"Keep Hustlin’," sings one of DJay's prostitutes on the hook of a home-produced track for the mix-tape that is going to change his and his women's lives in Craig Brewer's Hustle and Flow. DJay is played by Terrence Howard who earlier this summer moved audiences in Crash. In Hustle and Flow, he gives a dynamic, piercing, and profoundly true performance as a Memphis pimp who is trying to break into the rap game, in what he views as his last chance to get out of his monotonous rut of a life.
"Keep Hustlin’" accurately describes Mr. Howard's career. This role may indeed garner him an Oscar nomination, but even if it does not, it has allowed one of Hollywood's most underrated actors to finally display his ability to be a compelling lead. Since his first TV movie role in The Jackson: An American Dream, Howard has appeared in nearly 40 movies. His characters have usually had an air of coolness about them, and he has always been impressive with how refreshingly honest and true his roles have come across. Yet only now, at the age of 36 is he starting to get the roles he deserves and acclaim he has earned. He has continue to hustle in the game of Hollywood, delivering dynamism even in supporting roles because he is a craftsman who takes pride in his work, and, because if success was not going to be handed to him on a silver platter, he was damn sure going to have to fight for it. He kept up his hustle and now it is paying off.
Hopefully we can now cross Howard's name off the list of black actors who have yet to reach the pantheon of Denzel, Samuel, Morgan, Will, and Jamie (recently inducted) - those who can regularly get work and good roles. Not sure, but Hotel Rwanda may have inducted Don Cheadle. Next up: Jeffrey Wright.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Throw the Book at Karl Rove
As more information comes out on an almost daily basis regarding the outing of former C.I.A. operative Valery Plame (Wilson), it seems more and more likely that Karl Rove was involved and was, in the least, a partial source of the leak. As Tim Russert pointed out on Meet the Press last Sunday, it is clear by the rules governing the disclosure of classified information by officials with high-level security clearance, Rove's confirmation to Bob Novak and primary sourcing of Matthew Cooper's article constitute improper disclosures. Whether or not this constitutes a violation of the 1982 federal law protecting the identities of our nation's spies is still to be determined.
If it happens that Karl Rove is convicted of improperly revealing the identity of Valery Plame as a C.I.A. operative, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald should look to punish him to the full extent of the law, which allows for 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The reason that I advocate that he throw the book at Karl Rove is because of what no one in the administration is denying, but what they are rather confirming on a daily basis. The leak occurred and happened in conjunction with an official policy to discredit Ambassador Joe Wilson's trip to Niger and his finding's that Iraq had indeed not attempted to purchase enriched uranium from that country as had been previously stated by the President and used by many officials as justifications to go to war. It is this that is so despicably criminal. If Karl Rove did in fact out Ms. Plame, it may not have been in retaliation (as she and her husband claim) but it was certainly motivated by politics and a win-at-any-costs mentality. The intelligence failures of 9/11 brought into the spotlight shortcomings in our human intelligence, that field that Valery Plame used to specialize and serve her country in. It is criminal and treasonous therefore to intentionally or accidentally out a C.I.A. agent for no better reason than to discredit her husband.
Yes, it is perhaps true that Rove made a mistake. This is unlikely given his keen political mind and the White House's initial denial that he had any involvement, a claim that some in the administration had to have known at the time to be untrue. But let's just suppose that he did make a mistake and reveal something he shouldn't have by a mental slip. What still stands is that he did so in the context of trying to discredit someone (who was in fact telling the truth) for political gain. As an official with access to the identities of C.I.A. operatives, Karl Rove must unfortunately be held to a higher standard. His mistakes were costly and under different circumstances might have cost someone their life. It is inexcusable to be to so wrapped up in politics that you let slip to the press secrets whose maintenance are key to the protection of America. If Bush wants to stand firm in the War on Terror, he will fire his political guru, Karl Rove, who either put politics above his country's safety or was so engrossed in winning at politics that the result was the same, he inappropriately let slip a secret that jeopardizes the cloke of secrecy and anonymity protecting our C.I.A. field agents.
