Posts Tagged ‘Kam Williams’

Thandie Newton – For Colored Girls Interview

Thandie Newton

Born in London on November 6, 1972, Thandie Newton is a consummate actress associated with riveting performances in everything from Beloved to Besieged to Crash.

She will soon be seen in the independent film Vanishing on 7th Street where she stars opposite Hayden Christensen and John Leguizamo, and she is currently shooting the psychological thriller The Retreat with Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell.

Thandie won both a BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work in Crash, the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 2006. She most recently appeared in 2012, a sci-fi flick which grossed in excess of $750 million at the box office worldwide.

Newton impersonated Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in W. which was directed by Oliver Stone. Other films on her impressive resume’ include The Pursuit of Happyness, Run Fat Boy Run, The Truth about Charlie and Mission Impossible 2.

Here, she talks about playing Tangie in Tyler Perry’s screen adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls, an ensemble drama co-starring Kerry Washington, Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine and Phylicia Rashad.

Kam Williams: Hi, Thandie, thanks for the time. The last time we spoke was when you were doing Run Fatboy Run.

Thandie Newton: [Sarcastically] Well, For Colored Girls is exactly like that one, isn’t it Kam?

KW: [Playing along] Sure, the same storyline, and you’re even playing the same character. I want to get right to questions submitted by fans of yours. Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks what were your initial feelings about taking the role of Tangie?

TN: Terror. I was really terrified, because the film was so unlike anything I’d ever done before, because Tangie’s so unlike me, and because of the quiet, sensitive and grateful place I was in my life on a personal level. I knew I’d now have to go out and be this audacious, promiscuous character.

KW: But you killed in the role! You did it!

TN: You know what, my darling? I got into it. I pulled myself away from my place of peace and compassion. [LOL]

KW: Reverend Florine Thompson asks: Which character in For Colored Girls do you most identify with?

TN: Oh, goodness! Gilda, possibly. But, honestly, I identify with a bit of everybody.

KW: Editor/legist Patricia Turner says: I think you’re a great actress! Is Tangie one of the more complex and challenging characters you’ve played?

TN: Absolutely! And I am so grateful for the opportunity to play her, because there are times when a character is uncomplicated and just about moving the story from A to B which makes me want to quit. As opposed to pieces like this where I get to play a real character. For Colored Girls has recharged my batteries for the next decade. It reminded me of what acting can be, how powerful a tool it can be, and how entertaining and provocative it can be for an audience. These types of roles don’t come along often, but I seem to get them at the right time, and then I decide not to throw in the towel.

KW: FSU grad Laz Lyles asks: With a text this powerful, what was the self-discovery factor like? Were there any dormant traits that unexpectedly came to the surface?

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Is It Just Me? (Book Review)

Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?by Whoopi Goldberg
Hyperion Books
Hardcover, $22.99
216 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2384-4

Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?

Thoughtlessness is the new manners, and I’ve got to say I don’t like it… Somehow, so many little pieces of courtesy have gone by the wayside. People in your face, in your business, not caring if they are being disrespectfully loud…
So over the last year there were days when I remembered to write things down that struck me. Many are written here.

They cover the map of my mind, unleashed on you the way they appear in my head.

Little things, the way I can comment on them in a book but not on TV. In no particular order—oh, and I don’t necessarily have any answers guaranteed to work for anyone.

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Top Ten DVD Release – 7-20-10

Top Ten DVD List for July 20th 2010

The Most Dangerous Man in America
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00329PYGQ?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00329PYGQ

Seriously Funny: Kevin Hart
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003G715ZS?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003G715ZS

Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003INBNY8?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003INBNY8

1984 Los Angeles Comedy Competition with Jay Leno
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N7G5JW?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003N7G5JW

Entre Nos
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A0T8BO?ie=UTF8&tag=thslfofire-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003A0T8BO

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The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Headline Bella’s Back and Still Torn between Two Supernatural Suitors

There’s really not much reason for me to go on at length about this third (of four) installments in the review-proof Twilight series, given that

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

the diehard fans of the franchise are second only to Harry Potter’s in terms of brand loyalty. The movie is based on the Stephenie Meyer best seller which in turn was ostensibly-inspired by Emily Bronte’s gothic novel “Wuthering Heights.”

