Antoine Fuqua directs Pirelli Film Ad

In the tradition of the BMW Films series, Pirelli Tires has partnered up with award-winning directors and actors to create a short film which features their product. In " The Call," Antoine Fuqua directs John Malkovich who plays the role of a priest who has been asked to perform an exorcism on a car.

Naomi Campbell plays the demon that possesses the car... and get this - the only solution to the exorcism is a set of Pirelli tires.

I think this was an interesting commercial but one thing that stuck out to me was the fact that it was a commercial. At the end of the short film Pirelli's slogan, "Power means nothing without Control" flashes across the screen as a Pirelli tire appears from darkness.

I think that as companies begin to partner up with big-name directors to make these short film/commercials, advertising companies need to be separate these films from being commercials- in other words, not flash the company slogan and logo at the end of these films.

To the best of my knowledge, the BMW Film Series showcased what BMW cars could do by putting them in environments where the car could be tested and showcased. For the most part, we don't see a Pirelli tire flying down a highway or anything.

I would have preferred to see a Pirelli tire in action, as opposed to what I was given.

What do you think?

New Article Reveals Dave Chappelle's Motive to Leave $50 million

In an interview in Esquire magainze, to hit stands on Sunday, Dave Chappelle provides a little bit more insight into his decision to walk away from the Dave Chappelle show and a $50 million contract.

He lists the following three reasons as explanations for his leaving the Chappelle show.

Culturally: "The bottom line was, white people own everything, and where can a black person go and be himself or say something that's familiar to him and not have to explain or apologize?"

Professionally: "I felt like I was really pressured to settle for something that I didn't necessarily feel like I wanted."

Personally: "The thing about show business is that, in a way, it forces dysfunctional relationships in people."

Dave Chappelle believevs that the show was a wonderful experience and he's glad that he had a chance to create an original television show. He still plans on working on stand-up and still wants to entertain - just not in the same way.

It's important to note that the Chapelle Show's Season 1 Uncensored was the #1 all-time selling TV show ever - even beating out the Simpsons.

Dave Chappelle's latest project was Dave Chappelle's Block Party directed by French directer, Michel Gondry.

It's good to see that Dave Chappelle feels responsibility as an entertainer - it seems rare these days.

[via Yahoo News]

Queen Latifah to make Welfare Queen...

Queen Latifah's production company, Flavor Unit, received a first-look deal with Rogue Pictures and Focus Features to produce 'modest' low-budget films with the goal of making three films a year.

Her first project is Welfare Queen which is based on Dorothy Woods, a real woman who used the welfare system to create a little fortune for herself.

Personally, I'm disappointed that Queen Latifah is making Welfare Queen. Although it may be comical to make a movie about a woman who was able to cheat the system to create a little fortune for herself, I doubt this film will do much to counter the image that people on welfare are just lazy good-for-nothings.

Most importantly, assuming the lead is a black female, I doubt this movie will do anything to counter the false stereotype that the majority of people currently on welfare are black women. In fact, white women benefit most from welfare

Maybe I'm too quick to judge and Welfare Queen won't be a comical movie but will be a serious piece that critically examines welfare. However, given Latifah's track record with "Bringing down the house," I'm a little doubtful.

Time will tell what Latifah has planned...

What do you think?

[via Cinematical]

Full Frame Film Festival Report: Beyond Beats and Rhymes

This weekend, I had the good fortune to attend the Full Frame Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina. There were a number of good documentaries shown at this international festival, but one that stuck out to me was Byron Hurt's "Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Rap Music."

This documentary really touched on some of the misogynistic and homophobic issues found in a lot of popular Hip-Hop music.  The documentary does a good job of distinguishing between the conscious Hip-Hop artists and those who use exploitative lyrics and references to "sell more records."

I can't do justice to this film in this small space, but Mr. Hurt's focus on the portrayal of black manhood in Hip-Hop suggests that these images of "manhood" are actually over exaggerated and detrimental to many of the individuals who may follow these molds. 

The film includes guests such as Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Russell Simmons, Chuck D, Micheal Eric Dyson and a number of other celebrity commentators.  This is one of my favorite movies of this year and I recommend that everyone attempt to find a copy of this film.

Check out Byron Hurt's website.

Ice Cube to star in Welcome Back, Kotter remake

Ice Cube's production company, Cube Vision Productions, has partnered up with Dimension Films to create a remake of "Welcome Back, Kotter" with Ice Cube playing the lead role. Ice Cube was quoted as saying, "There was no bigger fan of the original show than me, and I'm very excited to be able to put a new twist on it."

What do you think about this remake?

[via Blackflix]

Spike Lee asks "with whom would you most like to drink a beer?"

