Features

The Ru Report #149

Brother Man
The old adage tells us that 'good things come to those who wait.'

And getting some talk time with Tony Award nominated actor Daniel Sunjata was a living testament that the saying rings true.

I've been in hot pursuit of the actor since I first saw him bare his all on the Broadway transfer of the critically acclaimed play, "Take Me Out." But because of some unsavory tactics from a flak working the controversial Richard Greenberg-directed show, nothing materialized.

A year later, the 32-year Mr., Sunjata has morphed into a TV star and has a much lauded movie project hitting theaters across the nation.

So I couldn't have had better timing. (I'm sticking my tongue out to that evil doer.)

In the Rodney Evans-helmed cinematic gem, "Brother To Brother," the Champaign-Urbana, Il-reared Mr. Sunjata plays the legendary literary great Langston Hughes. For several flashback sequences in the impassioned film, Mr. Sunjata is at one with the lens in a dynamic performance that can make any thespian take notice.

"I love it and I think it's a really, really important film," Mr. Sunjata told "The RU Report." "I think Rodney did a great job writing it and then directing it and it was obviously a labor of love for him and continues to be. He's got a great group of people together and it was a great experience."

"Brother…" is a feature-length drama channeling the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance through the memories of Bruce Nugent, who co-founded the revolutionary literary journal "Fire!!" with Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace Thurman. As an elderly man, Mr. Nugent meets a young Black gay artist, played by the impeccable Anthony Mackie, struggling to find his voice and together they embark on a dreamlike narrative expedition through his inspiring past. It's many things. While screening the film, I had to walk away from it because it was too intense.

With flashes of genius, the movie has been garnering high marks from the critics and winning a string of coveted awards and honors, including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize. "The feedback … has been nice to hear," offered Mr. Sunjata. "I think the movie as a whole was very, very tight."

Many TV fans first took notice of the dashing Florida A&M alum when he played a randy sailor trying to sweep Carrie Bradshaw off of her feet a couple of years ago on HBO's hit series "Sex & The City." But the Tisch School of the Arts graduate has an impressive body of work including the television adaptation of Anne Rice's "Feast Of All Saints," and more "smart" TV fare such as "Law & Order" and "Ed."

"I've had to do some fluff," Mr. Sunjata admitted, "but I've been very fortunate to do some pieces that I feel that are important to people today."

He's referring to work like "Take Me Out," in which he starred as Darren Lemming, a multi-racial baseball superstar who reveals to the world that he's gay. For his critically acclaim turn –in which he appeared full-frontal nude in a few homoerotic scenes (leaving hundreds of theater goers hot and bothered), he garnered a Tony nod, and a handful of theater awards including the Lucielle Lortel Award.

Socially relevancy, he said, draws him to the roles he goes after.

And about the nudity, which was bandied about in the New York media for weeks, he said: "You know it's not an easy thing to be either physically or emotionally naked in front of people but with the physical nudity, I felt was more supported by the thematic underpinnings of the piece."

Indeed.

I guess it helps when you look good doing it, too.

So with "Take Me Out" and "Brother To Brother," the heterosexual bachelor has somewhat of a penchant for playing "gay" quite convincingly. And he's earned his stripes a gay icon, to some degree. He takes it all in stride. "As an actor, I don't have any trepidation about representing 360 degrees of humanity, and various sexual orientations are a part of that and I think that's great, and wonderful and beautiful and it should be celebrated and not shunned away from."

And as secure as he is, he's cautious about typecasting. He admitted that he and his management team had to "pump the breaks slightly" with the gay roles; too many too soon. "Very often the casting community sees you as the last thing that you've done…and I think its important for me, if I want to be able to show my range as an actor, I don't want it to be every time they need a gay guy, they want to call Sunjata. I think I'd rather much show other aspects to my ability and maybe return to that later on."

Mr. Sunjata is of German, Irish and African American lineage. He revealed to us that he was adopted when he was two-months old after his biological mother abandoned him. His adoptive mother, a world history professor who died in 1996, gave him the middle name Sunjata, which he uses as his professional surname. "It literally means 'hungry lion' and it's Malian for named for the king who founded the empire of Mali in about 1100 A.D."

Named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" last year, Mr. Sunjata.has two other films due out this year; Woody Allen's "Melinda and Melinda" and "Noel," starring Robin Williams, Penelope Cruz and Paul Walker. He can also be seen weekly as Franco Rivera on FX's "Rescue Me" centering on New York City firefighters who are dealing with post-traumatic stress post- 9/11. The second season of the show, starring Denis Leary as the lead, has been picked up and filming resumes in New York in February.

