HO L LY W OOD SPOT LIGHT Chez Hadley “Summer of Soul” It has been characterized as a powerful and transporting documentary— part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. And this month, Roots drummer and front man, Questlove, makes his directorial debut with the two-hour documentary, Summer of Soul, subtitled “Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Dubbed as “The Black Woodstock”, the documentary featuring never before seen concert performances by Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight, the 5th Dimension, the Staples Singers,
Max Roach, Moms Mabley and Pigmeat Markham, was filmed at the Harlem Cultural Festival–a series of concerts held in 1969 at Marcus Garvey Park to an estimated audience of 300,000. It was in 2019 that Questlove was approached by two producers who said
they had 45-plus hours of footage from a little known, but culturally historic, music festival. Said Questlove, “I was shocked that there was all this footage out there and that no one had done much with it.” The racial justice protests of last summer gave the project even more meaning. The film’s climax is Nina Simone performing “Young, Gifted and Black” with a recitation from the Last Poets’ David Nelson: “Are you ready to smash white things, to burn buildings…Are you ready to build black things?” The documentary arrives in theaters and will be available on Hulu on July 2.
OUT THIS MONTH
Cinderella July 16
LeToya Luckett, YaYa DaCosta and Morris Chestnut to Headline “Our Kind of People” LeToya Luckett, Yaya DaCosta and Morris Chestnut have all been set as leads in the Fox drama series Our Kind of People, based on the critically acclaimed book: Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. Set in Martha’s Vineyard, Our Kind of People is the story of a strong-willed single mom Angela Vaughn (DaCosta) who sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever. Luckett w i l l p l a y Leah
L.A. Focus/July 2021
HOLLYWOOD BUZZ
Zola July 2
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Franklin-
Space Jam: A New Legacy July 16
Dupont, a strong, confident, elegant businesswoman, who, along with her husband Raymond (Chestnut), sits at the top of the food chain of the wealthy, long-standing Black elite in Martha’s Vineyard and makes it her business to bar Angela’s acceptance into the elite conclave fearing that Angela will destroy everything Leah’s family has built.
The Best Man—The Final Chapters Fans of “The Best Man” movie franchise will be pleased to know that a ten-episode limited dramedy series The Best Man: The Final Chapters is in the works, with the core members of the original cast–Chestnut, Nia Long, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Melissa De Sousa and Harold Perrineau– all reportedly signing seven figure deals to return. Morris Chestnut is a hot commodity these days. The actor–who stars on The Resident–is one of the producers behind the upcoming feature Greenwood Avenue, about the Tulsa Race Massacre. The film will follow the story of a Philadelphia lawyer who goes to Tulsa, Oklahoma to discover the events of the Black Wall Street massacre of 1921 and her family’s connection to it. In the meantime,
Tiffany Haddish to Bring FloJo Story to Life Tiffany Haddish is set to produce and star in a biopic about Olympic Goldwinning track and field athlete Florence (“Flo-Jo”) Griffith Joyner to detail her remarkable accomplishments and untimely death at the age of 38. The fastest woman of all time, the records Flojo set back in 1988 for the 100 and 200 meters events still stand. Her indelible impact on the world of sport also had a great deal to do with her fashion. “I am looking forward to telling FloJo’s story the way it should be told,”
Jungle Cruise July 30
Haddish told Deadline. “My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed.”
Diana Ross Shows Her Gratitude Diana Ross has a new album set for release this fall and its message is simple. Said Ross, “This collection of songs is my gift to you with appreciation and love. I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to record this glorious music at this time. I dedicate this songbook of love to all of you, the listeners. As you hear my voice you hear my heart. "Let Love Lead the Way". Recorded in her home studio, "Thank You" offers a powerful, inclusive musical message of love and togetherness. Ross co-wrote and collaborated on the 13 songs. In other news, Danny Glover and Samuel L. Jackson are among those chosen to receive Honorary Oscars, at the long-delayed 12th annual Governors’ Awards…Seems Dwyane Wade and wife Gabrielle Union’s “Shady Baby”, Kaavia, has inspired the couple’s next collaboration. “We’re so excited to officially announce our new baby company, Proudly. As we continue to work on new endeavors together, our goal is to always center our work around being the change we want to see while championing diversity, equity and inclusion,” the two said in a statement. “With Proudly, we’re proud to have a range of products that caters to the unique skin care needs of children of color that are so often overlooked in the mass market”…Finally, even though his upcoming biography isn’t out yet, Will Smith’s book, Will, has been listed as Amazon’gs #1 best seller among actor and entertainer biographies. In a post, the 52-year old actor thanked his fans for their preorders. The book is set to be published on November 9.
Q&A
Jacob Lattimore Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Big Break: Black Nativity Upcoming Projects: Gully This 24-year old singer/actor got his big start starring in Black Nativity opposite Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige at the age of 16. It led to roles in “The Maze Runner”, “Collateral Beauty”, “Detroit” and most recently “Like A Boss” starring Tiffany Haddish and Salma Hayek. A talented vocalist, he has released two albums and scored a hit single in 2017 with “Heartbreak Heard Around The World” featuring T. Pain. In 2018, He was cast to star in “The Chi”, which is presently in the midst of its fourth season. On shooting the new season of “The Chi”: “It’s been incredible. This is the first time we are going to be airing while we’re actually finishing up a few episodes. The show started May 23 and we are on episode eight right now. I like this way where we shoot and put it out. It’s kind of like you’re doing a music video. We definitely need this out for the people right now. The moment seems right and we saw the trailer and said ‘oh my goodness, we just finished filming that a couple weeks ago. On Season four’s focus on the police abuse of Black men: As a Black actor, it seems like almost every TV show or movie has to have it because it is so much a part of our reality,” said Latimore. “It’s relevant to our experience. We are The Chi and represent the culture and we have to talk about those issues. It has been really difficult to film with COVID and we haven’t been really able to come together as a cast off set as much as we used to. It’s definitely been difficult in that way. Everyone is so isolated when we are there. It’s difficult, but we are making it work and making it look good On how much you see of him in his character, Emmett: I’ve been able to put a lot of myself in the character. I’m really goofy and funny and I’ve been craving a character like this where I can just be myself. I wanted to show my personality a little more. I’ve done a lot of dramas and films like “Detroit” and “Collateral Beauty.” I had to bring the tears to screen and you will see a different dynamic from Emmett this year because he has to go through a lot this year. Overall, it’s been fun to be the light of the show. To be comedic, smiley and fun, it’s dope.” On his music: I'm actually getting ready to release some new music. I'm reallyexcited about the coming visuals. The visual (music videos) really shows me as an entertainer. I love to dance, I love perform and you know, Chris Brown, Usher, Bruno Mars, that's like the type of artist I really want to be like. I'm very vocal about it right now. I wasn't that vocal when I was younger, I was just kind of doing things, but now I know exactly what I want and expect it.
