Rosie Perez
The “Handbook for an Unpredictable Life” Interview
with Kam Williams
Everything’s Coming Up Rosie!
Rosie Maria Perez was born on September 6, 1964 in Bushwick, Brooklyn where she was raised in a Catholic orphanage after being abandoned by her mom and taken from her aunt. She made a most memorable screen debut as Spike Lee’s girlfriend, Tina, in Do the Right Thing, and later landed an Oscar-nomination for a nonpareil performance in Fearless. Her many other credits include White Men Can't Jump, Won’t Back Down and The Counselor.
Rosie serves as the Artistic Chair of Urban Arts Partnership and sits on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Here, she talks about her career and her autobiography, “Handbook for an Unpredictable Life.”
Kam Williams: Hi Rosie. I’m honored to have this chance to speak with you.
Rosie Perez: Absolutely, Kam.
KW: I really enjoyed the book!
RP: Oh, you’re one of the few journalists who actually read it before speaking to me. That’s wonderful!
KW: What inspired you to write your autobiography?
RP: I didn’t really know at first. I kept asking myself, “Why am I doing this?” because I’m such a private person. Then, one day, the head of programming at my charity, the Urban Arts Partnership, said she was excited that I was writing it, and she hoped I’d be giving copies to the students. My first reaction was “No,” since the subject-matter was really heavy, and because of some of the language I was using. But she then reminded me that I’d already shared my stories with them, and I almost burst into tears. I realized, “Oh my God! That’s why I’m writing it.” Those students had been the first people, outside of my inner circle, to hear my story. It happened when I participated in one of our programs called Life Stories, where we encourage the kids to open up and share so they can understand their lives. One day, I was challenged to share my story with them. That‘s where finding the inspiration and strength to write this book began.
KW: I found it very moving, especially since I had no idea about any of it. I just thought of you as that bubbly, talented, attractive actress I’d seen in movies and on talk shows.
RP: And I am that person, but I’m also this one. And the reason I decided to share with the students was because I saw them come into the Academy so burdened by life every day. When you are a low-income, poverty-stricken, Title 1 kid, you have so much to endure just waking up. So, you may have a bad attitude or a chip on your shoulder before you even get to school. You may arrive so anxious, angry, hungry or apathetic that you may say to yourself, “Why should I pay attention in class?” You might be beaten-up on the way to school, because you live in a bad neighborhood. Still, I had to inform them, especially the seniors, that they didn’t have the luxury of bringing all that baggage into the world which they would be stepping into as adults. I’d say, “You need to come to terms with it, or let it go. One or the other. And if you can do both, then you’re golden.” If you are unable to get past that baggage, the opportunities that should be yours will not be yours.
KW: Well, I applaud you for overcoming so many obstacles. After all, the odds of making it in Hollywood are long enough for someone coming from a privileged background.
RP: I hear you, since the odds were supposedly great. But you know what? I knew I was going to be successful from day one. From day one. That’s why it throws me whenever someone says it was such a fluke that I was successful.
KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share?
RP: I would say tenacity and perseverance. You have to be like a dog with a bone. You can’t just let it go. And number one is belief. You have to believe in yourself. You need to have the audacity to be great.
KW: The Harriet Pakula-Teweles question: With so many classic films being redone, is there a remake you'd like to star in?
RP: Wow! No one’s ever asked me that question. I wouldn’t try it, but the only one that popped into my head is A Woman Under the Influence, the John Cassavetes film starring his wife Gena Rowlands. Her depiction of mental illness frightened me. Her performance shocked me, because it was so simple.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
RP: No, I can’t think of anything, although that question is probably out there.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
RP: Me! I see me, and the reality of me gets clearer as I get older, and I’m loving it.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
RP: The crib, the peach bedspread, and the French doors at my aunt’s house when I was 2.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
RP: Pollo guisado, it’s a Puerto Rican-style chicken stew.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
RP: Oh, I don’t have a favorite.
KW: The Mike Pittman question: What was your best career decision?
RP: To go to college.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
RP: “White Girls” by Hilton Als. Blown away! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1936365812/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to?
RP: To be honest, “Drunk in Love” by Beyonce’. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00HFWYA3E/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
RP: That my husband [Erik Haze] and I will be in premium health until we take our last breaths, so that we could enjoy every single second of our lives together.
