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UserpicGolden Globes Recap
Posted by Kam Williams
13.01.2014

2014 Golden Globes Recap

by Kam Williams

 

American Hustle Lands a Trio of Trophies

Abscam Comedy Emerges as Early Oscar Favorite  

            The Hollywood Foreign Press Association staged its 71st Annual Golden Globes in Beverly Hills on Sunday evening, with SNL alumna Tina Fey and Amy Poehler again sharing the hosting duties. The night’s big winner was American Hustle for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) as well as Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence for Best Lead and Supporting Actress, respectively.

            Going into the event, Hustle and 12 Years a Slave shared all the Oscar buzz by virtue of their having landed the most Golden Globe nominations (7 each). But 12 Years has definitely now lost momentum, despite prevailing in the coveted Best Picture (Drama) category only.

            As for the show, emcees Fey and Poehler again proved to be more celebrity-friendly than their relatively-irreverent predecessor, Ricky Gervais. The pair’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor ranged from Fey’s praise of August: Osage County as proof that “there are still great parts in Hollywood for Meryl Streeps over 60” to Poehler’s crediting “12 Years a Slave” for changing the way she feels about slavery.

            They teased conspicuously-absent Woody Allen for winning the award “for the tiniest man with the biggest glasses,” since the similarly-diminutive and power-framed Martin Scorcese had previously accepted the lifetime achievement accolade. Meanwhile, during the telecast, Woody’s son Ronan was busy tweeting a reminder that his sister Dylan had recently gone public for the first time about her having been molested by their father at the age of 7.

            As far as profanity, a few foul-mouthed winners had to be bleeped, although in the case of Jacqueline Bisset the very busy NBC censors were too slow on the button and let the S-word slip out over the airwaves. They also belatedly edited Fey’s raunchy suggestion “Like a supermodel’s vagina, let’s all give a warm welcome to Leonardo DiCaprio,” although they apparently had no problem with her running joke about prosthetic penises.

            But enough about this self-indulgent, alcohol-fueled preamble to the Academy Awards, it’s on to The Oscars!  

Complete List of 2014 Golden Globe Winners

Film

Best Picture, Drama: "12 Years a Slave"

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy "American Hustle"

Best Actor, Drama: Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Actress, Drama: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams, "American Hustle"

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"

Best Foreign Language Film: "The Great Beauty" (Italy)

Best Animated Film: "Frozen"

Best Screenplay: Spike Jonze, "Her"

Best Original Score: "All Is Lost"

Best Original Song: "Ordinary Love" "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"

TELEVISION

Best Series, Drama: "Breaking Bad"

Best Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Best Actress, Drama: Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Best Series, Musical or Comedy: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Andy Samberg, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Best Miniseries or Movie: "Behind the Candelabra"

Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake"

Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra"

Best Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jacqueline Bisset, "Dancing on the Edge"

Best Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"

CECIL B. DeMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Woody Allen


Interviews
UserpicWronged Role Model Discusses Restoring Her Reputation
Posted by Kam Williams
12.01.2014

Shirley Sherrod

The “Martin Luther King Awards Dinner” Interview
with Kam Williams

           
Shirley Sherrod is best known as the African-American government official fired in 2010 by the Obama administration for allegedly making racist remarks about a white farmer. However, a right-wing blogger had edited a video of her remarks to create that false impression.

 

Shortly after being dismissed as the Georgia USDA State Director of Rural Development she was cleared by the administration, and President Obama apologized to her. Nevertheless, she decided to not return, opting instead to write a book her autobiography, “The Courage to Hope: How I Stood Up to the Politics of Fear.”

When Shirley was 17, her father was killed by a white man in Georgia but no charges were ever lodged. A cross was burned in their yard shortly thereafter. The death of her father fostered her lifelong commitment to fight for the civil rights of poor and minority farmers.

She is currently a leader of the Southwest Georgia Project, an organization she helped start years ago. The organization works primarily with female farmers, trying to get more women involved in agriculture, and also marketing vegetables to local school systems.

In 2011, under the leadership of Shirley and her husband, Charles, New Communities, an agricultural cooperative modeled after the Israeli Kibbutz concept, bought a large farm in Georgia. They are establishing an agricultural training center there, as well as a program bringing local blacks and whites together in partnership to promote racial healing.

 

In a famous quote from Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago notes that, "Who steals my purse, steals trash… But he that filches from me my good name… makes me poor indeed.” Here, Shirley talks about the tarnishing and restoration of her reputation, and also about delivering the keynote speech at the 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner in Glen Burnie, MD on Friday, January 17. [Tickets may be purchased by phone at 410-760-4115 or at www.mlkmd.org.]

 

 

Kam Williams: Hi Ms. Sherrod. I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.

Shirley Sherrod: Thank you, Kam.

 

KW: You’re delivering the keynote speech at the annual dinner in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. What did Dr. King mean to you?

SS: Well, Dr. King has long been my hero. I didn’t get to work with him much, but my husband did in the early years. Dr. King gave his life, really, to the struggle for everyone. And he believed in non-violence. That’s what I’ve tried to do in terms of my life and my work, following the teachings of God.