And then he's in final negotiations to star as the lead in the forthcoming biopic on late, great soul music maestro Marvin Gaye.

"What can I say? The man was such a fixture for both the sacred and the profane but at the same time, he made such a significant contribution to music in general, to music period. He's just a really important musical personality whose life has yet to be depicted cinematically. I think it's a wonderful opportunity and I hope I can do him justice," he concluded.

Considering all of the other great work Daniel Sunjata has done, there's not a doubt in our mind that he can pull of this one.

No Holds Barred
Multiple Emmy Award winning funnywoman Roseanne Barr really knows how to pack a punch. And the multiple-married (and divorced) millionairess knows how to really pack a house too. The former TV star made her first ever New York stand-up debut on Tuesday night as the opening night headline performer of the inaugural New York Comedy Festival at Town Hall. And it was non-stop belly aching for the sold out crowd. The Queen of White Trash Middle America performed a near one and a half hour set and didn't mince many words. While wearing a peculiar-fitting black pants suit adorned with bling-ing rhinestone earring and matching necklace, the ex-wife to Tom "Ka Ching!" Arnold touched on topics such as her three failed TV show projects, her life problems and hang-ups, her "inner-Oprah," the end of the world, President Bush and Dr. Phil. Before ripping her clothes off and tap-dancing her way off the stage as the final act, the Queen of White Trash America professed her love for all things homosexual: "I love The Gays! All fat women love gay men… because who else would we have to dance with." And just like clock-work a very candid image of once-plus-sized TV personality Star Jones and her fiancé Al Scales Reynolds flashed in the backdrop. It was, indeed, the show-stopper.

Good Works
With Christmas just around the corner, folks are a gathering for worthy humanitarian efforts. Here's a quick glance of do-gooders:

On November 12, the Black AIDS Institute will hold the 2004 Heroes In The Struggle Gala Reception and Awards Ceremony at Hollywood's Director's Guild of America, where human rights activist Coretta Scott King, former US Surgeon General Dr. M. Jocelyn Elders, Congresswoman Juanita Milender-McDonald and stage and screen actress , Jenifer Lewis will be honored, amongst other community dignitaries. "AIDS is a human crisis, no matter where you live," said Mrs. King in a statement. "Anyone who sincerely cares about the future of Black America had better be speaking out about AIDS, calling for preventive measures and increased funding for research and treatment." According to a spokesperson for the event, a laundry list of celebrity notables are confirmed to donate their time for the cause with special presentations of the awards. Sheryl Lee Ralph, Hill Harper, Matthew St., Common, Rockmond Dunbar, Malik Yoba, Rae Dawn Chong, Malinda Williams, Tichina Arnold and "Essence" magazine front-woman Susan L. Taylor are slated to partake in the festivities. The organization will also unveil the portraits of the 2004 Heroes in the Struggle at the event. Seven of the most celebrated Black photographers in America, including Kwaku Alston, Barron Claiborne and Matthew Jordan Smith, have been commissioned to shoot the exhibit. For more information, log onto: Blackaids.org.

And on November 13, the 4th Annual Power of Oneness Awards are scheduled at the Conga Room in Hollywood, honoring awardees whose work reflects the Oneness mission to eliminate racism and promote racial unity through music, the arts and education. Past honorees include Edward James Olmos, Ed Begley Jr., Nile Rodgers and the Jim Henson Company. The 2004 honorees include legendary jazz artist & producer Herbie Hancock, Universal Music Publishing president David Renzer, lecturer, author, actress and activist Yolanda King, Writers Guild of America Executive Administrator for Employment Diversity Zara Buggs Taylor, ABC Vice President of Talent Development Carmen J. Smith and Kawin Interactive CEO Kaushal Chokshi. "We are elated over the outstanding group of nominees," said Oneness co-founder KC Porter, who's a producer for such hit-makers as Santana and Ricky Martin. The event will be hosted by award winning actor Obba Babatunde and will feature multi-media presentations, theatrical performances and live music. For more information, log onto: Oneness.org.

And in the Grand Apple next week, the likes of Minnie Driver and William H. Macy will play a part in "A Magical Evening," the 14th Annual Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) gala being held on November 18 at the New York Marriott Marquis. The New Jersey-based Foundation is expected to raise $2 million for CRPF's research and Quality of Life programs. The funds will be used to develop treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders; as well as to improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities. Serving on the Gala Committee are Francine LeFrak and Rick Freidberg and Maria Cuomo Cole and Kenneth Cole, Jonathan and Somers Farkas, Dennis Basso and Michael Cominatto, Denise Rich, Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox, Eaddo and Peter Kiernan III, Elaine Sargent, Denise and Larry Wohl, Joycelyn Wildenstein, Noreen and Peter Thomas Roth, and Gloria Wolosoff. Dr. John W. Rowe, chairman and CEO of Aetna, will receive the CRPF Visionary Leadership Award in recognition of his professional achievements, civic contributions and leadership support of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Actress Glenn Close will receive the Human Spirit Award in recognition of her generosity of spirit with which she has shared her fame and good will.