KW: The Jamie Foxx question: If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend the time?
RP: With my husband and my family. It wouldn’t matter what we were doing. We’d probably be telling each other how much we appreciate each other while watching boxing and eating a good meal. Of course, it would turn into a party.
KW: The Kerry Washington question: If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
RP: A horse.
KW: The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?
RP: I have no idea.
KW: The Anthony Mackie question: Isthere anything that you promised yourself you’d do if you became famous, that you still haven’t done yet?
RP: Yes, to go back to school and get a degree.
KW: What was it like to skyrocket to fame?
RP: It was both difficult and wonderful. It was quite difficult for me because, being raised in a home, I’d come to hate being pointed at whenever we went out in public in a group. It’s still uncomfortable for me to be stared at, although I’ve learned to deal with it better. It makes me self-conscious.
KW: The Viola Davis question: What’s the biggest difference between who you are at home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?
RP: I’m more guarded and shy on the carpet. At home, I’m the silliest cornball who talks way too much and wants to be quiet and left alone at the same time. And I love to entertain, but in a small, intimate way. But I feel like I can be myself on Craig Ferguson’s show. I have so much fun on his couch, because he’s an idiot. That man cracks me up. I think there’s a kinship in our silliness. I dance like he does in my living room all the time.
KW: The Melissa Harris-Perry question:How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?
RP: You might think it was being abandoned by mother. But no, it was being taken away from my aunt at the age of 3, because I was self-aware by then and I knew what was going on. That was my biggest heartbreak, and it informed a lot. I didn’t want it to be my whole story as an adult. So, I’ve learned to heal that heartbreak and move on.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
RP: Yeah.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
RP: About an hour ago during a meeting at my charity. I laugh a lot. It’s disgusting how much I laugh during the day.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
RP: [LOL] I don’t know that I would encourage anyone to follow in my footsteps.
KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?
RP: As someone that gave back, because the people I remember the most in my life are the ones that gave.
KW: Thanks again for being so forthcoming and so generous with your time, Rosie, and best of luck with both the book and your career.
RP: Thank you, Kam. I really, really appreciate it.
To order a copy of Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307952398/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20
Wish I Was Here
Film Review by Kam Williams
As an actor, Zach Braff is most closely associated with the character J.D. from Scrubs, the Emmy-winning sitcom which enjoyed a nine-year run on network television from 2001 to 2010. As a director, he’s best known for Garden State, the quirky, semi-autobiographical feature film where he played a struggling actor who returns to his hometown in Jersey for his mother’s funeral.
Wish I Was Here is more akin to the latter, being another delightful, dysfunctional family dramedy which Zach directed and stars in. He also co-wrote it with his brother, Adam, and the offbeat adventure milks much of its mirth from Jewish culture in a manner often evocative of Joel and Ethan Coen’s A Serious Man (2009).
The point of departure is suburban L.A. which is where we find 35 year-old Aidan Bloom (Braff) in the midst of a midlife crisis. The fledgling actor is on anti-depressants and in deep denial about his dwindling career prospects, despite the fact that he last worked ages ago in a dandruff commercial.
What makes the situation problematical is that he futilely fritters away his time auditioning, oblivious to his breadwinner wife’s (Kate Hudson) resentment. She hates being stuck like a rat on a treadmill in a stultifying government job where she’s being sexually harassed on a daily basis by the pervy creep (Michael Weston) who shares her cubicle.
But she can’t quit her job because their kids, Grace (Joey King) and Tucker (Pierce Gagnon), won’t have food on the table or a roof over their heads. As it is, they’ve already sacrificed some luxuries, like the built-in pool that sits empty in the backyard.
Something’s gotta give when grandpa Gabe (Mandy Patinkin) suddenly announces that his cancer has returned, so he can no longer afford to subsidize his grandchildren’s expensive private education. Not wanting to subject them to the substandard, local public schools, Aidan grudgingly agrees to abandon his pipe dream of Hollywood stardom in order to homeschool them.
However, this affords him an unexpected opportunity to not only share some much-needed quality time with them, but to orchestrate an overdue reconciliation between his long-estranged brother (Josh Gad) and their rapidly-declining dad, as well. Soon, adolescent Grace develops the confidence to blossom from a repressed wallflower into a show off sporting a metallic purple wig, and 6 year-old Tucker finds fulfillment toasting marshmallows in the desert with his more attentive father.
