“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Last week, I saw The Help at a packed screening in New York. The excitement around the release of this film has been palpable. Whenever a hugely popular book is made into a film, we all know what’s coming next, but that does not stop our hopes that this time the studio won’t fuck it up. Every twenty years or so a big budget studio film about poor black folks hits the big screen and there is incredible white support for these stories. It is a far different situation than the Tyler Perry genre. The African-American film going community supports… Read More »

There is a huge firestorm brewing over the casting choice for the upcoming movie, Cleopatra: A Life. The role is going to Angelina Jolie…duh…best choice on Earth. Sure beats her taking on the role of Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz remake, that’s for sure. So now we are embroiled in a politically correct hub-bub by Essence magazine contributing writer, Shirea Carroll. She by Shirea is up in arms that the role of Cleopatra is going, yet again, to a white actress, in the tradition of Elizabeth Taylor, Claudette Colbert and Vivien Leigh. Ms. Carroll had… Read More »

Am I just an old, jaded, desensitized grump who disagrees with everything out of sheer habit or do I say what many people feel, and don’t say anything?!? Looking at the list that Barbara Walters (Babba Wawwa for those of you who remember Rosanne Rosanna Danna) put together for her 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 reads like the 10 Most Googled People on Earth. Frankly, Google should do their own online TV show and let Babba settle into the distance. Google-able and Fascinating are not the same thing in my mind. Let’s discuss for one minute the word fascinating.… Read More »