Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Ice Tea, DMX, Tyrese, Andre 2000, T.I., Method Man, Red Man, Usher, Treach, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Heavy D, Dr. Dre, MC Lyte, Eve, Brandy, Whitney Houston, Puffy Combs, Tupac, Janet Jackson, Mya, Amerie, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Ice Tea… these are some of our Hollywood “actors.”
Truth is, the Rapper-to-Actor [or Singer-to-Actor] thing bothers me. These rappers find employment as actors not because they are actors, but because they are celebrities. Realistically, what can we expect them to do? Are rappers really going to decline roles offered to them merely because they are not trained actors? Of course not. I would not either. It’s just the way it is.
They are being given opportunities they haven’t earned
But do they deserve to be cast in these roles? I don’t think so; not at the expense of real actors. But I do think that if Queen Latifah reads for a role along with another actress and she is thought to be better suited for the role and is selected to act in the role, then i think that's fair. What is not fair is Queen Latifah being given the opportunity to read in the first place when there are others who should be given the opportunity to read.
Success in one area of entertainment does not guarantee success in another
I only want to see actors act. I don’t want to see models, plumbers or rappers act. I don’t want to hear basketball players, quilt makers or EMS Technicians rap. It is amusing that some actors think because they can act, they can direct or even write. This is true sometimes, but there are few who do all really well. Some people believe that because they can direct they can act. This is hilarious.
To many, the silver screen is merely a stage on which to be seen; a cinematic trolley that shuttles one to fame; maybe lots and lots of fame. So, when models are magically thrust onto the movie screen just because they’re beautiful, I’m not feelin’ it. The screen is for actors. Just because someone is pretty doesn’t mean I want to see them in a movie. It only means I want to see them in a print ad. And anyway, even if a role called for someone exceptionally beautiful, there are many actors and actresses who are exceptionally beautiful.
Box Office Appeal. Whatever.
I get it. But still.
I go to movies to see what I hope are good movies with good actors in them. I don’t go to see movie stars or rap stars. Just because Ludacris is a successful and popular rap artist, that doesn’t mean I want to see him act in a film. I have his stuff on my iPod. And that’s where I want him. It’s where I like him.
If Hollywood was concerned with finding the best actors for the best roles, we would have better films. Of course, creating a vehicle for Bow Wow and shoving it in my face is selling a movie, not making a movie, because there is another young black teen who should could have been cast in the role.
Hollywood’s unbridled presumptuous diminishes the quality of U.S. cinema. Ah, but what choice do I have? I’m only a member of the American moviegoing public. I know the world is not fair. Hollywood is driven by money more than fairness, creativity or niceness. It’s wishful thinking to expect Queen Latifah or one of the others to refuse a role and urge the producer to hire an untried, unknown black actor from the local acting school. And yet, the worst thing is when a talentless rapper actor gets a job a talented actor should have had. When this happens, a grave injustice has been done.
This is Part I of a two-part series. See Rapper to Actor - Part II.
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