Harrison Ford
The “42” Interview
with Kam Williams
Born in Chicago on July 13, 1942, Harrison Ford was a late bloomer who only developed an interest in acting during his senior year of college. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as carpenter for almost a decade while struggling trying to launch his showbiz career.
He was finally discovered in 1973 while installing cabinets in the home of George Lucas. The director cast him in American Graffiti, which in turn, led to his landing the iconic character Hans Solo in Star Wars, and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history.
Ford went on to play the title role in the Indiana Jones franchise, and to make memorable outings in such hit movies as The Fugitive, Witness, Air Force One, What Lies Beneath, Presumed Innocent, Blade Runner, Frantic, Apocalypse Now and Clear and Present Danger, to name a few. Here, the Oscar-nominated thespian (for Witness) talks about his latest outing opposite Chad Boseman as Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey in 42, a biopic about Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in baseball.
Kam Williams: Hi Mr. Ford, thanks so much for the interview. I’m very honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.
Harrison Ford: That’s kind of you to say, Kam.
KW: I was moved to tears several times by the movie. If 42 were released in December, I’m sure you’d be a shoo-in for another Oscar nomination.
HF: Again, you’re very kind. Thank you. I credit the wonderful material. It was very well-crafted, well-written and well-directed. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to be involved with the project.
KW: Documentary filmmaker Kevin Williams says: You have been my favorite actor for many years, as were you my Dad's ever since he saw you in Hanover Street. Thank you for bringing us so much joy.
HF: How sweet!
KW: Why did you decide to play Branch Rickey?
HF: First of all, I read what I thought was an amazing script with very high standards, telling an important story with a character for me to play who was colorful and dramatic and different from any I’d ever played before, and with a director [Brian Helgeland] I admired who had written this wonderful script. So, I had a multitude of reasons to want to do this character. I also saw this project as an opportunity to fully ascend to the rank of the noble calling of character actor. I thought that I could best serve the film by not bringing any of the audience’s history with Harrison Ford into the scene. So, I did everything I could to create a character that truly resembled and was attendant to the real-life Branch Rickey.
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: You’ve earned some much-deserved acclaim for playing serialized fantasy figures—thank you big time for Hans Solo and Indiana Jones. How different is the preparation for doing a one-shot biopic of an historical figure?
HF: The truth is… the job’s always the same. It involves helping to tell the story and creating an alloy between character and story that serves the film. And it also involves creating behavior that brings the information in every scene to life, and investing emotionally in the communication of those ideas.
KW: Gil Cretney asks: Will Hans Solo be in JJ. Abram's upcoming Star Wars sequel?
HF: I think you’ll have to ask somebody else that question. I’m not ready to commit or talk about that at this time.
KW: Kate Newell asks: How did it feel shooting on location at some of those venerable, old baseball stadiums?
HF: To tell you the truth, I didn’t pay much notice because in many cases the stadiums were recreated through computer graphics after the fact. We really only had the first ten rows, and the rest was added during post-production. The places where we shot were not historical or so impressive. But given that this film takes place over sixty years ago, it’s amazing how much different the world was back then. It’s seen so many changes in a relatively short period of time.
KW:Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier says: I am honored to ask you a question because I have admired your work since I was a child. Jackie Robinson is special to me because his minor league career began in my hometown, Montreal. What does his legacy mean to you?
HF: This is a country which has always proclaimed itself to be founded on and to be pursuing high ideals. I believe that the racial injustice which existed such a short time ago probably would have persisted longer if the color barrier had not been broken in baseball, since the Civil Rights Movement might not have blossomed when it did, had it not been preceded by Jackie Robinson’s joining the Dodgers. You have to remember that baseball really was the American pastime in the Forties, not football, basketball or any other sport. Baseball was a metaphor for America, both here and in terms of how it was understood by the rest of the world. So, the legacy of Jackie Robinson and the part he played in this very important chapter of our history is very compelling and very meaningful to me personally.
KW: My father took a photo of me with Jackie when I was a kid in the Fifties, and I kept that picture on my bureau my entire childhood.
HF: Cool!
KW: Well, thanks again for the interview, Mr. Ford.
HF: It was my pleasure, Kam.
