UPCOMING SCREENINGS

Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street - Room 172 Macy Hall
Train 1 to 116th Street - Walk up four blocks or
Bus M4, M60 or M104 to 120th Street


 

Friday, June 26 at 6:00PM 100% Arabica by Mahmoud Zemmouri, 85min, 1997, France, comedy in French with English subtitles. In a housing project located on the outskirts of Paris renamed "100% Arabica" by its inhabitants, African immigrants live side by side. The residents are united by their struggle for recognition in a society where immigrants are often regarded as second-class citizens. In a world of exiles, poverty is the common denominator. Against this backdrop, director Zemmouri has brought together two of the biggest and most charismatic stars of the cross-cultural musical form known as Rai, Cheb Mami and Khaled, who play the leaders of a band called Rap Oriental. As the band of musicians starts to gain in popularity, the Imam of the local mosque (Mouss) tries to destroy them by stirring up racial and cultural tensions. However, no one can stop the infectious popularity of the songs in this story of music triumphing over bigotry and violence.

Friday, June 26 8:30PM  in Room 172 Macy Hall SANKY PANKY by Jose Enrique Pintor, 110 min, 2007, Dominican Republic, comedy in Spanish with English subtitles. The Dominican Republic has beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and a little something called "Sanky Panky," which female tourists might want to stay away from. In this musical comedy starring the charismatic Fausto Mata, his attempts at getting foreign women to fall in love with him in order to procure a visa to the United States have hilarious results. A huge hit in both the Dominican Republic and the Dominican communities abroad, SANKY PANKY is a humorous look at the little-known phenomena of seducing travelers for personal gain. Popular Dominican music, such as Big Family and Aventura, accompany many of Mata's ridiculous exploits in his quest for a little "Sanky Panky."

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Friday, June 19th-Saturday, June 27th

Curated by Michael Henry Adams, Co-Sponsored by Queer Black Cinema, Men of All Colors Together and Harlem One Stop

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of The Stonewall Rebellion and thesubsequent Gay rights movement we celebrate the cinematicrepresentation of Gay life and culture in Black America's fabledhomeland with Homo Harlem: A Film Retrospective.

$10 Suggested Donation For All Screenings


 

Monday, June 22   7:00 pm

Homo Harlem: A Film Retrospective Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box Dir. Michelle Parkerson, 1987, 21 min. "Itain't easy…being green" is the favorite expression of StormeDeLarverie, a woman whose life flouted prescriptions of gender andrace. During the 1950's and 60's she toured the black theatre circuitas a mistress of ceremonies and the sole male impersonator of the legendary Jewel Box Revue, America's first integrated femaleimpersonation show and forerunner of La Cage aux Folles. Storme herselfemerges as a remarkable woman, who came up during hard times but always"kept a touch of class." Storme was also a witness to the StonewallRebellion 40 years ago and is a founding member of the StonewallVeterans Association. How Do I Look Wolfgang Busch, 2007, 48 min. HowDo I Look captures the Harlem "Ball" traditions that originated in the70s, which was historically an off shot from the Harlem "Drag" Ballsfrom the 20s. Because of the loss of hundreds of members and leaders ofthe "Ball" community due to the HIV epidemic, this film recorded animportant aspect of history while it was still available.

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A Young Man On A Mission

"Left home at the age of seven/one year later I'm carryin' an Ak-47."

For hip hop artist Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier in Sudan's brutal civil war, these lyrics are hardly empty posturing. They are the bitter reality of a young man who was "forced to sin" but determined to "never give up and never give in."

Thursday, February 12th  The Faison Firehouse Theater 6 Hancock Place,  Harlem, NY 10027 (124th Street bet. St. Nicholas & Morningside Aves.) Tickets are $35.00 in Advance  Show and Seats are Limited.  Contact Nubian Dreamer Richard Pelzer for tickets.

Today, wounded but still hopeful, he fights a new battle: bringing peace to his beloved Sudan and building schools in Africa. This time, his weapon is a microphone.

See why audiences from New York to Berlin to London rave about the award-winning film, War Child, and have embraced the hip-hop artist with a terrifying past and a gentle soul. Interspersing original interviews, live concerts, and rare footage of Jal as a seven year-old boy,

War Child will make viewers cry, laugh, dance, and celebrate the power of hope.