By film’s end, expect to be moved to tears by this poignant picture’s bittersweet resolution and sobering, universal message about the importance of family. And don’t be surprised if the weeping persists way past the closing credits.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Focus Features
To see a trailer for Wish I Was Here, visit
America: Imagine the World without Her
Film Review by Kam Williams
Revisionist Documentary Speculates about Alternative U.S. Reality
What would the U.S. look like today if the Minutemen had lost the Revolutionary War to England? That query is the launching pad of America: Imagine the World without Her, an unapologetically right-wing documentary written, directed and narrated by Dinesh D’Souza.
D’Souza, a political pundit who immigrated here as a teenager back in the Seventies, proudly wears his patriotism on his sleeve, announcing at the outset, “I love America! I chose this country!” before launching into a full-frontal attack on such controversial left-leaning leaders and public intellectuals as Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Ward Churchill, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Eric Dyson, Bill Ayers, Howard Zinn, Saul Alinsky and Hillary Clinton.
But he levels his most caustic remarks at Barack Obama whom he indicts as a liar by playing a number of incriminating comments from “If you want to keep your doctor, you can keep your doctor” to “Nobody is listening to your phone calls.” D’Souza goes on to explain the President’s behavior as merely part of a strategic socialist conspiracy to destroy the capitalist system.
The movie is basically an attempt to prove that the United States is a great nation with no reason to be ashamed of its past, as suggested by its supposed detractors like Reverend Wright who is heard again in his most notorious sound bite, “No! No! No! Not God bless America… God damn America!” D’Souza brushes aside shameful chapters in our history like slavery and the slaughter of the Indians by arguing that there were just as many black slave owners as white ones, and that Native Americans had fought with each other for millennia prior to the arrival of European settlers.
His goal is to inspire the masses to rise up and save the country before it’s too late. I suspect that the picture will serve as red meat to arch-conservatives already inclined to dismiss Obama and other progressives as communists in liberals’ clothing. Unfortunately, it also won’t do much to encourage civil discourse or to bridge the intractable stalemate between Democratic and Republicans sitting on opposite sides of the aisle.
Divisive D’Souza: Imagine an America without him!
Fair (1.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violent images
Running time: 104 minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
To see a trailer for America: Imagine the World without Her, visit:
Rage
Film Review by Kam Williams
Shades of “Taken” Abound in Gruesome Nicolas Cage Vigilante Vehicle
In recent years, Nicholas Cage has made a lot of mediocre movies, and Rage is no exception. This B-movie action flick might be best thought of as an unapologetic rip-off of the Liam Neeson vigilante vehicle Taken.
But where Neeson was a retired CIA agent, Cage plays a reformed ex-con. And while the former was frantically searching for his missing daughter, the latter is looking for whoever fired a fatal bullet into the head of his sweet, 16 year-old daughter. As for the villains, Taken’s were Albanian sex traffickers while Rage’s are Russian mobsters.
Otherwise, the stories are similar enough to warrant a comparison. At the point of departure we find Paul Maguire (Cage) and his trophy wife, Vanessa (Rachel Nichols), bidding his daughter (Aubrey Peeples) adieu for the evening as they head out to dinner at a local restaurant. The overprotective father makes a point of impressing upon Caitlin’s boyfriend, Mike (Max Fowler), that he doesn’t want any hanky-panky on the premises in his absence.
However, what actually transpires proves to be far worse than anything he imagined, for he gets a call from Detective St. John (Danny Glover) informing him of a break-in back at the house. Turns out that Caitlin’s been kidnapped and, based on the clues supplied by Mike, Paul suspects that her abductors might be the same ruthless Russian gang he’d had the temerity to rip off 19 years earlier.
Sadly, her lifeless body is soon discovered, and all the evidence points to the posse’s kingpin, Chernov (Pasha D. Lychnikoff). So, rather than let the police solve the crime, Paul opts to take the law into his own hands, and rounds up a couple of his tough buddies (Max Ryan and Michael McGrady) before embarking on a revenge-fueled reign of terror armed to the teeth.