To see a trailer for 42, visit
Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal
Film Review by Kam Williams
Once the darling of the art world, Lars Olafssen (Thure Lindhardt) is down on his luck after developing the painter’s equivalent of writer’s block. He’s been reduced to taking a teaching position at a college in rural Koda Lake, Canada, a mythical town located outside Ottawa.
There, he shares an apartment with Eddie (Dylan Smith), a mentally-challenged mute. Lars quickly learns that his untalented student obviously only gained admission to the school because he’s the relative of a generous alum.
However, Eddie has bigger issues than being utterly unqualified, for he not only sleepwalks at night, but attacks and devours humans while in that somnambulant state. But rather than have the cannibal arrested, Lars lets his roommate embark on a reign of terror, since the bloodletting has simultaneously provided the spark of inspiration he’s been missing as a painter.
Soon, with his popularity restored, Lars even finds himself pursued by an attractive colleague (Georgina Reilly). Will he ever help the police (Paul Braunstein) crack the case, or does his man-eating muse merely mean too much to his revitalized career?
That is the question at the heart of Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, a dark comedy written and directed by Boris Rodriguez. While a tad too understated and perverted to make this critic laugh, the film’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor is nevertheless likely to resonate with cerebral types blessed with a taste for the droll and the bizarre.
An unlikely-buddy horror flick which figured a viable way of walking a fine line between the sadistic and the sublime.
Good (2 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 90 minutes
Distributor: Music Box Films
To see a trailer for Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, visit
Temptation
Film Review by Kam Williams
I’ll be honest, when I heard that Lionsgate wasn’t screening Temptation for critics, I really expected it to be a dreadful mess. But after entering the theater with very low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the latest morality play from Tyler Perry.
No advance peek meant I had to wait until opening day to see the melodramatic soap opera, which in my case was in a sold-out house with a crowd that was about 90% black and female. As far as what the sisters thought of the picture, all I needed to hear was the chorus of Amen’s and the robust round of applause during the closing credits.
Still, it’s debatable whether the Christian-themed cautionary tale’s simplistic sermonizing will attract a broader audience beyond that loyal demographic, but I’d guess that it very well might resonate with Evangelicals in general. Plus, don’t discount the box office appeal of reality show sensation Kim Kardashian who holds her own here in a quite comical supporting role as an opinionated fashionista.
Loosely based on Perry’s 2008 stage production “The Marriage Counselor,” Temptation is a flashback flick revolving around 26 year-old Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a naïve country bumpkin employed in Washington, D.C. by Janice (Vanessa Williams), a crafty love guru with a bad French accent but a thriving matchmaking service.
Judith’s been married for six long years to loyal but boring Brice (Lance Gross), her childhood sweetheart and the only man she’s ever slept with. He runs a modest pharmacy in the city that never seems to have any customers. Nevertheless, the place’s atmosphere is kept pretty lively between comic relief coming courtesy of his gossipy, sticky-fingered cashier (Renee Taylor) and the ominous air created by a new employee (Brandy) hiding a big (and I mean BIG!) secret.
College educated Judith dreams of opening her own psychotherapy practice someday, but doesn’t have sufficient funds to do so, presently. That predicament makes her all the more vulnerable to Harley (Robbie Jones), an unscrupulous, dot.com billionaire with money to burn and sexual conquests to make.
The predatory home wrecker zeroes in on Judith while deciding whether to acquire her boss’ business. And before you can say “Mark Zuckerberg” she’s got dollar signs in her eyes and decides to leave her husband for a life of drugs and debauchery with suave Mr. Moneybags.
Brice offers to pay more attention to his wife and to spice up their love life, but is it too late? Can this marriage be saved? A present-day parable preaching to the choir with sobering warnings about the love of money and taking your mate for granted.
The Gospel according to Tyler Perry!
Very Good (3 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and drug use
Running time: 112 minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
To see a trailer for Temptation, visit
Jurnee Smollett-Bell
The “Temptation” Interview
with Kam Williams
Sentimental Jurnee!
Born in New York City on October 1, 1986, Jurnee Smollett-Bell is an award-winning actress and activist of rare talent and conviction. She recently starred in the Emmy Award-winning series “Friday Night Lights” on which she portrayed the character Jess. She’s also been seen on “The Defenders” as Lisa, a new attorney at the law firm.