 

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Exclusively covering gay men of color in the media

New York, NY: October 17th, 2008 - I Want to Work for Diddy star and AfterElton.com blogger Rob Smith and About.com's gay lifestyle writer Ramon Johnson are launching The Mocha Lounge, a groundbreaking new show focusing on gay men of color in the media.

The Mocha Lounge will be broadcast bi-weekly on AfterElton.com and Downelink.com, both properties of the LOGOonline Network which receives an average of 2.9 million unique visitors per month. An episode archive and regularly updated notification of personalities to be featured on the show can be found at www.mochalounge.blogspot.com.

 

"This show is here because now is the time to make a more concentrated effort to diversify the images in the gay community," says creator and executive producer Rob Smith. "The Mocha Lounge will definitely bring something fresh and new into the conversation." The Mocha Lounge will cover politics, pop culture, and everything in-between with its gaze fixed on the gay men of color that populate all of these different areas. Mocha Lounge co-hosts Rob and Ramon will also engage in conversations and interviews with the hottest personalities, entertainers, and authors on the scene today! Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean and I Want to Work for Diddy star and first transwoman of color on reality television Laverne Cox will both appear in the Fall '08 season, which will air bi-weekly from October 16th through December 11th.

"This show is here because now is the time to make a more concentrated effort to diversify the images in the gay community," says creator and executive producer Rob Smith. "The Mocha Lounge will definitely bring something fresh and new into the conversation." The Mocha Lounge will cover politics, pop culture, and everything in-between with its gaze fixed on the gay men of color that populate all of these different areas. Mocha Lounge co-hosts Rob and Ramon will also engage in conversations and interviews with the hottest personalities, entertainers, and authors on the scene today! Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean and I Want to Work for Diddy star and first transwoman of color on reality television Laverne Cox will both appear in the Fall '08 season, which will air bi-weekly from October 16th through December 11th.

The Mocha Lounge name comes from the hue that is a mixture of all the beautiful complexions of different gay men of color, and is an indication that nobody is to be left out. Co-host Ramon Johnson agrees. "This isn't about just black gay men, this is about us all. Gay men of color need this representation. That's why The Mocha Lounge is here." Please forward all inquiries and media requests to mochaloungevb@gmail.com www.myspace.com/mochaloungevb www.mochalounge.blogspot.com

The Spike Lee film revolves around four African American Buffalo Soldiers trapped behind enemy lines.

By Susan King

ACTOR Derek Luke complains with ultra-mock seriousness that making Spike Lee's World War II drama, "Miracle at St. Anna," set for release Sept. 26, was like being in the real military.

"You never get a chance to go back to your trailer," says Luke, who knows he'll come up dry in this fishing trip for sympathy. Luke, who plays the key role of 2nd Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps in the movie, has nothing but admiration when he talks about Lee. "He shoots three or four or five cameras at the same time. He makes sure he gets every actor's reaction."

Luke says of director Spike Lee, "He allows you to improv if, in fact, it fits. If it doesn't fit, you'll hear it quickly." Photo: Ken Hively

"Miracle at St. Anna," adapted by James McBride from his novel, revolves around four African American Buffalo Soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division who find themselves trapped behind enemy lines in a small Tuscan village after one of the men risks his life to save a young Italian boy.

Though he worked long days and weeks in Italy on the film, Luke ("Antwone Fisher") says it was a huge honor to be directed by Lee, especially since he got his big break as an actor in "Fisher," which was directed by Denzel Washington, thereby linking him to Lee in a six-degrees-of-separation sort of way. "Denzel has made more movies with Spike than anybody he's worked with. Denzel and Spike are like Bonnie and Clyde."

Lee, he says, "seems like a guy who likes rehearsal. But once you get the rhythm for the rehearsal and a rhythm for the word, then he allows you to improv if, in fact, it fits. If it doesn't fit, you'll hear it quickly."

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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) recently announced funding in the amount of $12 million for three, new public television documentary series in which Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. will explore the meaning of race, culture, and identity in America. Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, as well as director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. His recent PBS series include “African American Lives” and “African American Lives 2,” “Oprah’s Roots: An African American Lives Special,” “America Beyond the Color Line,” and “Wonders of the African World.”