And how about that Gary Sinise? The acclaimed actor, director and producer is embarking on his eighth USO tour to provide a morale boost to troops stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Best known for his Oscar-nominated performance as Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump," Mr. Sinise is a strong advocate for the troops and has appeared at numerous events around the globe supporting U.S. service men and women. Over the past year, the "CSI: NY" star has visited troops in Diego Garcia, Singapore, Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, Italy and Fort Stewart, Ga. He also traveled to both Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to visit troops wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mr. Sinise, together with the Lt. Dan Band, will perform a free show for troops and their families Nov. 20. And the Golden Globe Award winner's latest movie, "The Forgotten," starring Julienne Moore has legs at the box office.

Lastly, music to my ears is the fact that hip-hop artists such as Lil' Kim, Fat Joe, Fabulous, T.I., Trick Daddy and Twista have heart too, this season. According to Atlantic Records publicist Sydney Margetson all six of the platinum-plus selling acts will participate in the "Joint Chiefs" concert, being held at the world's famous Apollo on November 23. Presented by Champs Sports and the Black Leopards Football Club of South Africa, proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to two charities: one selected by the Black Leopards from the various causes which they support in their native region of Vhembe, one of South Africa's poorest areas, and Hope Leadership Academy in Harlem, which will also receive tickets to the show. On the afternoon of the concert, a special autograph-signing event will take place with the "Joint Chiefs" artists as well as Black Leopards team representatives at the Champs Sports store on 125th Street in Harlem. All tickets for the concert are only $25 and are now on sale.

Down With The King
Is the hip-hop industry ready for a knock-out? Well brace yourselves. Legendary boxing promoter Don King is stepping into the ring. It was just announced that the infamously-coiffed ringmaster has assembled a few hard-core, hip-hop notables for this weekend's heavyweight card at Madison Square Garden. Just before a hefty fight card that will include World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John "The Quietman" Ruiz facing off against Andrew "Powerful Pole" Golota, and Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield going toe to toe with Larry "The Legend" Donald, a 30-minute preview show will take place featuring music from Wu Tang Clan member U-God, Cuban Link and Mr. Holyfield's very own find Tomeka, a New Orleans-reared artist. "Music has been a part of boxing since the "Rumble in the Jungle" over 30 years ago when I brought BB King, Sister Sledge, James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Lloyd Price to Zaire on a specially chartered plane to be part of that promotion," Mr. King said. "Now I'm doing it again with the rappers who are today's bards of the ghetto." The event will be broadcast domestically on HBO Pay-Per-View. "I love to see talent, promote it and watch it blossom," Mr. King continued. "A wise Chineseman once said 'to see things in the seed, that is genius.' This is great promotion for the artists and good marketing for the fighters and I'm pleased and proud that Don King Productions is now producing these shows and taking more active control of how our fighters are promoted and building a fan base for these tremendously talented warriors, athletes and musicians all of whom are fighters from the womb to the tomb." Spoken like a true … well, spoken like Don King.

Etc
Congratulations are in order for the Loews Theater empire, my preferred chain of movie theaters to see first run box-office fare. This week, the mega chain celebrated 100 years of filmed entertainment with a centennial celebration that included a retrospective at New York's American Museum of the Moving Image, and a panel discussion held at Manhattan's Jewish Museum is underway for November 18. Popcorn was scaled down to $1 at theaters across the country too. Marcus Loew, born to poor Jewish immigrants on Manhattan's Lower East Side, co-founded the company that opened the first theaters in Cincinnati and New York after converting penny arcades. Born in 1870, the visual visionary started hawking oranges and newspapers at the age of 6, sleeping in the streets to be first when customers awoke. Nearly 200 theaters and 2200 screens across the world later, and candid tales of Elvis Presley, Matt Damon and Barbra Streisand getting their cinematic starts courtesy of the company, Loews is the premier film-going experience with venues throughout the United States, Mexico, Spain and South Korea. …

©2004 The Ru Report™. All Rights Reserved~~P.O. Box #25 Bushkill PA 18324

Message Karu F Daniels or email him directly at therureport@aol.com