Gritty and gruesome, Rage is an unapologetic splatterfest featuring pyrotechnics, pistol-whipping, stabbing and slow-motion senseless slaughter murders via sawed-off shotgun. The body count gets pretty high en route to the protagonists’ surprising showdown with Chernov, a barrel-chested Vladimir Putin lookalike.
Think Taken with a heckuva twist!
Good (2 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 98 minutes
Distributor: RLJ/Image Entertainment
To see a trailer for Rage, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3FVLRN7Nzc
Bobb’e J. Thompson
The “School Dance” Interview
with Kam William
The Chat Heard ‘Round the World
Kicking off an impressive career in front of the camera at the tender age of five, Bobb’e J. Thompson rose to fame as a child actor well before his teens, initially with a small but colorful and energetic supporting role as the pint-sized Tupac in My Baby's Daddy (2003). He subsequently appeared in television and film efforts such as The Tracy Morgan Show (2004), Shark Tale (2004), That’s So Raven (2004), and Joey (2005).
Bobb’e contributed to OutKast mainstay Bryan Barber's offbeat, inventive musical drama Idlewild (2006) before teaming up with Vince Vaughn in the holiday comedy Fred Claus (2007). He then starred in the acerbic farce hit comedy Role Models as the hilarious, wisecracking Ronnie Shields, for which he earned an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance in 2009.
2009 proved to be a breakout year for Bobb’e. He appeared in Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell and the family comedy Imagine That opposite Eddie Murphy. He was also a semi-regular on NBC's 30 Rock, stealing scenes and showing perfect comic timing in his role as Tracy Jr., the son of Tracy Morgan's character.
Next, Nike recruited Thompson for multiple commercials as the fast-talking Lil Dez, who gives NBA greats Kobe Bryant and LeBron James a run for their money while babysitting. He became the first Spokes Kid for Sony PSP in their multi-commercial campaign Marcus Rivers Don’t Play That and the youngest star to host WWE Monday *ight Raw, following his onscreen appearance opposite Big Show as fight promoter Mad Milton in Knucklehead.
Tyler Perry jumped at the opportunity to work with Bobb’e, casting him as M.J. Williams in the television series For Better or Worse. But the role of “Cal Devereaux” in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs showed a sweeter side closer to his real-life personality.
Besides his film work, Bobb’e has cultivated favorable attention for his prominent contributions to the youth-oriented urban dance video JammX Kids: Can't Dance Don't Want To, which afforded him the opportunity to show off his flair for urban music and footwork. And his hosting gig on the Cartoon Network show Bobb’e Says ranked number one on all television among its primary target demo, boys 6-11.
Here, Bobb’e reflects upon his starring role as Jason, the main character in Nick Cannon’s directorial debut, School Dance.
Kam Williams: Hi Bobb’e, thanks so much for the interview.
BJT: Thanks for having me, Kam.
KW: What interested you in School Dance?
BJT: Honestly, I kinda liked the fact that I would have the chance to play a character that’s the opposite of what I’m used to playing. Jason isn’t as outspoken and foul-mouthed. I liked having an opportunity to channel my abilities in a different direction.
KW: Did you feel any pressure to do a good job and carry the movie as the main character, given that it’s Nick Cannon’s directorial debut?
BJT: I don’t know what pressure feels like. I went in with my head clear ready to do my job, because I knew everybody else was coming to do theirs. I was working with a team, so as long as I was ready to do my part, I was confident that the pieces were going to fit together as they should.
KW: What was it like working with a cast with so many great comedians? Kevin Hart… George Lopez… Katt Williams… Mike Epps…
BJT: And Lil Duval and Luenell. We had some heavy hitters. We had fun on set. Everybody was upbeat and in good spirits. We cracked jokes and laughed but, by the end of the day, everybody got their work done. We were all about business when it was time to get on camera. And when the camera’s rolled, it was crazy! Everybody was cracking jokes and having fun, man.
KW: The movie reminded me of a musical, comical version of Romeo and Juliet.
BJT: Yeah, that’s kinda what Nick was going for when he pitched it to me. Like a West Side Story with a modern twist to it. I went, “Yeah, that’s dope!” And we made it happen. That’s how we wanted it to be perceived, so I’m glad you saw it that way.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier asks: How did you prepare for the role and how challenging was it playing your first lead in a movie?