Hosted and co-produced by Gates, the forthcoming projects (which are expected to premiere in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively) will include “The Faces of America,” “Searching for Our Roots: The History of the African American People,” and “African American Lives 3: Reclaiming Our Past.” Each will be produced by WNET in New York, Kunhardt Productions, and Inkwell Films.

In “The Faces of America,” Gates will again put to powerful effect the latest DNA technology and genealogy, this time in a four-part examination of well-known Americans of all races and the often-surprising stories of their ancestors. In “Searching for Our Roots: The History of the African American People,” Gates will investigate the 300-year black experience in America. “Searching for Our Roots” will run eight hours total. Finally, in “African American Lives 3: Reclaiming Our Past,” Gates will conclude his popular series on the genealogy of prominent, contemporary African Americans.

“These films will give viewers, especially young people, a connection to their heritage and reinforce for all of us that a connection to the past can be a positive resource for the future,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “That knowledge can be a source of inspiration.”

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Johannesburg Thu 4th - Sun 14th September 2008 Nu Metro KillarneyMall Cape Town Thu 11th - Sun 21st September 2008 Nu Metro V&A Waterfront www.oia.co.za 021 461 40 27 ? info@oia.co.za

The Out In Africa SA Gay & Lesbian Film Festival has its 15th birthday outing this September, screening at Nu Metro in Johannesburg and Cape Town for 11 days in each city.

The Festival has something to suit all tastes and moods! The films? Silly, serious, sweet and sexy by turns, something for everyone... and from countries all over the world - Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, South Africa, Spain, UK and USA. . And the cherries on top are the fabulous filmmaker guests.

Guests include:

Bennett Singer (Director of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin). Justice Edwin Cameron selected this multiple award-winning documentary which reveals the life of the gay man who mentored Martin Luther King. Cameron will attend some of the screenings and engage with director Bennett Singer and Rustin's life partner Walter Naegle.

Lisa Thrasher (Producer of Itty Titty Bitty Committee) is an Independent Film Producer and serves as the President of Film Production & Distribution for POWER UP (Professional Organisation of Women in Entertainment Reaching UP) - she will be running a Producer's Seminar in Johannesburg and Cape Town - see the Media CD for further details.

Also in attendance will be Jamie Babbit, the Director of Itty Titty Bitty Committee. Babbit has enjoyed success as a television producer/director, serving as both for the WB television series Popular, as well as directing episodes of such critically acclaimed shows as Ugly Betty, the L Word, Alias, Nip/Tuck, Malcolm in the Middle and The Gilmore Girls.

Lisa Gornick the Writer and Director Tick Tock Lullaby is London born. Her first job was a Russian Chanteuse cabaret act where she philosophised about life in the UK amidst a set of improvised songs. She wrote several plays including Only Men Need Apply about trying to get into politics, and My Daughter Carries the Gun about women's role in resistance. Her first feature, Do I Love You? (2003), a philosophical comedy about love and its labels, won 3 awards at international festivals.

Katrina Deaton, is the Writer, Co-director and actress in Underneath. A Philadelphia native, she attributes her passion for flmmaking to divine intervention. Although writing screenplays is her true love, Katrina claims poetry and song writing are her mistresses. She recently fnished writing her second feature Kathy's Daughter, an autobiography, along with a few shorts and TV pilots she's working on distributing.

 

Underneath - Trailer

 

Founder, Percy Miller  joins with Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Derck Anderson and others to create new black cable channel

Los Angeles, CA (Billboard Publicity Wire/PRWEB ) August 15, 2008 -- Percy Miller (formerly Master P) announces the launch of Better Black Television (BBTV) a family friendly network that will provide positive content for a black and brown culture that will appeal to all races with a goal to bring people of color a choice when turning on their television.

The content on the channel will contain a wide arrangement from health and fitness, animation, financial planning, reality TV, sitcoms, dramas, movies, responsible hip-hop music and videos, politics, sports and entertainment news, educational children's shows as well as teen and family programming. Production has begun and will be based out of California, New York, Louisiana and Florida. In addition, BBTV is in the process of purchasing local cable channel affiliates across the country.

