Where Does John Singleton Stand on that Spike Lee / Tyler Perry Thing?

by | Jul 9, 2011 | celebrities, stereotypes | 0 comments

Director John Singleton, who is at the American Black Film Festival in Miami celebrating the 20th anniversary of his film, Boyz n the Hood, sat down with The Root to chat about black film.  Asked about his views on the negative comments that have gone back and forth between Spike Lee and Tyler Perry (Tyler Perry tells Spike Lee “Go Straight to Hell”), Singleton responded:

“I don’t like it. I’m friends with both of them, and I really applaud what both of them have done in their careers and everything. First and foremost, Spike set off a manifesto that fostered my career. He’s the one who fostered the black film aesthetic about making films for black people by black people. Tyler has done what he’s done off of the work [that] myself, Spike and other filmmakers have done. He’s industrialized it, which is great because he’s proven exactly what we have always said —  that our audience is so huge and varied that you can make an industry of it.”

Kudos to John Singleton for setting an example of how African American film makers can be publicly supportive of one another’s careers.

Read the entire interview at TheRoot.com

Oprah Rumored to Top Short List to Host 2012 Academy Awards

by | Jul 9, 2011 | celebrities | 2 comments

It has been almost 25 years since Oprah Winfrey didn’t get an Academy Award for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of Sophia in the Spielberg-directed film, The Color Purple, and right about now the folks at the Academy have to be hoping she’s not holding that against them.

Now that the undisputed queen of talk’s 25-year-reign at that other five-letter-O-word  show has ended, she is rumored to top the short list of celebrities worthy of consideration to host the 2012 Oscar ceremony.

If Oprah is selected to do the honors, and she accepts, she’ll make another short list—that of African Americans who have served as sole host of the prestigious event. Although Richard Pryor, Diana Ross and Sammy Davis, Jr. were invited to stand at the podium with other co-hosts over the years, only Chris Rock (2004) and Whoopie Goldberg (1993, 1995, 1998 & 2001) have been awarded sole custody of the Oscar hosting mic.

Motion Picture Academy sources told The Chicago Sun-Times that if Winfrey accepted the invitation, the awards would be broadcast on ABC, and Oprah’s OWN network would be granted exclusive rights to a post-Oscars telecast.  Sounds like a win-win for all involved, especially Oprah’s huge and diverse television fan base who have to be missing t and will be more than eager to tune in.