Yasmin Shiraz

This is a movie that I plan on seeing this weekend. It involves a family coming together for a wedding. One side of the family is Latino and the other side is African American. Without having to guess really hard, I bet they won’t get a long…. Well, I’m going to go see if this film can make me laugh. It better or you all will hear about it over the weekend. Check out the trailer and full synopsis below.

“Our marriage, their wedding.” It’s lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures’ ‘Our Family Wedding‘ they learn the hard way that the path to saying “I do” can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers–two highly competitive over-the-top egos – can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.

With insults flying and tempers running high, it’s anyone’s guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) will survive to make it down the aisle in one piece. Lucia’s mother (Diana Maria Riva) is busy planning the wedding of “her” dreams and the only levelheaded one in the bunch is Angela (Regina King), the groom’s father’s best friend and lawyer, who manages to keep her cool when the madness reaches a crescendo.

With only weeks to plan their wedding, Lucia and Marcus soon discover the true meaning of love and find there is truth to the saying–that when you marry someone, you marry their entire family.

To my filmmaker family, I wanted to let you know that Oscar Micheaux who is considered the Father of African American Cinema is being featured on a US Postage stamp this year! Spike Lee recently said that all of us black filmmakers stand on the shoulders of Oscar Micheaux, so please share this info. The stamp will be issued June 22, 2010.

Here’s info from the US Postal Service’s official press release:

The 33rd stamp in the Black Heritage series, to be issued June 22, honors pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, who wrote, directed, produced and distributed more than 40 movies during the first half of the 20th century. An ambitious, larger-than-life figure, Micheaux thrived at a time when African-American filmmakers were rare, venues for their work were scarce, and support from the industry did not exist. Micheaux’s entrepreneurial spirit and independent vision continue to inspire new generations of filmmakers and artists.

This stamp features a stylized portrait of Oscar Micheaux by Gary Kelley. The artwork is based on one of the few surviving photographs of Micheaux, a portrait that appeared in his 1913 novel The Conquest.

Although only 15 of his movies are known to have survived in whole or in part, Micheaux has become a cinematic icon. In 1986, he was posthumously awarded a special Directors Guild of America award. In 1995, the Producers Guild of America established the Oscar Micheaux Award to honor “an individual or individuals whose achievements in film and television have been accomplished despite difficult odds.”

I’ve been to Brooklyn and everything there isn’t always fine. So, I’m going to see this movie and see if its as hot as Director, Antoine Fuqua says it is. Something tells me its gonna be a scorcher. I’ll let you all know what I thought. But, I am supporting this movie on opening night, baby!  Here’s the trailer. I hope it makes you wanna go see it!

Update: I’ve seen the movie, it was worth the price of admission. They killed a lot of people in the movie though. But I definitely like Antoine Fuqua’s style as a director. He likes Ethan Hawke who I like too. He’s such a good character in whatever role he plays.

Me outside my screening in San Diego's Regal Cinema

Can She Be Saved? is an official selection of the 2010 NC Black Film Festival and I will be receiving their Emerging Filmmaker award. I wanna say thank you again to everyone who has supported the film and my work as a filmmaker. I can’t wait to see my new filmmaker family when I get there. (Coming Correct, I see you! Father’s Day, I see you!)

Here’s the trailer in case you haven’t seen it.

Its hard to be a R&B superstar, actress, cultural icon, but Beyonce is showing more and more how much she has it all together. I love her energy and her talent. And you know I got love for Ms. Banks, too. But I must say if Beyonce and Jay-Z are, in fact, married, why should Beyonce feel bad about saying “I love you,” to her husband in public? That makes no sense. Obviously they love each other or they wouldn’t have gotten married. Its so strange to me how the media acts like that’s such a shocking moment. Please. There’s nothing shocking about it. In any relationship, you hope that the person you are involved with will eventually love you. Check the clip for yourself. Holla….

On day two of my Politics of Hip Hop Culture tour I discovered that college women are turned off by the open crotch shots ie (Lil Kim and Nikki Minaj.) When I asked men if they liked the photos, of course they said yeah. But it still wouldn’t make them buy the album. They would simply go on the internet, find the photo and affix in their room and use it accordingly.

But THEY WOULD NOT BUY THE ALBUM just because the female artist was spread eagle on her album cover.

I found this terribly interesting because I know more women buy female rap albums than men. So if women are offended by the crotch shots, why are they displaying their crotches? Its obviously not to increase album sales.  Inquiring minds want to know…. Including my students who attended the Politics of Hip Hop Culture tour today in Florida! Let me know what you think.

Nikki Minaj

Life is hard sometimes and we could all use a laugh. So check out this Dark Moon clip. Its funny!

Lil Wayne will not start his prison sentence today. According to Rolling Stone magazine, his sentence was delayed for dental surgery. I guess he had to get all of those diamond fronts removed from his mouth cause you can’t hardly go to prison with those things in.

Untie my hands- Lil Wayne going to Prison!

Lil Wayne gets sentenced today on charges stemming from this incident. The blogosphere has been all the buzz with the going away parties that he’s had over the weekend. Whatever happens he reports to Rikers today. Today I also kick off the first day of my 2010 Politics of Hip Hop Culture tour. And for the first time, I will be including hip hop court cases in my presentation.

That’ll be the low point of my presentation because between Lil’Wayne, Gucci Mane, TI, Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Remy Ma and Da Brat- I got more content than I want.

I’ll update the site again when the court announces his actual sentencing. Be well people.

Can She Be Saved? — as you have heard by now is my lil’ film that could–  screened at the Texas Black Film Festival in Dallas today. I was not in attendance as I was returning from a business trip in Atlanta but I was there in spirit. I hope the film touched many people’s lives.

Here’s the link to the festival: http://www.texasblackfilmfestival.com/

For those of you who have never attended a film festival, the point of a festival is to get industry and audience feedback on your project. Its important in the launch of a filmmaker’s career. Also, the more festivals that select your film, it validates your work as a filmmaker. So, every time I share that Can She Be Saved? was selected for a festival is such a tremendous blessing because it pushes me one step closer to doing my feature film, Retaliation. I’m claiming that each and every day.

And here’s the trailer to Can She Be Saved? Feel free to view it and rate it.