Percy Miller - Chairman Born in Hollywood, Better Black Television is the brainchild and passion of some of the most diverse powerful, celebrated entertainers, influentials and trendsetters from the Television, Film, Professional Sports, Corporate America and Music industries.

These visionaries all share the common goal of enhancing the current television landscape for this highly coveted demographic currently monopolized by only a few significant providers, with fresh, innovative, uplifting and above all family-friendly entertainment. Envisioned and headed by its Founder, P. Miller, a legendary music, film, and television entertainer as well as world-renowned African-American entrepreneur and social activist, Better Black Television is guided, staffed and supported by a highly skilled, talented, and above all dedicated team of professionals that have been working for more than 5 years to make this dream a reality.

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Oakland CA- It was six years ago when festival producers Debra Wilson and Joe Hawkins decided to do what many thought was not possible ; create a film festival dedicated to showcasing films about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender  (LGBT) people of African descent.


 

"I felt compelled to produce this festival after I learned from Debra (who is also a filmmaker) that there was only one Black LGBT film festival in the world at that time." Hawkins said. But after doing some research, he said that it was clear that the closest thing to a Black LGBT film festival that existed in America were the film screenings that sometimes took place in hotels during Black Gay Pride celebrations around the country.

BLUEPRINT

U People

The Young and Evil

Shirts & Skins

Friends and Lovers: Ski Trip 2

Festival co-producer Debra Wilson said; "When we held our first screening in 2003 at the Parkway Theater, there was a line down the street, I was a little shocked, but I knew that we were filling a void." Hawkins said that even the one other film festival that existed when the Oakland festival began six years ago, has resorted to offering free screenings on a very small scale.

Oakland is home to some of the world.s most notable black gay and lesbian film-makers to include the late Marlon Riggs (Tongues Untied & Ethnic Notions) and more recently award winning directors Debra Wilson (Butch Mystique & Jumpin. The Broom) and Maurice Jamal (Dirty Laundry & Ski-Trip) who's films have also been shown on MTV- Logo. Another unique characteristic of Oakland is that it is home to the largest population of African and African-American LGBT people in Northern California, according to a recent survey by the International Federation of Black Prides.

The festival takes place at Oakland 's landmark Parkway Theater, located at 1834 Park Blvd , August 14-17. "Opening night, we selected a RETRO film from African-American cinema that resonates within the Black LGBT community. Last year we chose The Wiz and this year we will screen Mahogany." Hawkins said. Mahogany will also be presented in memory of former owner of the Historic Bates House, Joe Ware, who died earlier this year. "Joe was a major supporter of the film festival and hosted the filmmakers at the Bates House at his Bed & Breakfast along with the annual opening night reception. Joe Ware was the epitome of class and often opened his business to the Black LGBT community when no one else would" Hawkins said.

This year.s festival selections include: Logo's (from MTV Networks) Sneek-Peek screening of its ground-breaking new reality show "Shirts & Skins," which is scheduled to premiere on LOGO in mid September. Shot in San Francisco and Directed by talented African-American director Leola Westbrook, the show follows the true-life story of the San Francisco Rockdogs, a young all-star gay basketball team who must reunite to uphold their city's three-generation legacy of international gay games gold medal, and national tournament wins. The Bay Area Premiere of Oakland native, Maurice Jamal's latest offering - Ski-Trip 2 (Friends & Lovers), part romantic comedy, part drama, part Hollywood spoof and all signature Jamal. Hanifah Walidah.s, U People - A documentary steeped with sexy, intelligent women who have gathered together to make a unique music video; BLUEPRINT Director and Out 100 honoree, Kirk Shannon-Butts, tells the story of Keith, a reserved conservative transplant to New York City from Los Angeles and Nathan a street-smart, pot smoking Brooklynite who lives on the edge. Pariah - Pariah is a coming-of-age drama about a lesbian teenager who unsuccessfully juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from her friends and family and The Sakia Gunn Project - documentary that tells the story of Sakia, a 15 year old charismatic, dynamic young woman who was tragically murdered. Sakia was out and proud about being an 'aggressive' (woman who dresses in masculine attire but does not necessarily identify as either lesbian or female-to-male transgender.) Sakia held promise as a basketball player and was looking forward to becoming an upper classman at Newark.s West Side High.

