theblackactor.com

Denzel - Our Beautiful (Aging) Hotness

The Denzel Washington / Billy Dee Williams Syndrome…

Denzel Washington still makes black women swoon. He is still exalted as our black-sexy-chocolate-bed-me savior. Um, Denzel Washington is 53 years old -– which brings me to the point of this post. We are so longing to have our superstar sex symbol actors like whites have their superstar sex symbol actors that we are still exalting Denzel to sex symbol status -- even at age 53.

Of course Denzel Washington is a very handsome man. Sexy, too. But his time has passed. Actually, for the first time, in his 2006 film, Déjà Vu, the signs of aging were evident to me. He is supposed to look the way he does because he is beyond his youth. He is a middle-aged man, for Godssakes.

Women still want to have sex with him as if he were a youth of 20. Teenagers probably hang his posters in their bedrooms.   

It was like that with Billy Dee Williams. We kept hanging on to him as our sexyhottiehunk, way past his prime.

So Denzel Washington presents as another case of the eternal sex symbol. There is nothing wrong with this; nothing at all. However, the continuous acknowledgement of the sex appeal of our aging sex symbol brings to light that which is unmistakably absent.

Aging white male sex symbols are merely viewed as handsome and sexy for their age. I doubt that 17 year-old white teens have 46 year-old George Clooney on their walls. 25 year-old white women don’t want George Clooney. Why would they? There are dozens of hot, handsome white male superstar actors in their 20s and 30s to choose from.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Orlando Bloom, Jude Law, Jared Leto, Shia LaBeouf, blah blah blah.

George Clooney is certainly not presented by white media in the way Denzel Washington is presented by black media.

This kind of sex symbol status (and staying power) does not happen to everyone.  I think Denzel Washington is a sex symbol, in part, because:

• He’s tall –- at 6 feet.
• He is strikingly handsome -– and not of the cutesy or pretty boy variety.
• He is completely masculine with absolutely nothing effeminate in his manner, voice, style of dress, etc.
• He seems to be “nice” and is thought to be a family man.
• Scandals don’t surround him (oh there’s the occasional chatter that he has cheated on wifey) but I don’t think any of this stuff has ever stuck.
• During interviews, he comes across as intelligent, personable and grounde.
• He maintains a certain maturity –- even when he was in his 30s.
• He is a very talented actor -- an Oscar winner, and his work is generally "safe" and doesn’t raise eyebrows.
• He’s respected in the industry.
• The invisible (class, charisma).

So, there’s Denzel. And only Denzel.

I don’t think we have any superstar actors who are young and sexy. At the moment, I can’t think of any. So, we hang onto 50-year-old Denzel. Our actors might be young, they might be sexy but who is young and sexy and qualifies as a superstar? I can’t think of one.

Will Smith? Superstar, yes. I don’t think Will Smith is marketed as a sex symbol of any kind. And Will Smith is older than 35. Terrence Howard? Not yet. Terrence Howard is over 35 and not a superstar. Not enough starring vehicles. Morris Chestnut? Fairly young but still over 35. No box office strength. He’s not a superstar. You get the point.

(Being over 35 doesn’t disqualify them. I only mention it since they’re on the older side of young.)

Black female teens have to look elsewhere. I suppose that’s why they look to 50 Cent. 50 Cent is a superstar. He is young. He is sexy. And he is rich. And these days, an actor. Producer too, as I understand it. 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo! 

I’ll be glad when the sexyblackactorsavior-thing dies; because his death will represent the birth of the myriad of black male actors who are recognized superstars -– dudes with talent, class, sex appeal, good looks and charisma -- men who are ineligible for AARP membership.

Off Topic, but not Totally Off Topic

      

I can hear 'em now...

"Stop hatin'!"

"He ain't killin' nobody."

"He has kids to feed."

"Stop hatin'!'"

What do the Japanese or the Dutch think when they see this?

Picture ganked from Bossip.

What do you like?

I was wondering what -- actually, I'm very interested in -- what you guys like to see. 

What is your preferred genre?

Action, Adventure, War, Westerns, Romance, Sci Fi, Horror, Drama, Comedy, Epics / Historical, Crime/Gangster? Other genres or subgenres I haven't mentioned?

As for me, I enjoy drama, psychological thrillers, suspense, supernatural.

Hey, girl. How You Doin'?

Okay, friends: This was bday weekend (Saturday was bday).

Because i'm slightly hungover and don't feel like thinking, i could only manage the following post for Monday; haven't had chance to prepare anything over the last few days.