Spike Lee's new television advertising campaign, "Here's to Beer," will show various celebrities drinking beers with other celebrities - some even deceased.  Budweiser, the sponsor of this campaign, wants to promote all beer to revive the low beer sales which have resulted in an increase in wines, spirits and popular cocktails.  The advertising campaign is meant to suggest that "Beer brings people together."

An ad is expected that would star Spike Lee and Jackie Robinson, one of Spike Lee's greatest heroes.  Look for more information later.

[via Blackflix]

Danny DeVito, Internet Film Distribution and Documentary Film

Yesterday at the Full Frame Film Festival in Durham, NC, Danny DeVito announced a partnership with Morgan Freeman's internet distribution company, Clickstar, Inc. This partnership will create a channel on the soon-to-be-launched Clickstar, Inc where interested audiences can view documentaries from Danny DeVito's new documentary production company, Jersey Docs.

Jersey Docs will be a means for independent documentarians to release their work to audiences around the world.

ClickStar, Inc wants to establish itself as an internet destination where audiences can purchase movies to own from their computer. Unlike some of the other internet distribution companies, ClickStar wants to showcase first-run A-list movies starring actors like Morgan Freeman and Danny DeVito.

[via ClickStar, Inc]

Outkast's Idlewild Trailer

Outkast is starring in a new movie called Idlewild which will include songs from their previous albums as well as never before heard songs.

Bryan Barber, director of many Outkast videos, has been assigned to direct the film. Some of the talent in the film include Bruce Bruce, Patti LaBelle, Ving Rhames, Cicely Tyson and a number of other celebritieis

Check out the trailer here

Comparison of Internet Video Services... YouTube wins?

So Ryan over at DV Guru provided a comparison of ten of the newest Internet video services for Internet sharing of video content. It appearsas though Youtube comes out on top as being one of the most reliable and easiest way for people to share video over the Internet. If your film has more of a grassroots and and activist spin, there are also sites like Ourmedia.org that maybe better for you.

Throughout all of these reviews, it appears as though there are many companies that are attempting to establish themselves as the premiere Internet distribution center. What sites have worked well for you?

[via DV Guru]

Tyler Perry to begin next film

After the success of Medea's Family Reunion, Tyler Perry has announced that he will begin production of his next film, "Daddy's Little Girl." This story is a Cinderella twist set in an urban setting.

The story follows a "a young, beautiful, successful female attorney who falls in love with a janitor and single father of three daughters. Despite strong objections from the her father." The deal is through Lionsgate Films

[via Blackflix.com]

Panhandling for Reparations!

Damali Ayo, author of How to Rent a Negro, hits the streets of New York City panhandling for reparations from white people. The money she collects she then distributes to black people.

This ten-minute video on Youtube is an interesting experiment and potential discussion jump off on the topic of reparations.

Click here to watch the video.

Inside Man is Spike Lee's Most Profitable Movie

This weekend, Inside Man made $15 million dollars making it this weekend's second-highest grossing film.  To date, the film has made a total of $63 million dollars ($53mil domestic; $10mil overseas). 

Surprisingly, Spike Lee's Malcolm X didn't even gross this much money.  After reading Spike Lee's autobiography, it seems as though this move to make a more Hollywood movie could be a step to build a stronger box office track record to finally produce the Jackie Robinson Story that he's been wanting to do.

In either case, such a profitable movie for Spike Lee would at least be a good rebound from 2004's She Hate Me which boxofficemojo.com claims only grossed $366,037 - Ouch!

Does Hollywood Avoid Black-White Interracial Couples?

In "The Skin Game" Stephen Cole suggests that Denzel Washington has had a career plagued with starring alongside white female co-stars but, in every role, Denzel has never pursued a romantic relationship with them.

This is an interesting observation.  The author continues that Hispanics and blacks seem to be fine in Hollywood.

There appears to be no taboo against black superstars romancing Hispanic starlets. Actress Eva Mendes was allowed to play with Washington's heart in Training Day and Out of Time, then date Smith in Hitch. Rosario Dawson, meanwhile, won the hearts of Smith and Eddie Murphy back to back in the 2002 films Men in Black II and The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

In The Pelican Brief, Denzel and Julia Roberts starred opposite each other but never had any hint of a romantic relationship, even though such a relationship was present in the book.

Does Hollywood remove the presence of interracial black-and-white couples to sell more tickets? 

Denzel refused to kiss his Kelly Lynch, his white co-star in Virtuosity:

During an interview in Jet magazine, Lynch later suggested she had no trouble with the scene, "but Denzel felt strongly that white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want him to kiss a white woman."

 I would also like to add that black females, who are big fans of Denzel's work, may also not like to see Denzel kiss a white actress.  Regardless of the reasons, it still seems that Black Hollywood A-list actors are seldom seen in romantic relationships with White Hollywood A-list actresses.

Is the underlying theme here that blacks and whites shouldn't be romantically involved?