|
BAADASSSSS!
''Baadasssss!'' is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles (played by Mario himself), as he attempts to film and distribute ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews. Plot A mock documentary opens the film with the actors (in character as the production crew members) reflecting on the tumultuous events of the 1960s. As the Vietnam War continues, stereotypical depictions of Black Americans in cinema persist. In 1970, Melvin Van Peebles, who had finished '' Watermelon Man'' for Columbia Pictures, contemplates his next film project. Peebles' talent agent Howie Kaufman advises him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' (1967), was based on his own French-language novel ' and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut ''Watermelon Man (film), Watermelon Man'', in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker. In 1971, he released his best-known work, creating and starring in the film ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'', which led to the creation of the blaxploitation genre. although critic Roger Ebert did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nia Long
Nia Talita Long ( ; born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (1991–1995). She then appeared in ''Friday'' (1995), as well as the 1997 films '' Love Jones'' and '' Soul Food''. Long is also known for her roles in the films '' The Best Man'' (1999), and its sequel '' The Best Man Holiday'' (2013), as well as '' Big Momma's House'' (2000) and its sequel '' Big Momma's House 2'' (2006). On television, she portrayed Sasha Monroe on the crime drama series '' Third Watch'' (2003–2005), and has starred on the Fox drama series ''Empire'' (2017), and the CBS action series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (2017–2018). She has received several accolades, including two NAACP Image Awards and a Black Reel Award. Early life Long was born on October 30, 1970, in Brookly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice White
Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. Described as a "visionary" by ''Vibe'' and a "mastermind" by ''Variety'', White was nominated for a total of 22 Grammys, of which he won seven. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and was also inducted individually into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. White also worked with musical acts such as Deniece Williams, Cher, The Emotions, Barbra Streisand, Ramsey Lewis, and Neil Diamond. Biography Early career Maurice White was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 19, 1941. He grew up in South Memphis, where he lived with his grandmother in the Foote Homes Projects and was a childhood friend of Booker T. Jones and David Porter. Along with Jones, White fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic ''Baadasssss!'', which he also co-wrote and directed. Early life and education Van Peebles was born on January 15, 1957, in Mexico City, Mexico, the son of writer, director, actor and musician Melvin Van Peebles and Maria Marx. He traveled often with his parents between Europe and the United States. He majored in economics at Columbia College (New York), Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University. He was invited to speak as the Class Day Speaker as part of the annual commencement exercises in 2021. Career 1968 to 1971: First roles Van Peebles' first screen appearance was in 1968, in the soap op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy star, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was Bill Cosby in advertising, a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". However, starting in 2014, dozens of Bill Cosby sexual assault cases, allegations of sexual assault have been made against him, which ended his career and sharply diminished his status as a pop culture icon. Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco in 1961, and primarily performed observational comedy in a conversational style. He re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide. The band was formed by Maurice White, originating out of the Salty Peppers; its history includes a hiatus from mid-1984 to mid-1987. Prominent members have included Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Freddie Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk. The band is known for its kalimba sound, dynamic horn section, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Bailey's falsetto and Maurice's tenor vocals. The band has won six Grammy Awards out of 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations. They have been inducted into the Rock a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
16 Mm Film
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educational, television) film-making, or for low-budget motion pictures. It also existed as a popular amateur or home movie-making format for several decades, alongside 8 mm film and later Super 8 film. Kodak, Eastman Kodak released the first 16 mm "outfit" in 1923, consisting of a Ciné-Kodak camera, Kodascope projector, tripod, screen and splicer, for US$335 (). RCA Records, RCA-Victor introduced a 16 mm sound movie projector in 1932, and developed an optical sound-on-film 16 mm camera, released in 1935. History Eastman Kodak introduced 16 mm film in 1923, as a less expensive alternative to 35mm movie film, 35 mm Film formats, film for amateurs. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pornographic Film
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fascinate, or orgasm, satisfy the viewer. Pornography, Pornographic films represent Sexual fantasy, sexual fantasies and usually include erotica, erotically stimulating material such as nudity in film, nudity or fetishes (Softcore pornography, softcore) and sexual intercourse (Hardcore pornography, hardcore). A distinction is sometimes made between "erotic" and "pornographic" films on the basis that the latter category contains more explicit Sex in film, sexuality, and focuses more on arousal than storytelling; the distinction is highly subjective. Pornographic films are produced and distributed on a variety of media, depending on the demand and technology available, including traditional film stock footage in various formats, home video, DVDs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to create SAG-AFTRA. Background According to SAG's Mission Statement, the Guild sought to: negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements that establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits, and working conditions for its performers; collect compensation for exploitation of recorded performances by its members, and provide protection against unauthorized use of those performances; and preserve and expand work opportunities for its members. The Guild was founded in 1933 in an effort to eliminate the exploitation of Hollywood actors, who were being forced into oppressive multi-year contracts with the major movie studios. Opposition to these contract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dubbing
Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to create the final product. Often this process is performed on films by replacing the original language to offer voiced-over translations. After sound editors edit and prepare all the necessary tracks—dialogue, automated dialogue replacement (ADR), effects, Foley (filmmaking), foley, and music—the dubbing mixers proceed to balance all of the elements and record the finished soundtrack. While dubbing and ADR are similar processes that focus on enhancing and replacing dialogue audio, ADR is a process in which the original actors re-record and synchronize audio segments. This allows filmmakers to replace unclear dialogue if there are issues with the script, background noise, or the original recording. The term "dubbing" also commonly refers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Treatment
A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline (or one-page synopsis), and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits. Treatments read like a short story, but are told in the present tense and describe events as they happen. A treatment may also be created in the process of adapting a novel, play, or other pre-existing work into a screenplay. Original draft treatment The original draft treatment is created during the writing process and is generally long and detailed. It consists of full-scene outlines put together. Usually there are between thirty and eighty standard letter size or A4 pages (Courier New 12 point), with an average of about forty pages. For example, the draft treatment of '' The Terminator'' is forty-eight pages long. More el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah. The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran Desert, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Desert, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin Desert, Great Basin deserts, form a larger List of North American deserts, North American desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between . It supports a diversity of flora and fauna. The desert supports a numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