Anyhoo, um, let's see... er

One of the following actresses played a lesbian character and kissed a woman on-screen.  Was it...

Regina King, Angela Bassett or Nia Long?

That was supposed to be the end of the post, but I wanted to add that I give a lot of credit to the actress who did this -- and to any black actor who does this -- and who is unafraid to play a gay character... especially one who kisses their same sex partner onscreeen...

More on this... one day.

Sophie Okonedo

Though she’s been around for awhile, British actress Sophie Okonedo just recently came onto my radar. She is a theatrically trained actress, annd she has a background in British television and film.

Though she has appeared in other movies, I first saw her in 2003, in Dirty Pretty Things (2002). In the film, she played Juliette, a sympathetic, wisecracking prostitute. This role was her break-through, on-screen role. It wasn’t a large role, but she did lots with it. I thought this role was interesting. Somehow, Okonedo found a way to make us sympathetic to Juliette, without us really knowing it. This was a very minor character in the scheme of things but she got us to notice her presence. I think this was evidence of a keen understanding of her craft. She was skilled enough to turn that prostitute into a person. The role in less capable hands would have been unremarkable and certainly not memorable.

I really ook notice of her as Tatiana Rusesabagina, wife of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) in Hotel Rwanda (2004). She was great in the film, delivering a compelling and honest performance. This starring role earned her not only a giant leap into fame, but a well-deserved Oscar-nomination as well (2005 Best Supporting Actress).

In the quirky, British TV thriller, Alibi (2003), she had a starring role as Marcey Burgess, a benefits clerk by day / catering assistant by night, who is hell-bent on helping a man (who employed her for a party he threw in his home) cover up what she believes to be an accidental murder. The thing about Sophie Okonedo that makes her compelling to watch is her range. In this film, she was calm, terrified, quick-witted, goofy, comical, dorky, smart, robotic, clever, a capable problem solver and a quick thinker. She was very good in this film.

Other film appearances include an appearance in the film The Jackal (1997) and a small part in British film, Alex Rider:  Operation Stormbreaker (2006), as Mrs. Jones.  She enjoyed one scene in Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006).

Sophie Okonedo is an incredibly talented actress. I really enjoy watching her and look forward to seeing more of her work.

Sean Combs - Monster's Ball

Sean Combs portrayed death row inmate, Laurence Musgrove  in Monster’s Ball (2001). In the role, he was also husband to Letitica Musgrove (Halle Berry). Someone else should have had this opportunity. 

Is he an actor; or merely an attention-whore a performer with a never-ending urge to be on stage?

Though not terrible, I found the portrayal shallow. The role was better suited to someone who understands how to convey drama and exploit the behavioral and emotional gradations in a character. It’s as if Sean Combs was told, “You’re a death row inmate, facing impending death. Now make sure you look sad and mope a lot.” 

One might argue they cast him because they needed star power. Wasn’t Halle Berry herself, enough star power? Billy Bob Thornton? How much star power is required?  Lots, I guess.

At some point star power has to be, or should be, weighed against talent.

I suppose when they need star power they have to turn to rappers because they are the real stars to our youth. They’re not going to hold a casting call to look for successful black businessmen, black mentors, black chess champions or black snowboarders. And they’re not going to look to actors, necessarily. They will continue to look to rappers for their star power. Even if Combs had turned it down, Ludacris would have accepted it. Or Usher…

Shareeka Epps and Elijah Kelley

I don’t know their work. But I do believe they are two young black actors who may deserve our attention.

Elijah Kelley is 21 and Shareeka Epps is 18 years old.

For her work in Half Nelson, in 2006 Shareeka Epps was the winner of The Boston Society of Film Critics Award, as well as a Gotham Award and in 2007 she won an Independent Spirit Award.

Elijah Kelley is an award winning actor, as well. He was part of an award-winning ensemble in Hairspray (2007) and he won a Hollywood Film Festival Award in 2007 for his work in the film.

I’m going to make it a point to watch some of their work.

Is anyone familiar with these two young actors?

The Great Debaters - What Happened?

I must be incredibly naïve. I have never understood some of the basic concepts behind marketing and advertising. I wonder why it is thought a film should be successful -- or will be successful -- merely because it has behind it “powerhouses” like Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington.

Uh, so.

Don’t trip. Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington; they’re great and rich and 2,884 other wonderful things, blah blah blah. For me, the fact that Oprah produced it and Denzel directs and stars in it, is not a consideration in my decision to see the pic.

Actually, my main consideration is genre.

