Discussion & News
Filmmaker Wants to Kick Hollywood’s Doors Open For Aspiring Actors
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Contributing Writer) First Detroit, then Hollywood, Washington D.C and the world. Before long, if the president of 25th Frame Films has anything to do with it, his company will be charting its own path towards the type of success no others have yet achieved. Queens, New York native and accomplished…
Read MoreUK Directors of Color Also Seeking Better Opportunities in the USA
By Sergio, Shadow and Act We all are well aware of the alleged “Great Black British Actor Invasion” here in the U.S., with UK born and trained actors such as David Oyelowo, Idris Elba, Thandie Newton, Lenny James, Naomi Harris, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and David Harewood among many others, winning prominent supporting and leading roles in…
Read MorePrudential partners with the American Black Film Festival and Acclaimed Actress Tasha Smith to bring acting workshop to Newark residents
This month, Prudential Financial, Inc partnered with the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), The Newark Office of Film and Television (NOFT), and acclaimed actress and director Tasha Smith to assist local aspiring actors in honing their craft by bringing the Tasha Smith Actor’s Workshop (TSAW) to Newark’s Ironbound Film and Television Studios (Ironbound Studios) on…
Read MoreAward-Winning Screenwriter Uses Crowdfunding Campaign to Change Hollywood’s Ideal of Beauty to Include PLUS-SIZE women
Michael Elliot Media announced a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com to fund a new romantic comedy that will feature a plus-size actress as the primary love interest in the film. The campaign is being called Project Plus-Size Movie Star. “The media, especially television and film, significantly affects how and what we think,” Michael Elliot, an award-winning…
Read MoreMapping Brutality: How Last Year’s ‘Belle’ Perfectly Explains White America’s Response to Racism
By Shannon M. Houston, Shadow and Act Last year, Ava DuVernay’s film “Selma” was the award-winning picture that seemed to most aptly highlight the similarities between 1965 America and the country’s climate in 2014. The violence leading up to the official march from Selma to Montgomery was easily contrasted with the violence subjected upon protesters…
Read MoreFakeness Tarnishes Hip Hop
By Jineea Butler Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson recently filed for bankruptcy and testified in court that despite his flashy public persona, he is only worth $4.4 million. LOL. Not that there is anything wrong with that. The dilemma is the art of the illusion. So often we see Hip Hop personalities fabricate their status to…
Read MoreThe Colorism of Race: Bill Duke
By Mary L. Datcher, Special from The Chicago Defender Bill Duke is one of America’s most prolific actors and directors as he continues to capture the topics that challenge people to think consciously on social issues. His latest project, Light Girls, is a documentary film and book as a follow-up to his Dark Girls film based…
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