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"In case you don’t know, I shot the first gay movie in Africa. It is not out yet. I don’t know if this rumour came out before I shot the gay movie. If I were gay, God forbid, do you think I would do the movie and expose this gay thing? Oh, God of mercy! Gay? If I were gay, I wouldn’t have been bold enough to put it in pictures."

By Nonye Iwuagwu, Nigerian Interviewer

In Nigeria, movie directors are not usually known, because they are behind the camera. But that is not the case with Dickson Iroegbu. Since he came into the industry, the scriptwriter and movie director/producer has always been in the news. But Iroegbu also has many scandals trailing him. He speaks with ‘NONYE IWUAGWU about the scandals and a new project he is doing with Onyeka Onwenu.

 

How come you enjoy being behind the camera? I enjoy creating characters and watching them become what I made them to be. I enjoy being there without being known. I enjoy expressing what I have inside me. The only way I found I could do that was by writing scripts, producing and directing movies. I have refused to do anything that will give me visual fame. I thought I should concentrate on my arts and not be distracted. I enjoy a situation where I am being discussed and people don’t know I am the one being discussed. But many people know you still. Unfortunately, because of my dreadlocks, you can place some form of identity on me. Before now, I didn’t have all of that. I could go anywhere, do anything and get away with it. But it is all show business. I had to devise a means of having a special identity. I couldn’t be more fulfilled in any other profession as I am as a film director. Don’t you feel bad that the actors you made have shone brighter than you? If I suffer from an inferiority complex, I would have felt bad. But I don’t. I know who I am. What I am is not a mistake. I don’t want to be like any other person. If I were having some ambition, I would have felt that way. But if you have observed, I can’t be at any function and anybody would have reasons to think I have been outshone, unless I am not myself. You can’t be everywhere. You have to choose a direction and do well in that direction. I have not finished exploring the artistic values that I have in me. When I am through with it, I could be aged by then, it might be too late for me to start acting. No actor can take the shine off the director. It is only in Nollywood that value is not given to the man behind the camera. But in all, the directors still matters. Viewers still call and appreciate what I do. I relate with the actors. They are my friends and colleagues. Without them there would not be me, and without me there wouldn’t be them. We co-exist in the environment we have found ourselves.

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By Sarah F. Sullivan

At the beginning of June, Hollywood star, Angelina Jolie, announced her disappointment in Walt Disney Studios for their lack of a black Disney princess.

"There still isn't a Disney princess that's African and it's very difficult because our daughter's getting into princesses right now and it upsets me," she told OK! Magazine.

Disney's Frog Princess, "Maddy"

Evidently she was unaware of Disney's plans to release "The Princess and the Frog," with the first African American princess in Disney's history. While it would be easy to say "that's nice" and leave it at that, such a barrier-breaking undertaking can't come without controversy.

Previously, the film was to have starred Maddy, a chambermaid to a snobby white girl, with a voodoo priestess fairy godmother and a heartfelt desire to be with a white prince. Disney was instantly hit with a barrage of complaints from critics. The name "Maddy" sounded too much like a slave name or even like "mammy," a stereotypical black woman, rotund and matronly.

Under the pressure of rising critiques of the film, the storyboard was completely scrapped. The new film now features 19-year-old princess Tiana, who finds herself in 1920s New Orleans and a country that has never had a monarchy. The prince is reported to have been changed to a man of Middle Eastern heritage and will be called Naveen. The race of the villain is also reported to have been changed.

The film will bring back such Disney alumni as John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin." Randy Newman is slated to compose the songs and score. The voice talents include John Goodman, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Angela Bassett, Peter Bartlett and "Dreamgirls" star Anika

Noni Rose providing the voice of Tiana. When completed, "The Princess and the Frog" will be the 48th animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

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By Robert Butler

Film critic Shawn Edwards has been on a roll of late with his documentaries about African-American cinema — “The 100 Best Black Movies (Ever)” and “No Joke: The 50 Funniest Black Movie Comedies (Ever).”

Shawn Edwards

Now he’s parlaying his affection for black cinema into a new Web site, www.iloveblack movies.com.

“The idea came from doing research for the documentaries,” Edwards recalled. “I had such a time struggling to find out any information about black movies on the Web. There weren’t that many sources out there no matter what search engines I was using. It was barren.”