BJT: It wasn’t really hard for me. It didn’t take too much preparation. I knew I wasn’t Ronnie from Role Models this time around. And I had great guidance from Nick to tone it down whenever I started to slip back into that character.
KW: Patricia also says: You started acting at 5. What does acting mean to you and what advice do you have for young people who want to be part of the film and television world?
BJT: When I first started, acting wasn’t something that I wanted to do but it’s become a passion over the years, and I have a divine love for it now. If you want to act, I advise you to stay in school, because you need your education, too, since this is a business. I’d also say, follow your dreams. Never give up! Stay persistent!
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles observes that in the movie, your character says, “I’m working on it, bro.” She asks: Is the real Bobb’e similar to Jason?
BJT: No. I’m kinda the exact opposite. He dresses like a nerd. I dress nice. And If I’m interested in a girl, I’ll approach her. He has no swag at all.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks: What are your dreams and aspirations as an artist?
BJT: I think when it’s all said and done, I need 5 Grammys, 6 Oscars, a few Emmys and a couple of NAACP Awards. The whole 9 yards. My dream is to be one of the wininngest entertainers ever. I just want my work to be recognized as well as the effort I put in.
KW: Larry Greenberg asks: What were Nick Cannon’s instructions about how Jason should relate to Kristina DeBarge’s character, Anastacia.
BJT: There were no directions about how we should relate because we were coming from two different sides of the tracks and we only had to build chemistry later on.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
BJT: Reporters never ask me about my real passion, my music.
KW: Okay, then tell me about your music.
BJT: I just finished a mixtape that’s available at www.DatPiff.com . And I also have a video out on Youtube entitled “OMG.”
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
BJT: The last time I sat down to watch School Dance.
KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?
BJT: Eating sweets, grapes, strawberries, cherries and stuff with a lot of sugar.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
BJT: Burgers and fries. I’m an easy guy.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
BJT: Michael Oher’s “The Blind Side.” It’s a great book.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007CGTKYM/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to?
BJT: It was one of my songs, but I’m not sure which one. I don’t want to sound conceited, but I listen to myself all day. I critique myself a lot.
KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
BJT: Polo, Ralph Lauren.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
BJT: I see an ambitious young man who will one day have it all.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
BJT: To bring my grandmother back so I could share all this with her.
KW: Let's say you’re throwing your dream dinner party—who’s invited… and what would you serve?
BJT: I’d invite Carmelo Anthony, since he’s my favorite basketball player. And Beyonce’ and Jay-Z, Puffy, and my boy Rich Homie Quan. And K. Michelle or Keyshia Cole or to be my date… whichever one of them ain’t busy at the time.
KW: The Kerry Washington question: If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
BJT: A lion.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
BJT: It’s really funny. I was chasing my big brother around the house when I was really, really little, about 3 years-old. He slammed the door in my face, and I got a black eye. [LOL]
KW: The Viola Davis question: What’s the biggest difference between who you are at home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?
BJT: I don’t promote at home. On the red carpet, I’m in full promotion mode. [Chuckles]
KW: The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?
BJT: I’d like to be able to fly. L.A.’s got too much traffic.
KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share?
BJT: A nice smile. I think everybody who’s successful has nice pearly whites.
KW: The Harriet Pakula-Teweles question: With so many classic films being redone, is there a remake you'd like to star in?
BJT: Yeah, let’s remake the Home Alone series. We could take it to the ‘hood and show you how a little black boy would handle some robbers. [Laughs]
KW: The Melissa Harris-Perry question:How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?
BJT: When my grandmother died, it made me value my days more, and work harder to achieve everything I told her I was going after.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
BJT: Follow your dreams, stay in school, and honor your mother and your father. That’s pretty much it.
KW: The “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan question: Do you have a favorite city where you’d like to live?
BJT: I’d like to live in Miami.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: What is your favorite charity?
BJT: Yes, Juneteenth, back home in Kansas City.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Bobb’e, and best of luck with School Dance.
BJT: Appreciate it, Kam.
To see a trailer for School Dance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qKXSL2N0RQ
To watch Bobb’e’s music video, “OMG,” visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PS79KWlR-w
To download or listen to Bobb’e’s mixtape, visit:
http://www.datpiff.com/Bobbe-J-PSA-Aint-Nobody-Fuckin-With-Me-mixtape.625973.html