Director Spike Lee Has His Red Hook Summer by Brad Balfour When New York-based director Spike Lee makes a film, it’s almost always an event. That’s been the case virtually from the moment he emerged as a hot young indie filmmaker breaking both the color barrier by dealing with subject matter most mainstream directors neither touched … Continue reading
Wilmer Valderrama Don’t Mess With the Fez by Ronald Sklar Actor Wilmer Valderrama lends his distinctive voice to an anti-bullying campaign. As Fez on That 70s Show, Wilmer Valderrama played the funniest nerd who ever lived (“It takes a nerd to create a Fez,” he tells me). However, we all know that playing — and even being — a nerd … Continue reading
Wendell Pierce Doing God’s Will in New Orleans by Jay S. Jacobs Sometimes life can be going so well and suddenly almost everything you have ever known is completely torn apart. Take Wendell Pierce. He had long toiled to become a respected actor, appearing in films such as Waiting to Exhale, Sleepers, Get on the Bus, … Continue reading
D.B. Sweeney Takes Us Down to Paradise City by Jay S. Jacobs As so often happens, the germ of the idea for actor D.B. Sweeney’s writing and directing debut Two Tickets to Paradise came from a real life experience. In fact, it was a drunken road trip down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with his brother that … Continue reading
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA (2008) Starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Naomi Campbell and John Turturro. Screenplay by James McBride. Directed by Spike Lee. Distributed by Touchstone Pictures. 160 minutes. Rated R. Miracle at St. Anna is director Spike Lee’s response … Continue reading
Spike Lee Knows What It Means to Miss New Orleans by Jay S. Jacobs Spike Lee has experienced many things in the twenty years since he exploded out of NYU with She’s Gotta Have It and Do the Right Thing. His films have looked unflinchingly at some of the most polarizing subjects of modern life; race relations, drug abuse, … Continue reading
INSIDE MAN (2006) Starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Christopher Plummer, Willem Defoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Kim Director, James Ransone, Bernie Rachelle, Peter Gerety, Victor Collochio, Cassandra Freeman, Peter Frechette and Gerry Vichi. Screenplay by Russell Gewirtz. Directed by Spike Lee. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 129 minutes. Rated R. While it is … Continue reading
MICHAEL RAPAPORT THE WAR ON TELEVISION by JAY S. JACOBS Michael Rapaport is one of the best color guys in show business. It’s rare that he gets the lead role, but when a director needs a legitimate, colorful, smart working-class guy for the second or third role, they dial up Rapaport. He has been the … Continue reading
RICHARD PRICE BETTER THAN FICTION BY RONALD SKLAR If Richard Price’s life story were made into a movie, you would accuse the joint of being too far-fetched. But, as the old cliché goes, truth is stranger than fiction. Price came up in a Bronx housing project, but his gift for writing gained him entrance into the … Continue reading
PopEntertainmentblog.com 