Jurnee starred in The Great Debaters with Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington who also directed the historical drama. Jurnee received rave reviews and won the NAACP’s Best Lead Actress Image Award for her performance.
The versatile thespian landed her breakthrough role at the age of 11, when she starred in Eve's Bayou opposite Samuel L. Jackson and was cited by Interview Magazine as one of the five Hollywood stars to watch in the new millennium. Her other film credits include Roll Bounce, Gridiron Gang, and Beautiful Joe with Sharon Stone as well as made-for-television films including the Wonderful World of Disney’s "Selma Lord Selma” and Showtime’s "Ruby's Bucket of Blood" opposite Angela Bassett.
On TV, Jurnee has guest starred in the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” as well as on "House," "E.R.," "Strong Medicine," and "NYPD Blue." Her other television credits include "Wanda at Large" and "Cosby," for which she won NAACP Image Awards in 1999 and 2000.
She began her television acting career at the age of 4 with a recurring role on "Full House," later reviving the character for a season of "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper." She followed that by starring on the ABC comedy "On Our Own" alongside her real life sister, Jazz, and her brothers, Jojo, Jussie, Jake and Jocqui.
Besides acting and singing, Jurnee is an activist and the youngest board member of Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the spread of HIV, advancing human rights, and to educating and empowering AIDS orphans and other at-risk youth. She has been involved with ANSA since the age of 11.
Working with the organization, Jurnee has traveled to South Africa, where she has met with Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu, as well as with victims of HIV. She even went on an official mission for the U.S. State Department to Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa to conduct AIDS awareness workshops.
Among Jurnee’s other charitable causes is the Children’s Defense Fund, where she joined the board at the invitation of her longtime mentor, Marian Wright Edelman. Here, she talks about starring as Judith opposite Vanessa Williams, Kim Kardashian and Brandy in Tyler Perry’s latest morality play, Temptation.
Disgraced Presidential Bodyguard Gets Shot at Redemption in High-Octane Action ThrillerOlympus Has Fallen
Film Review by Kam Williams
While serving as the President’s (Aaron Eckhart) personal bodyguard, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) grew very close to the First Family. During his tenure at the White House, the dedicated, detail-oriented Secret Service agent also familiarized himself with every aspect of the building’s layout.
Nevertheless, Banning was reassigned to a desk job after failing to rescue the First Lady (Ashley Judd) before the presidential limo plunged off a bridge into an icy river en route to a Christmas party. Although the accident wasn’t his fault, he was left agonizing over a snap decision that might have been the difference between her living and dying.
A year and a half later, we find Banning still riddled with guilt despite receiving assurances from the Secret Service Director (Angela Banning) that there was nothing he could have done. However, he soon gets that sorely needed shot at redemption when a swarm of ninjas from North Korea attack the White House, taking the President and his Cabinet hostage.
With the President and Vice President (Phil Austin) abducted, the line of succession dictates that the Speaker of the House (Morgan Freeman) assume power from a well-fortified bunker. Meanwhile, the maniacal leader (Rick Yune) of the bloodthirsty terrorists proceeds to torture his hostages, hoping to learn the codes controlling America’s nuclear arsenal.
The unfolding crisis is not lost on Banning who observes the slaughter of his former colleagues from an office window across the street. The disgraced agent springs into action and surreptitiously enters the White House armed only with a handgun and a walkie-talkie. But he still enjoys the advantage over an army of heavily-armed intruders by virtue of his knowledge of the premises’ every nook and cranny.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Olympus Has Fallen is a derivative action flick which might be best described as a cross of Die Hard (1988) and In the Line of Fire (1993), except that instead of Bruce Willis or Clint Eastwood, we have Gerard Butler playing the invincible, two-fisted protagonist. The fast-paced film is engaging and entertaining enough to come recommended provided you’re willing to put your brain on hold and not question any of the picture’s implausible plot developments.
Featuring pyrotechnics worthy of a 4th of July fireworks display, Olympus Has Fallen is an eye-popping, patriotic, high-octane adventure that leaves no doubt about who’s the vindicated hero that kept the world safe for democracy. The Butler did it! Gerard Butler, that is.
Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity
In English and Korean with subtitles
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Film District
To see a trailer for Olympus Has Fallen, visit