This comes up as I thought it might be interesting to examine why The Great Debaters (2007) was a box office failure. 

I should tell you I haven’t seen it. I will eventually watch the film for my work here – and partly because of inexplicable curiosity.

Why has this film only earned $25 million at the box office in three weeks? And why didn’t the film make it to the Top Ten its opening weekend? It was certainly hyped enough. Something happened. 

I don’t know why other people haven’t seen this film. I only know why I haven’t.  We have our dumb films and we have our “good” films, which are all too often based on some true “heartwarming” story.

I also didn’t go see Talk to Me (2007) when it released. I wasn’t interested in the story, even though it starred Don Cheadle (love him) and was directed by Kasi Lemmons (who I am fond of). That still wasn’t enough to get me into the movie.  I thought to myself, “I’ll watch it on DVD.” I did eventually see it, partly because I was highlighting Don Cheadle and Kasi Lemmons. When I finally saw the pic, I thought it was really good.

What do I make of that? Nothing, really. Sometimes a good movie is released and I miss it because I didn’t expect to enjoy it. Sometimes I go to the movies to see what I expect to be a good movie, and leave disappointed.

I haven’t much tuned into the chatter surrounding The Great Debaters, but I do believe it is being highly praised for the overall production and for some of the performances. I don’t question whether or not it’s a good film. And even though the film has been highly praised, I still am not particularly interested in seeing it.

Don’t get it twisted. I’m not saying that these kinds of pics should not be produced.  They’re harmless pics, good pics, inspiring pics, pics with positive images, etc. I am suggesting, however, that in addition to these kinds of pics, there must be other offerings.

There are some who will scold me and the others who haven’t seen the film. They will say we support First Sunday but don’t support this. They will say we are wrong.  They will say we want “good” cinema but don’t support it when it comes. This is nonsense. It’s not anyone’s place to suggest what someone should see at the movies.  People go see what they want to see. theblackactor.com will not advise you to see a film because it is your social responsibility to do so.

Positive and Uplifing. Yeah, that’s cute and all. But I don’t believe that every time a black film is produced it must “always uplift the race.”

I was wondering who was supposed to see this pic. Who was the target audience?  Blacks? If blacks, who? 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 80s, men, women? Was the target audience more broadly defined, as in “everybody?” Was it thought that white youth, Mexican youth, Puerto Rican women would want to see this? The old? The young?

Yeah, yeah. I’m glad a "nice" film came out. I am; but I think the failure of The Great Debaters at the box office is revelatory and indicative of a need... a calling... a request.

Whatever the case, I give ginormous kudos to Oprah and Denzel for doing something -- something good, in black cinema. Regardless of box office numbers -- and subsequent interpretations of those numbers -- they put out something respectable and praiseworthy. 

And for that, I thank them.

*** Announcement, y'all ***

Ooh Lawd, chile; my head is spinnin’ like a muthaf*cka.  It’s a wonder there is any coherent post on this site.  LOL.

When I was planning the blog, I decided to post five days a week.  I was uncertain if this was prudent but decided to proceed with this posting schedule.

After three months, I have determined that posting five days a week is not ideal for theblackactor.com -- for a number of reasons.

theblackactor.com is still a baby and I’m learning lessons and tweaking as I’m going, guys.  I do believe there is a case for a 4-day posting schedule; even a 3-day posting schedule.

With that said, though I am not committing to a 5-day per week posting schedule, I am committed to this blog -- and a 3-4-day per week posting schedule.  From time to time, I may post more frequently.

THE ONE THING I WILL ALWAYS COMMIT TO is trying to bring the readers of theblackactor.com quality content. 

The new posting schedule will commence the week beginning January 21, 2008.

Black Cinema, Black Actors, Other Voices

Since blogging on the topic I blog on, and visiting as many blogs as I have over the last several months, I have been pleasantly surprised to learn just how many people are passionate, opinionated and highly interested in and vocal about this topic. This was unexpected. 

Unlike those bloggers who devote their blogs entirely to issues of black cinema, there are several black bloggers who don’t blog on one topic, but rather discuss a variety of issues pertinent to the black experience in the United States (and abroad, for that matter). Though they may not talk about it regularly, they are very much active participants in the discussion of black cinema.

Because these black bloggers are not “black film bloggers” per se, the participants in this discourse may be unaware of these voices. People may only know about the more popular blogs devoted to this theme. But these voices are worthy of our attention, I believe.

I highlight one here. 

Orville is a very good writer and I think you will enjoy reading his blog.

Gayblackcanadianman

Check him out.