At the point of departure, the end of senior year is fast approaching at Forks High School. But where valedictorian Jessica (Anna Kendrick) is concentrating on practicing her graduation speech, her good friend Bella (Kristen Stewart), our human heroine, basically still finds herself torn romantically between vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner).

After un-grounding his, ever-clueless Police Chief Charlie Swan (Billy Burke), gives his blessing for her to date the latter, but she instead flies to Florida with the former in order to visit her mother. The messy love triangle starts to take an emotional toll Bella on after she secretly accepts Edward’s marriage proposal while subsequently allowing her relationship with Jacob to escalate from platonic to physical.

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Despicable Me [Film Review]

Adorable Orphans Charm Diabolical Villain in Heartwarming Animated Adventure

Despicable Me

Despite the fact that the title character at the center of Despicable Me might sound a little bit like Shrek, don’t let any superficial similarities discourage you from catching this equally-delightful animated adventure. Yes, at first blush, its ugly antihero is reminiscent of the much-beloved ogre, but it doesn’t take long for this variation on the theme to blossom into a thoroughly original persona.

Gru (Steve Carrell) is a hook-nosed hunchback with a vaguely Transylvanian accent who has singlehandedly ruined the otherwise idyllic slice of suburbia where he resides. Everyone on the block has learned to give the gruesome-looking misanthrope a wide berth; after all, his house is not only painted black but surrounded by a dead lawn. Plus, whenever he ventures into town in his road-hogging, jet-propelled tank, he tends to cause minor disturbances, like when he used one of his inventions to freeze everyone on line in front of him at the local coffee shop.

None of Gru’s intimidated neighbors have any idea that he’s secretly a megalomaniac poised to hatch an elaborate heist from his basement laboratory with the help of a loyal army of miniature minions. And why is he bent on world domination? Because he’s frustrated with being only the second most evil villain around, right behind the diabolical Vector (Jason Segel) who has just stolen the Great Pyramid at Giza and replaced it with an inflatable replica. Gru hopes to eclipse his competition and become #1 by using his latest invention, the shrink-ray gun, to make the moon disappear.

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Weekly Movie Reviews/Releases

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Grown Ups (PG-13 for profanity, male rear nudity, crude humor and suggestive material) Buddy comedy about five former teammates (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade, Kevin James and Rob Schneider) who, in honor of their recently-deceased basketball coach, reunite for the first time in years to runamuck over the 4th of July weekend at the same lake house where they celebrated winning a championship as kids. With Maya Rudolph, Salma Hayek, Tim Meadows, Maria Bello, Steve Buscemi, Norm Macdonald and Gary Busey.

Knight and Day (PG-13 for violence and brief profanity) Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz reunite for the first time since Vanilla Sky for this action comedy about a Plain Jane from the Midwest who unwittingly goes on a blind date with a dashing international spy only to become embroiled in a globetrotting adventure where they must prevent a piece of technology holding the key to infinite power from falling into the wrong hands. With Maggie Grace, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis and Paul Dano.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Dogtooth (Unrated) Dysfunctional family dramedy about a trio of siblings (Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni and Hristos Passalis) confined since birth on an isolated country estate who as teenagers start to rebel from their mind-controlling parents (Christos Stergioglou and Michelle Valley) in response to the powerful pangs of sexual awakening. (In Greek with subtitles)

Restrepo (R for violence and pervasive profanity) Afghan War documentary, co-directed by Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington, chronicling the year they spent embedded with a platoon engaged in daily deadly combat with the Taliban.

Wild Grass (PG for mature themes, smoking and mild epithets) Serendipitous romance drama, directed by the legendary Alain Resnais (Hiroshima Mon Amour), revolving around a married man (Andre Dussollier) who falls in love with the dentist (Sabine Azema) whose stolen wallet he finds. (In French with subtitles)

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