I’m wit cha, Miss Sophia a.k.a. Why Terrance Howard should just quit

On Monday, Oprah (Winfrey — in case you were wondering which Oprah I was talking about) had the entire cast of The Color Purple on her show. As a person who looks for ways to incorporate quotes from this classic into everyday conversation as often as possible, I was in heaven! Oprah is just showing off this last season — I can’t take it.

But I digress.

There are tons of great quotables in this film, but I think the scene below is one of — if not THE — most memorable scene from TCP:



OooohWeeee!!!
Her emotion is palpable.

Well. This morning I was subjected treated to the trailer for the new movie “Winnie” based on the life of Winnie Mandela and starring Jennifer Hudson as the lead. And… Terrance Howard as Nelson Mandela? Word? For reals? I’m saying — I’m all for equal opportunity employment, but motion picture casting probably isn’t the ideal field for the visually and aurally impaired.

Please watch this trailer. PLEASE??!??? And we’ll discuss on the other side.

OK… So. OK… OK.

First off, have the people who made this film ever laid eyes on Nelson Mandela??!?? And secondly, was his South African accent not the absolute worst you’ve heard like EVER? Geez Louise, I’m baffled by the way actors and musicians from other countries can lock down the American accent to the point where you can’t even believe they’re not American when you hear them speak — Toni Colette, Idris Elba, Chiwitel Ejiofor, etc. But when American actors try to do any other accent it sounds utterly ridiculous.

Seriously, after the first day of shooting I can’t understand why they continued making this movie. I guess Jenny has enough Oscars already — so why not… But if I were directing or financing this film I’d have watched Terrance Howard’s first set of dailies and thrown in the towel. And then I would have beat the crap out of him with it like Joe Jackson did in “The Jacksons: An American Dream” for wasting my time and my money. I could go on and on about how bad this is gonna be, but I will simply leave you with this:

“I loves Jennifer Hudson, God knows I do. But you’d have to kill me dead ‘fore I go to the theatre to see this mess.”

Post Script: I have already vowed that I will not watch a single episode of “Law & Order LA” unless or until Terrance grows a mustache. It’s just unnatural for a grown ass Black man.

Amen.

No seriously, what are you wearing?

Someone needs to make a way for BET’s Dr. Bobby Jones and Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley to co-star in their own reality TV show. STAT! Seriously, it’s the most interesting thing that’s not on TV… They could call it: “Nigga What Are You WEARING? No Nigga, What Are YOU Wearing?”

Not sure who one or both of these folks is/are? Please refer to Exhibits A-D below:

Case rested.

This Is Why I Rock!

So, before I even begin to talk about what an awesome day/nite I had on Saturday, I want to make sure I encourage you all to tune into BET on November 7th at 8/7c for the broadcast of Black Girls Rock!

OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way… The show taped at the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, and I tell you, that room was overflowing with awesome!!! In addition to the honorees — Raven Symone, Keke Palmer, Missy Elliott, Teresa Clarke, Iyanla Vanzant, Major General Marcelite Harris, and the incomparable Ruby Dee — there were tons of other dynamic women there who came to present the awards or just be a part of the evening. Lynn Whitfield, Harriet Cole, Anika Noni Rose, Tracee Ellis Ross…

And there were so many great performances I can barely remember them all — Jill Scott, Ledisi, Fantasia, Kelly Price, Monica, Keyshia Cole, VV Brown, Marsha Ambrosius, Shontelle, Keri Hilson… The photo above is from Jill Scott’s dress rehearsal. Maaaan, I heart her. I got the chance to chat with her several times during the nite. My favorite moment was when she ‘chastised’ me for not bringing flip flops to change into during my breaks. That makes us girlfriends now, right? ;)

The hair and makeup team at the event also rocked. No seriously, look at my eyes. It took like half an hour, but what fun!

My job for the evening was to warm-up the crowd (and keep them warm), which meant giving an overview of the program before the taping began, telling some jokes, and making sure everyone was seated with cell phones off, not getting up and walking around, etc. And then once the show started I’d come back out during the commercial breaks to keep the energy of the crowd up. I did some warm-up earlier this year for Bill Maher’s HBO special, but this was quite a different experience. The HBO taping was a huge event, but at the end of the day it was just a comedy show with the same type of comedy fans I see in clubs all the time. But the BGR! event was full of people I’m huge fans of or grew up watching on TV and in movies. I found myself looking over at Raven and Ms. Ruby and Toccara and Ciara and Missy and Nia, etc. to see if they were laughing. Haha, and I took notes on who wasn’t! ;)

The show also highlighted several additional young women who are making waves and rocking in their communities as entrepreneurs and activists. And I think my favorite part of the nite was watching all the ladies backstage and how they related to and supported each other. No shade. Just love and encouragement and sisterhood. It was a beautiful thing!

I’ve been girlfriends with Nia Long for about 15 years. In my mind. It was nice to finally meet her in person! Continue reading →

Black Girls Rock!

Hell Yeah We Do!!!

And this black girl just snagged a gig as the warm-up comedian for the BET Black Girls Rock! Awards taping October 16 in NYC at the Paradise Theater. If you’re not familiar with DJ Beverly Bond and BGR!, click here to learn about who they are and what they do. It’s a fantastic organization. Seriously, Google them. There’s also a great video featuring Beverly on the homepage of the BGR! website. This will be the 5th year of the awards but the first year of partnership with BET. Honorees include Raven Symone, KeKe Palmer, Missy Elliott, and the incomparable Ruby Dee. And word is, there are some big time performances too! Super excited and so proud to be a part of this event!

The show will air on BET November 7 at 8/7c.