Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 October 2005 — Page 24

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2005

PURPLE ► Continued from C3 has such a diverse national audience, reinforces the notion that Broadway is not an elitist art form, but something everyone can embrace.” Producer Scott Sanders, who has been associated with “The Color Purple” for eight years, said it was quite a jolt when he received a telephone call from Winfrey earlier this summer. According to Sanders, she told him, “I don’t want to just help in marketing. I’d like to invest in the show.” Sanders declined to mention how much money Winfrey was putting into the musical, saying only it was “a seven-figure investment,” although the New York Times reported it was over $1 million of the production’s $10 million budget. Sanders said Winfrey would join the show as the sole, above-the-title, presenting producer, j oining a parade of other producers, who, besides Sanders, includes music great Quincy Jones. The show’s world premiered in September 2004 at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre received mixed reviews. The musical was extensively rewritten and then did a fourweek workshop in New York last June. The book’s dark, brooding story of an abused woman involves violence and incest but also demonstrates the healing power of the human spirit.

Film Life's 2005 Black Movie Awards will celebrale Black cinema

Special to the Recorder

A distinguished list of high-profile talent will be on hand for Film Life’s 2005 Black Movie Awards - A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future, presented by Turner Network Television (TNT). Cedric the Entertainer will host the awards show that recognizes creative achievement by persons of African descent in feature-length motion pictures, both in front of and behind the camera, and honors outstanding films portraying the Black experience. This year’s top award nominees include “Crash” and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” - each of which received six nominations - “Hustle & Flow,” which received four, and “Coach Carter” with three nominations. The awards show will premiere Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. on TNT. Legendary actor/director/producer Sidney Poitier will receive the Distinguished Career Achievement Award, recognizing his trailblazing work as actor/writer/director for such films as “Lilies of the Field,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Stir Crazy,” “For Love of Ivy” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Kimberly Elise, a nominee for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” will receive the Rising Star Award. The 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple will become the first film inducted

into the Black Movie Awards Classic Cinema Hall of Fame. Producer Quincy Jones is the first member of the creative team to confirm his appearance on the program. In addition to serving as host, Cedric the Entertainer is also a nominee for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his work in “The Honeymooners.” Also nominated in that category are Don Cheadle (“Crash”), Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”), Samuel L. Jackson (“Coach Carter”) and Will Smith (“Hitch”). Nominees for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role include Kimberly Elise (“Diary of a Mad Black Woman”), Meagan Good (“D.E.B.S”) and Queen Latifah (“Beauty Shop”).

Sidney Poitier

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Walker Performing Arts Season Opening Night featuring Stewart Goodyear Madame Walker Theatre Center October 8 The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Exhibit Indiana State Museum Now through January 3 Hoosier Storytelling Festival Military Park October 12-15 Heartland Film Festival Various Locations October 13-21 Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Lilly Classical Series: Beethoven’s Fourth Hilbert Circle Theatre October 14-15

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Lionel Richie to headline jazz festival BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) — Lionel Richie will be the headline act at next year’s Barbados Jazz Festival, organizers said this week. Richie will be joined by Grammy nominated jazz artist Jill Scott and saxophonist Bony James at the Jan. 9-15 festival, organizer Gilbert Rowe said. Richie, 56, is an original member of the funk-pop band the Commodores with solo hits that include “Truly,” “Hello” and “All Night Long.” He last performed in Barbados in 1978 with the Commodores. Next year will be the 13th staging of the Barbados Jazz Festival. Previous performers included Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross and Pattie LaBelle.

Tupac screenplay being produced as film (AP) — A screenplay written by slain rapper Tupac Shakur is being produced as a feature film. “Live 2 Tell,” a script Shakur wrote in 1995 about an innercity Black youth who becomes a drug kingpin and later goes straight, was acquired by Insomnia Media Group, which plans to begin production in March, company chairman Bret Saxon and chief executive officer Jeff Bowler said. Insomnia acquired the rights from Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, who will be a producer on the film, which has not yet been cast. Tupac, who appeared in such films as “Poetic Justice,” “Above the Rim” and “Gridlock’d,” had written “Live 2 Tell” for himself to star in. The rapper was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip in 1996. His murder remains unsolved. Other proj ects by Insomnia include an upcoming film biography of Napster creator Shawn Fanning and the tat-too-parlor reality TV show “Inked.”

Tupac

Gina Torres tolksabouT 'Serenity's' unlikely road to Hie big screen Electronic Urban Report

Gina Torres

Thishastobea first - a television series that was canceled after one season has been adapted into an eagerly-anticipated feature-length film. “Serenity,” which openedlastweekwith actress Gina Torres among the lead roles, is adapted from Joss Whedon’s 2002 TV show “Firefly,” which also starred Torres as the second in command on a space ship (Serenity) as it tries to survive a galactic war

some 500 years in the future. The show was canceled by Fox after one season, despite a deluge of rabid fans demanding the show be given another chance. When its 14 completed episodes came out on DVD, stores couldn’t keep the discs in stock. Universal Pictures stepped in to adapt the popular series into a film, and suddenly the cast and crew of “Firefly” found themselves back under the guidance of writer-director Joss Whedon. “We all knew we were working on a miracle,” said

Torres.

One of the challenges of resurrecting a dead television series for filmgoers who may have never heard of “Firefly” is unraveling the back story for new fans without boring the old ones. Torres says that the characters’ histories are cleverly revealed in the first 15 minutes, thanks to the writing wizardry of Whedon. “‘Firefly’ had a short run and they found us anyway,” says Torres of the fans. “When the DVD sets hit the stands, they were gone inside of 48 hours. That, to me, just spoke to the fans and their commitment to us, and trying to make us successful, which is unbelievable.” “When they saw something that was wonderful, that was unique, that was intelligent, that was well-written, that’s what they became attached to and committed to, and fans of,” she said. Torres’ next big screen project is “Five Fingers,” a film due nextyearthat pairs herwithhusband, Laurence Fishburne in the story of a Dutchman (Ryan Phillippe) who is abducted by a terrorist (Fishburne) while in Morocco to set up a food charity. On the opposite side of the budget scale, the extremely indie “Five Fingers” offered the couple their first chance to work closely together on screen. “It was everything that we hoped it would be,” Torres said of the experience. “We’re two very strong people and have strong convictions about work and character and approach. The fact that we were able to come together and create something was wonderful.” The couple celebrated their third anniversary on Sept. 20.

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