Edwards envisions his site as a one-stop market for reviews, essays, photos and even merchandise about black-themed movies.

“We’re trying to build up a reference source that people can use. Right now most of the stuff on the site is things I’ve written, but I’m not arrogant enough to think I’m the sole source of information on black movies, so we’re making it wide open. I want to build up a list of regular contributors.

“We want essays, historical documents … eventually we’d like to create a Black Movies Hall of Fame. Most important, we want to get people talking about contemporary and historical black movies.”

In two months of operation iloveblackmovies.com already has found an audience, Edwards said. “We’re getting hits from all over the country. People like the idea. The most common response we get is ‘It’s about time.’ Which is sad in 2008 but at least shows we’re moving in the right direction.”

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By Barry Hertz

As much as Jews, Christians and Muslims spar with each other, there's actually one thing all three religions agree on: Homosexuality is a sin. While documentaries on gay Christians (For the Bible Tells Me So) and Orthodox Jews (Trembling Before G-d) have had their moments in the spotlight, the struggles of homosexual Muslims have never been thoroughly explored. Enter filmmaker Parvez Sharma, who compiled nearly 400 hours of footage from a dozen countries to produce A Jihad for Love, a fiery titled documentary chronicling the lives of gay and lesbian Muslims.

Sharma, who sometimes adopted the guise of a charity worker or tourist to film in hard line Middle East nations, has assembled a brilliant lineup of subjects. Over the course of 80 minutes, Sharma speaks to a gay imam, a cross-dresser in France, a middle-aged lesbian couple and an Egyptian man arrested, jailed and tortured after trying to attend a gay disco. It's a shame then that we never really get to know each person, since Sharma is too keen on jumping from one story and locale to the next, never allowing us to get much insight into why these people remain so devoted to a religion that would rather see them dead.

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Batman film The Dark Knight has set a box office record for best opening weekend ever at the US box office, distributor Warner Bros has said.

The sequel took $155.3m (£77.7m) surpassing the previous opening weekend record set by Spider-Man 3 last year, which took $151.1m (£75.5m).

 

Batman, which opened on Friday, took $66.4m (£33.2m), which was also a single-day box office record.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, it cost $185m (£92.5m) to make.

Critics have praised the film, which stars Christian Bale as Batman and the late actor Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker.

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Film screens at the 14th Annual Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival at the Arts Bank on July 13 and July 19


Jersey City, NJ  -- The world premiere of OmeProductions' first feature length film about the story of young gay man's struggle with self-discovery, affirmation and love within the urban community. The screening of Finding Me (www.thanks4findingme.com) will take place at the 14th annual Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the largest gay and lesbian film festival in the eastern U.S.

The film will screen on July 13 at 7:00 p.m. and July 19 at 12:00 p.m. at the Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia. From first-time Haitian-American filmmaker Roger Omeus, Jr., comes this inspiring story of self-acceptance, self-love and begins with a question, "What am I doing with my life?" Faybien Allen (RayMartell Moore) begins his journey with this question and it defines every decision he makes. This young gay man's world is defined by his homophobic father and a colorful cast of friends who he later realizes are as flawed as he feels. However, when Faybien meets a man that proves there is life after 'coming out,' it is revealed to him that he is worthy of love, respect, and happiness. His self-hate, love and relationships collide in a dramatic resolution that will leave him forever changed and reborn.

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Film Intro Trailer

 

 

By Selena Blake

As a Jamaican I'm aware of the zero tolerance attitudes most fellow Jamaicans (aka "yardie") feel towards homosexuals (aka "Battyman") and lesbians. But I've never personally witnessed or know of anyone being harmed solely because of their sexual preference. I remembered as a little girl growing up in Jamaica in the 70's I would hear stories about "Battyman" and "lesbians", but I really didn't give it much thought then. Neither was it an issue for my family or anyone I knew. It was not a concept or ideal or part of my daily consciousness.

The time has come for "YARDIES" to address this homophobic behavior, -whether perception or reality- in a more socially responsible manner. We all have the right to our opinions and choices; and rightfully so. But we do not have the right to harm anyone on the basis of his or her color, religion, race and sexual preference. Let's teardown some old traditional walls built on fear and ignorance and build some new ones built on education, tolerance and mutual respect. The gays and lesbians in Jamaica are not going anywhere, and they are interwoven into the black, green and gold fabric of our great Island, they are spread across the socioeconomic playfield of our culture and they are here to stay, like it or not.