 

KW: In your biography, you talk about how your father was murdered by a white man when you were 17. How did that tragedy shape you?

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Jamesy Boy
Film Review by Kam Williams

James Burns (Spencer Lofranco) ended up behind bars in spite of his frustrated mother’s (Mary-Louise Parker) best efforts to keep him on the straight and narrow path. When he was 14, she took him down to the police station for a good talking to after she found a pistol in his possession.

But that early intervention failed to scare the cocky juvenile straight, and he would join a street gang setting up shop in his suburban Denver neighborhood. Eventually, the law caught up with James and, tried as an adult, he was convicted of vandalism, robbery and assault before being shipped off to a maximum security penitentiary where he immediately found his manhood being challenged at every turn.

He soon landed in trouble with a security guard (James Woods) for coming to the assistance of another newcomer (Ben Rosenfield) being picked on by a hardened con (Taboo) looking for trouble. And he was warned that continued fighting was likely to jeopardize his chances of getting off early for good behavior to be reunited with the girl of his dreams (Taissa Farmiga).

James finally finds inspiration in an unlikely friendship forged with a fellow inmate (Ving Rhames) doing life for murder. Wise old Conrad takes the kid under his wing, convincing him to find another outlet for the aggressive urge to retaliate. “Keep writing,” he suggests upon learning of James’ love of poetry. “It doesn’t even matter if it’s good or not.”

That is the pivotal plot development in Jamesy Boy, a fact-based tale of redemption marking the noteworthy directorial and scriptwriting debut of Trevor White. While the overcoming-the-odds biopic might not break any new ground in terms of the genre, it makes up in earnestness what it might lack in originality, thanks to a talented cast which includes veterans Ving Rhames, Mary-Louise Parker and James Woods as well as fresh faces Spencer Lofranco, Taissa Farmiga (Vera’s sister) and hip-hop star Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas.

The picture’s postscript informs the audience that the real-life James Burns, now 25, lives in New York City where he studied poetry in college. A modern morality play about a young felon who, after paying his debt to society, left the slammer rehabilitated with more of a fondness for rhyme than robbery.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 109 minutes

Distributor: Phase 4 Films


Black Coffee
Film Review by Kam Williams

Robert’s (Darrin Dewitt Henson) whole world collapses the day he’s fired from the business founded by his late father only to come home to an unsympathetic girlfriend (Erica Hubbard) who has decided to dump him because he can’t afford to take care of her. To add insult to injury, Mita drops the bomb that she’s been cheating on him with Nate (Josh Ventura), the guy who just terminated him.

But the jilted housepainter isn’t down in the dumps for long, since he soon crosses paths with Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis), a gorgeous attorney he falls head-over-heels for at first sight. The available divorcee happens to be moving into a drab office that’s crying out for a makeover, a condition which conveniently dovetails with housepainter Robert’s need for a job.

He closes the deal by offering the “pretty woman discount,” so it looks like clear sailing at first blush. Not so fast, Kimosabe, since the tired-and-true modus operandi of the stock romantic comedy is to keep the leading man and woman apart until the very end when they disappear into the sunset together.

Such is the case with Black Coffee, a pleasant, if predictable affair written and directed by Mark Harris (Black Butterfly). For, every time Robert and Morgan appear ready to take the relationship to a deeper level, a monkey wrench is thrown into the works, like the return of her ex-husband (Lamman Rucker) who wants to reconcile.

Too bad much of the dialogue strains credulity here, such as Morgan’s cruel cross-examination of Robert when she asks whether he can read, why black people always have to talk while they’re working, and whether he’s a man of God. Of course, the perfect gentleman passes the test with flying colors, but isn’t there a less antagonistic method for a sister to find her soul mate?

A pat, if unconvincing, romantic romp determined to march inexorably to an implausible, happily ever after finale, whether you like it or not.

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG for mild epithets, sexual references and mature themes

Running time: 85 minutes

Distributor: RLJ Entertainment


Reviews
UserpicThe Global Obama (BOOK REVIEW)
Posted by Kam Williams
08.01.2014

The Global Obama

Crossroads of Leadership in the 21st Century

Edited by Dinesh Sharma and Uwe P. Gielen

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Routledge Books

Paperback, $59.95

364 pages

ISBN: 978-1-84872-626-0

“Barack Obama [has] garnered higher approval ratings in most parts of the world than in the United States. What a paradox. The first black president, loved by people around the world, yet struggling for approval for his policies at home—whether it be the healthcare initiative, the stimulus to bail out the economy, or his ‘leading from behind’ on foreign policies.

We wanted to explore the stark contrast between Obama’s popularity abroad and his suboptimal ratings at home… Why the inverse correlation between the public image at home versus abroad?

You can’t be a prophet in your own land, Obama suggested… Thus, the idea was hatched to publish The Global Obama… It is only appropriate that we try to grasp the total Obama…

Clearly, part of Obama’s worldwide appeal is due to his international biography… Barack Hussein Obama’s rise from his early life as a multiracial and multicultural outsider in a broken family… to assuming the world’s most powerful executive position is as improbable as it is global in its trajectory and in its implications for the evolving 21st Century.

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