If it happens that Karl Rove is convicted of improperly revealing the identity of Valery Plame as a C.I.A. operative, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald should look to punish him to the full extent of the law, which allows for 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The reason that I advocate that he throw the book at Karl Rove is because of what no one in the administration is denying, but what they are rather confirming on a daily basis. The leak occurred and happened in conjunction with an official policy to discredit Ambassador Joe Wilson's trip to Niger and his finding's that Iraq had indeed not attempted to purchase enriched uranium from that country as had been previously stated by the President and used by many officials as justifications to go to war. It is this that is so despicably criminal. If Karl Rove did in fact out Ms. Plame, it may not have been in retaliation (as she and her husband claim) but it was certainly motivated by politics and a win-at-any-costs mentality. The intelligence failures of 9/11 brought into the spotlight shortcomings in our human intelligence, that field that Valery Plame used to specialize and serve her country in. It is criminal and treasonous therefore to intentionally or accidentally out a C.I.A. agent for no better reason than to discredit her husband.
Yes, it is perhaps true that Rove made a mistake. This is unlikely given his keen political mind and the White House's initial denial that he had any involvement, a claim that some in the administration had to have known at the time to be untrue. But let's just suppose that he did make a mistake and reveal something he shouldn't have by a mental slip. What still stands is that he did so in the context of trying to discredit someone (who was in fact telling the truth) for political gain. As an official with access to the identities of C.I.A. operatives, Karl Rove must unfortunately be held to a higher standard. His mistakes were costly and under different circumstances might have cost someone their life. It is inexcusable to be to so wrapped up in politics that you let slip to the press secrets whose maintenance are key to the protection of America. If Bush wants to stand firm in the War on Terror, he will fire his political guru, Karl Rove, who either put politics above his country's safety or was so engrossed in winning at politics that the result was the same, he inappropriately let slip a secret that jeopardizes the cloke of secrecy and anonymity protecting our C.I.A. field agents.
Take Notes from Natalie Portman
In 1994 Natalie Portman burst onto the acting scene with her performance in the critically acclaimed Leon (The Professional). The cast included such talents as Jean Reno, Danny Aiell0 and Gary Oldman. Ms. Portman was only thirteen when the movie debuted with an entire future ahead of her that could see superstardom, multi-millions, countless awards, failure, or mediocrity. To her and her parent's credit, they chose to make Portman a superstar not only for her good looks and appeal to young girls but more importantly for her tremendous talent that was developed and nurtured over her subsequent films.
In the past year, she has been featured in three hit movies, Garden State, Closer, and Star Was: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. During this span she has won a Golden Globe and received her first Oscar nomination, losing in a toss-up to Cate Blanchett (who had been nominated previously). But how has she made the transition from unknown actress with a breakout performance at age thirteen to credible and recognized adult actress in just over a decade? The road she has traveled has been well selected and other young actresses and actors would be wise to take notes.
As opposed to pursuing projects that would be Natalie Portman vehicles or trying to establish her brand name as a teenage powerhouse, she early on took on roles that were smaller than the one she had in Leon. Among the roles, some were challenging, some were not, and most of the films were not extremely commercially successful. However, what was consistent about the films that she chose was that she was working with talented, established actors whom she would presumably be networking with and learning from.
After Leon, the next big film she did was Michael Mann's 1995 crime drama, Heat, that had an essemble cast that included: Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Jon Voight, Mykelti Williamson, and, biggest of all, the first ever scene pairing of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. She continued to select scripts that had in many cases essemble casts. Thus, she has subsequently also worked with: Woody Allen, Tim Roth, Ed Norton, Alan Alda, Julia Roberts, Annette Bening, Jack Nicholson, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Susan Sarandon, Stockard Channing, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger (to name only those with Oscar nominations). The roles she has chosen have been safe to the extent that she was not the main star for most of them, but the characters have been very mature for their age. This last point is key because it is often times difficult for successful child actors to transition into successful adult actors. One need only recollect Macaulay Culkin or look at the Olsen twins' and Lindsay Lohan's current struggles to see this. Portman however was already playing older roles as a teen (indeed her first was a very mature one). But working with those greats must have given her an education in acting equal to if not surpassing the one she received at Harvard.
