing Blues," Wang Xiaoshuai (China)
"The City Below," Christoph Hochhausler (Germany, France)
"Film Socialisme," Jean-Luc Godard (Switzerland, France)
"Ha Ha Ha," Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
"Les Amours imaginaires," Xavier Dolan (Canada)
"Life Above All," Oliver Schmitz (France)
"Los labios," Ivan Fund, Santiago Loza (Argentina)
"Octubre," Daniel Vega (Peru)
"Qu'est-il Arrive a Simon Werner?" Fabrice Gobert (France)
"Rebecca H.," Lodge Kerrigan (France)
"R U There," David Verbeek (Taiwan)
"The Strange Case of Angelica," Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal)
"Tuesday, After Christmas," Radu Muntean (Romania)
"Udaan," Vikramaditya Motwane (India)

Out of Competition
"Robin Hood," Ridley Scott (U.S., U.K.)
"Tamara Drewe," Stephen Frears (U.K.)
"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," Oliver Stone (U.S.)
"You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," Woody Allen (U.K., Spain)

Midnight Screenings
"Kaboom," Gregg Araki (U.S., France)
"L'autre mMonde," Gilles Marchand (France)

Special screenings
"Abel," Diego Luna (Mexico)
"Chantrapas," Otar Iosseliani (France)
"Draquila -- L'Italia Che Trema," Sabina Guzzanti (Italy)
"Inside Job," Charles Ferguson (U.S.)
"Nostalgia de la Luz," Patricio Guzman (France)
"Over Your Cities Grass will Grow," Sophie Fiennes (Netherlands)

Competition jury

Tim Burton, president

Alberto Barbera

Kate Beckinsale

Emmanuel Carre

Benicio Del Toro

Victor Erice

Shekhar Kapur

Giovanna Mezzogiorno

noSURPRISES: HBO is sold on NOLA-inspired 'Treme'

Read the full article here via The Hollywood Reporter.

In the meantime, peep creator, David Simon's ('The Wire'), interview with Stephen Colbert last week.

David Simon describes his new HBO show, "Treme," as "Glee," but with a few more black people. (05:56)

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
David Simon
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Tune in TONIGHT! Double Down Film Show LIVE from NAB in Las Vegas!

Just because I haven't been reminding you, DOESN'T mean you've had the liberty not to tune in. 

As is the case every WEDNESDAY at 9:00P, Pete Chatmon and Anthony Artis are, literally, giving you the most priceless information no one else is going to tell you, Aspiring Filmmaker. (Check out Pete Chatmon on WeResistSimple.com and keep up with the Double 7 Film World community here.)

Here are three ways to tune in:

Log on to www.blogtalkradio.com/doubledownfilmshow

Listen in via phone at 646-929-1956

Download the podcast from iTunes (then you can rate and comment on the wonderfulness!)

Don't miss out, fam. Learn more about the National Association of Broadcasters and the awesomeness that is the 2010 Conference by following @NABShow on Twitter, and joining via http://www.NAB.org.

WEDNESDAY, April 14th @ 9pm EST

Listen in LIVE from your computer here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doubledownfilmshow

Or listen in from your phone @ 646-929-1956

**********************************************************

Co-host Anthony Artis is in Las Vegas for NAB [National Association of Broadcasters' Annual Conference] doing yet another sold-out presentation. In between dropping those practical tips that we've become known for, Ant has made the rounds on the NAB floor, talking to folks from CANON, VARIZOOM, PANASONIC, GO PRO HERO and several other great companies. Just because you can't make it out to one of the biggest electronics shows in the world, doesn't mean you can't "almost" be there. Tune in to the Double Down Film Show for the exclusive access you deserve!  

PAUSE: 'Blind Side' Star Never Met Michael Oher?

Quinton Aaron--who was supposed to be the actual star of 'The Blind Side'--never met the dude whose life was being made into a movie. (I love you Sandra, and I'm really sorry about El--you deserve better--but geezpineesh!)

It's cool, though. Baltimore Ravens' offensive tackle Michael Oher never saw the movie or read the book about himself either. Read the full story here.

The two are planning a meeting now, however, according to TMZ. And Aaron has some words about HWD already. Hear why he's going free agent at What The Flick -- click me!

PHIDEO: The Future is Now (via B&H)

In this snippet, B&H talk to crossover artist, Vincent Laforet. Laforet started in photography [things I WISH I'da had sense enough to know in undergrad {dot} com!] and with the evolution of still and video camera technology that brings photography's crisp finish to HD video, he's become a 'Phideo'-phile. 

It would be wrong if you didn't check out the whole feature in B&H's Interactive Student Buyer Guide. The rest of the article features some equipment you NEED TO KNOW about if you plan to hop on the Phideo movement (p. 34-35).

▌ROUNDtheWAYroundUP ▌DMV Fest Goodness

It's the most wonderful time of the year--for DMV filmmakers and screenwriters! Here are three reasons why you need to get up off that script and MOVE!

1) 2010 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest 

The first Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest took place on Sat. July 26, 2008 in Washington DC's Marvin Gaye Park and has become an annual tradition in the community. The event features artists from the Washington DC metro area and beyond. The Fest is looking for performers and vendors NOW! Selected acts will be notified in May. LiberatedMuse members get a $50 vending fee. Send all inquiries and artist EPKs to CapitalHipHopSoulFest@gmail.com, and join the Fest's social networking arm via CapitalHipHopSoulFest.ning.com. Follow @CapHipHopSoul on Twitter!

2) DMV International Film Fest (DMVIFF)

The First Annual DMVIFF 2010 is June 25th-30th!
DMVIFF selects 25-50 Feature Films and 15-30 Short films to play in one of 5 Festival programs. "We strive to keep our selection process as fair and democratic as possible, all films are viewed in their entirety. Films that are selected to be in one of our five competition programs are eligible for Jury Prizes in their respective categories. Eligibility requirements for each competition program vary." Learn more about Fest Founder, Tanecia Britt, and the First Annual DMV International Film Fest at www.DMVIFF.com, and become an active member of the Fest's social networking community at www.DMVFilmFest.ning.com to stay up to date about upcoming events in advance of the summer fest. Check out this event from DMVIFF coming April 22, 2010 (the day before SOMEone's born-day...)

DMV International Film Festival presents "The Greenhouse Effect" Music Showcase 

Pure Lounge

April 22, 2010 

8P - 2A 

$10 before Midnight

18+ to enter

Hosted by MINDSTREAM RADIO's Adam Butler

Learn more at http://www.dmvfilmfest.ning.com/, and Follow @DMVIFF on Twitter!

DMVIFF Teaser from Tanecia Britt on Vimeo.

3) DC Shorts Film Festival & Screenplay Competition 2010

The DC Shorts Film Festival (September 9-16, 2010) turns the spotlight on truly independent short films, created by new and established filmmakers in an era when the art of filmmaking is opening to all. We select films of every genre and niche for our competition screenings — with a special focus on films created by metropolitan Washington, DC-based directors and writers. The DC Shorts Screenplay Competition (October 2010) is a very different kind of screenwriting competition. A panel of judges consisting of filmmakers, screenwriters and critics will review and provide coverage (feedback) for scripts of 15 pages or less. 5 - 7 finalists will be featured during ScriptDC — a weekend of screenwriting events for DC regional writer and filmmakers, where their scripts will be read in front of a live audience — and one will walk away with $2,000 to shoot their project! FINAL DEADLINE: MAY 15TH for FILMS, and MAY 31ST for SCRIPTS! Follow @DCShorts on Twitter!Learn more at www.DCShorts.com.