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US actor George Takei is to wed his long-term partner after California lifted its ban on same-sex marriage.

Takei, 71, best known for playing Mr Sulu in Star Trek, said he and Brad Altman were going through the "delicious dilemma" of where to marry.

The actor and 54-year-old Mr Altman have been together for 21 years.

"We can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily," Takei wrote on his website.

'Good times'

Takei, who recently appeared in the popular US TV series Heroes, added: "We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing.

"We've travelled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad.

"He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him."

On Thursday, California's Supreme Court said the "right to form a family relationship" applied to all Californians regardless of sexuality.

But opponents of the decision said they would seek an amendment to the state constitution, which would override the ruling.

Following the Supreme Court's decision to legalise same-sex marriage, comedian Ellen DeGeneres announced plans to marry her girlfriend, actress Portia de Rossi

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African-American Male Exotic Dancers Protect Their Rights in Don't Hate: Strippers Fight The Government

By Violet Glaze

"I remember the first time I went to watch the male dancers," says Upper Marlboro attorney Jim Bell, talking about the conversation that convinced him watching pumped, oiled, and codpieced male exotic dancers undulating for dollars might not be such a bad idea. The club owner told him he needed to come down, that he was having a special show of about 20 male dancers. Bell, a sturdy, baldheaded 38-year-old with the no-nonsense mien of an amiable Rottweiler, replied that he was a guy--he didn't care if there were 100 dancers. What could this club owner tell him to make him want to watch men dancing?

"And he said, `There's going to be about four to five hundred women [in the audience].' I said, "Uh, what time does it begin?"

Bell's booming laughter fills the booth where he's seated, accompanied by his security detail, Darrell Johnson, inside the Sideline, a swanky sports bar located along the Capital Center retail boulevard in Largo. Despite the lighthearted moment, you get the feeling Bell isn't a man to be trifled with. After all, this is the guy who not only took on the Prince George's County legislature in 2006 and '07 when it tried to outlaw the traditional etiquette for tipping an exotic dancer, but also wrote, directed, and produced the documentary Don't Hate: Strippers Fight the Government, about the crux of his legal argument--with plenty of footage of his ripped and booty-shaking clients included, of course. PG County introduced the new ordinance in 2006, which stipulated that paper money could not be discreetly tucked somewhere on the dancer's person, such as inside the strap of a G-string, eliminating any contact, even as innocuous as a handshake, between the entertainer and the audience.

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Actor Eddie Murphy is to reprise his role as Detroit detective Axel Foley in a fourth instalment of Beverley Hills Cop, according to reports.

 

The last film in the series was released in 1994. Altogether, the three films grossed $712.9m (£361m).

Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original Beverly Hills Cop trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, will not be actively involved in the new film, Variety says.

The announcement comes as the revived Indiana Jones franchise storms cinema box offices worldwide.

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Star Wars filmmaker hires scribe for WWII project.

George Lucas is preparing for what is expected to be his next film project, the WWII action-adventure, Red Tails, about the Tuskegee Airmen.

 

Lucas, according to Variety, has brought on screenwriter John Ridley to write the script for what has long been a passion project for the Star Wars filmmaker. Lucas is executive producing the Lucasfilm-based project. The movie reportedly follows a group of young pilots who overcome racism to form the distinguished Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter pilots in American military history. The film gets its title from the tails of their fighter planes that were painted red.

Lucas, Variety says, sought out Ridley after reading his script for Spike Lee's L.A. Riots.

Ridley, who recently met with the surviving pilots at a convention, says, "These were guys who had to figure everything out for themselves, because military units were completely segregated at the time and there was no seasoned war pilot to teach them."

"President Roosevelt formed the unit as a publicity stunt because he wanted the black vote for his re-election campaign, but these guys were such skilled pilots that they ended up becoming true heroes by escorting bombers in North Africa and Italy," Ridley added.

Lucas' Star Wars prequel cohort Rick McCallum is producing along with Charles Floyd Johnson.

Industrial Light + Magic will be bringing the movie's flight sequences to life.