The final smart thing she did was to sign on to the three picture deal that was George Lucas' latest trilogy installment of the Star Wars saga. These movies were assured to be box office hits (even if they did not receive raved reviews). This decision meant that she could take chances because there would be three films over 6 years that were sure to be huge events putting her name right back in the headlines each time.
Portman in the interim has also graduated high school and college (Harvard) and is now one of the hottest and most talented young actresses in Hollywood. She is much further along the path to securing a long career with meaningful roles as a female than some of her contemporaries such as Kirsten Dunst, Anna Paquin, and Christina Ricci. So for those young actresses looking to do what Portman has, take roles where the character is very mature for her age. Tend to adult movies rather than kids movies. Do as many films with great actors as possible even if the films themselves are not great. And finally, don't forget that you are making a name for yourself, so it is important to do a blockbuster every now and again; think: Scarlett Johansson doing The Island.
In the past year, she has been featured in three hit movies, Garden State, Closer, and Star Was: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. During this span she has won a Golden Globe and received her first Oscar nomination, losing in a toss-up to Cate Blanchett (who had been nominated previously). But how has she made the transition from unknown actress with a breakout performance at age thirteen to credible and recognized adult actress in just over a decade? The road she has traveled has been well selected and other young actresses and actors would be wise to take notes.
As opposed to pursuing projects that would be Natalie Portman vehicles or trying to establish her brand name as a teenage powerhouse, she early on took on roles that were smaller than the one she had in Leon. Among the roles, some were challenging, some were not, and most of the films were not extremely commercially successful. However, what was consistent about the films that she chose was that she was working with talented, established actors whom she would presumably be networking with and learning from.
After Leon, the next big film she did was Michael Mann's 1995 crime drama, Heat, that had an essemble cast that included: Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Jon Voight, Mykelti Williamson, and, biggest of all, the first ever scene pairing of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. She continued to select scripts that had in many cases essemble casts. Thus, she has subsequently also worked with: Woody Allen, Tim Roth, Ed Norton, Alan Alda, Julia Roberts, Annette Bening, Jack Nicholson, Liam Neeson, Samuel L. Jackson, Susan Sarandon, Stockard Channing, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger (to name only those with Oscar nominations). The roles she has chosen have been safe to the extent that she was not the main star for most of them, but the characters have been very mature for their age. This last point is key because it is often times difficult for successful child actors to transition into successful adult actors. One need only recollect Macaulay Culkin or look at the Olsen twins' and Lindsay Lohan's current struggles to see this. Portman however was already playing older roles as a teen (indeed her first was a very mature one). But working with those greats must have given her an education in acting equal to if not surpassing the one she received at Harvard.
The final smart thing she did was to sign on to the three picture deal that was George Lucas' latest trilogy installment of the Star Wars saga. These movies were assured to be box office hits (even if they did not receive raved reviews). This decision meant that she could take chances because there would be three films over 6 years that were sure to be huge events putting her name right back in the headlines each time.
Portman in the interim has also graduated high school and college (Harvard) and is now one of the hottest and most talented young actresses in Hollywood. She is much further along the path to securing a long career with meaningful roles as a female than some of her contemporaries such as Kirsten Dunst, Anna Paquin, and Christina Ricci. So for those young actresses looking to do what Portman has, take roles where the character is very mature for her age. Tend to adult movies rather than kids movies. Do as many films with great actors as possible even if the films themselves are not great. And finally, don't forget that you are making a name for yourself, so it is important to do a blockbuster every now and again; think: Scarlett Johansson doing The Island.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Rize
Don't confuse gettin crunk with gettin krump. The former owing its origins to southern slang is about livening the mood and making things exciting. The latter refers to a dance form that along with clowning is the subject of David LaChapelle's documentary "Rize." As the story goes, LaChapelle was shooting Christina Aguilera's "Dirty" music video when he was introduced to dancers who were doing something wholly unique and ultimately more interesting than his current project. He wrapped the shoot with overflowing excitement because he could now investigate what he had only caught a glimpse of, the new and original dance style known as krumping.
"Rize" is a terrific documentary because in it, unlike the style made multi-million-dollar-successful by Michael Moore, LaChapelle does not editorialize. This film is about capturing this social movement - expressed through dance - that has taken hold in the violence-ravaged hoods of Los Angeles from South Central to Watts. The movie opens against a backdrop of urban upheaval and feelings of powerlessness and disgruntledness as manifested through the Watts riots and the Rodney King Riots some thirty years later. However, as we hear the stories of the dancers as they explain how and why they got involved with clowning or krumping, what becomes apparent is that the real backdrop that this art form is set against is the gang violence in their midst every day, their very own Baghdad. The pink elephant in the film is that these kids are born into an existence where their life chances are low, one to two mistakes or bad breaks away from death, but no hope of success - not what we associate with America and its dream.
It is in this suffocating void that krumping and clowning evolved. In the place of drug gangs, the kids have formed dance gangs if you will. The dance movements rely heavily on popping, commonly associated with strippers, and in various expressions pull from other recent popular black dance forms such as Crip walking and the Harlem shake. The flailing of the dancers as they twerk their bodies violently and at extreme angles is a cathartic release of extreme emotion. Feelings of distress, anger, longing, hate, love, violence are all channeled through the movements of the bodies and communicate as effectively as ballet. And what is so beautiful about this therapy is that for all of its showiness and threat of violence against the opposing dancer, in the end, it is about dance and when a battle is finished it is finished.
"Rize" at its core shows that artistic creativity is bubbling below the surface in various marginalized communities in the face of the years of reducing funding for the arts. "Rize" shows how faith and youth culture have melded to give young people a sense of hope, purpose and direction. "Rize" shows that even under unrelenting duress, like air, still the people rize.
"Rize" is a terrific documentary because in it, unlike the style made multi-million-dollar-successful by Michael Moore, LaChapelle does not editorialize. This film is about capturing this social movement - expressed through dance - that has taken hold in the violence-ravaged hoods of Los Angeles from South Central to Watts. The movie opens against a backdrop of urban upheaval and feelings of powerlessness and disgruntledness as manifested through the Watts riots and the Rodney King Riots some thirty years later. However, as we hear the stories of the dancers as they explain how and why they got involved with clowning or krumping, what becomes apparent is that the real backdrop that this art form is set against is the gang violence in their midst every day, their very own Baghdad. The pink elephant in the film is that these kids are born into an existence where their life chances are low, one to two mistakes or bad breaks away from death, but no hope of success - not what we associate with America and its dream.
It is in this suffocating void that krumping and clowning evolved. In the place of drug gangs, the kids have formed dance gangs if you will. The dance movements rely heavily on popping, commonly associated with strippers, and in various expressions pull from other recent popular black dance forms such as Crip walking and the Harlem shake. The flailing of the dancers as they twerk their bodies violently and at extreme angles is a cathartic release of extreme emotion. Feelings of distress, anger, longing, hate, love, violence are all channeled through the movements of the bodies and communicate as effectively as ballet. And what is so beautiful about this therapy is that for all of its showiness and threat of violence against the opposing dancer, in the end, it is about dance and when a battle is finished it is finished.
"Rize" at its core shows that artistic creativity is bubbling below the surface in various marginalized communities in the face of the years of reducing funding for the arts. "Rize" shows how faith and youth culture have melded to give young people a sense of hope, purpose and direction. "Rize" shows that even under unrelenting duress, like air, still the people rize.
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