Features

The Ru Report #163

All Time High
Acclaimed actor Samuel L. Jackson is on a new high these days--riding the waves as a much sought after box-office draw.

The Academy Award-nominated thespian made Hollywood take notice 13 years ago playing a lowdown, dirty crack-head in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever." And then a scene-stealing role in Quentin Tarantino's break-out hit "Pulp Fiction" sealed his fate as a force to be reckoned with.

All in all, the Morehouse College educated Mr. Jackson has appeared in over 75 filmed works, including a string of box-office hits ("Star Wars: Episode II" "S.W.A.T.," "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," "The Incredibles"). Most recently, Mr. Jackson hit the #1 opening week slot with January's "Coach Carter," which he played the lead in a true-life-based account of a high school coach with a conscience.

"It's about good stories, good films and people having a good time when they go to the movies and telling other people they do," he commented about the new renaissance of major studio films starring Black leads becoming successful at the box office. "It's just a validation of the fact that there's a huge movie-going audience out there that not only wants to see films that are about African-Americans but [that] we are viable in a box office sort of way that crosses over and not just in African-Americans but in general audiences."

This weekend, the always outspoken and witty Mr. Jackson gets to give box-office domination another go with "XXX: State Of The Union," a sequel to the 2002 box-office hit, which introduced Vin Diesel to the masses as an action hero.

For the newest installment--in what seems to be a long (translation=successful) franchise--he reprises his role as Augustus Gibbons, a tough-talking, no-nonsense NSA Agent on a mission to successfully recruit a new Agent XXX, which is now played, exceptionally well, by Ice Cube.

"I look at the character like a character who's running the show, in control and sought of gets to choose the XXX characters and knows what's going on," Mr. Jackson said of the role. "In this particular script there was a bigger reveal of who he was and where he came from; he's not just a bureaucrat but he's somewhat of a warrior himself, and he's willing to step into the line of fire and do the things that he asks other people to do."

"I didn't care," Mr. Jackson quipped when asked about the new casting of Agent XXX. "I was a lot more worried about my character coming back… it's fun for me to do action pictures."

That's Mr. Jackson for you. The 56-year old Washington, D.C. native has gone through a lot of highs and lows throughout his whirlwind career, and in his personal life.

And because of his ability to emote effectively as an actor, most of the time folks believe his characters are true extension of himself. "The attitudes and the way that they treat other people tend to be very different from the way that I would normally treat people," he differed. "I have a sort of quirky personality, in a way, and I'm kind of cynical in a way. I'm kind of outspoken or there are moments when I need to emphasize something, I can be those characters that are very emphatic. But most times the way that a character approaches the particular life that's being displayed on screen has nothing to do with who I am."

Mr. Jackson is respectfully labeled as one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood – and one of the most consistent. Next month, Mr. Jackson will reprise his role as Mace Windu in George Lucas' 'Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of Sith.' The under-wraps final piece to the blockbuster franchise has become a cottage industry, in itself, replete with a rabid fan base who Mr. Jackson joked "write down 'Jedi' on their job application as religion."

"I have no idea what these fans want to see," he explained about the film's expectations. "'Star Wars' fans are kind of a different breed of people. I really have no clue what they expect to see. I don't know because from film to film, people have their favorite films and people have their favorite characters. People have their favorite moments."

"Hopefully this one will be dark enough and bloody enough and w ill wrap up all those loose ends and everybody will feel some sense of satisfaction so that when they sit down to watch all 6 of them by the time George puts all of them out, they can watch them in any order they want to," he continued.

Coming up for Mr. Jackson, who also starred with Juliette Binoche, last month, in the touching drama "In My Country," is the comedy "The Man" with Eugene Levy and Anthony Mackie, who he refers to as one of the younger actors of the new generation that he admires.

And then there's "Freedomland," which he is currently shooting in The Bronx, New York. "We're like two weeks into shooting the film, me and Julianne Moore," he shared. "It's a story of a young mother who gets carjacked in the projects and her kid is in the car and her brother's a cop in the next town so they descend on the projects which I had to find a car and a kid. The brother and his police cohorts are jacking everybody in the projects and creating a hot racial atmosphere. So it's a pretty dark and crazy movie."

Dark and crazy. Sounds like a perfect fit for Mr. Jackson, who himself has been described as such – and his wardrobe choices. Nevertheless, he's bound to bring some color to the story, as he always does in his diverse choice of roles.

"XXX: State Of The Union," a Revolutions Studios film, also stars Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Nona Gaye and Xzibit. Released worldwide by Columbia Pictures this weekend, the film will open in more than 3,300 theaters in North America. For times and theater locations, please log onto www.enjoytheshow.com.

Brooklyn In The House
My beloved hometown of Brooklyn, New York is playing host to two great artists this spring.

On May 9, "An Evening with Sonia Sanchez" will be presented by The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College. Celebrating the work of the acclaimed poet, who is also the program's Writer in Residence, the event will feature a reading by Ms. Sanchez, who will also offer reflections on poetry, Black literature and arts advocacy.

According to an event organizer, poet Amiri Baraka and rootsy rapper Talib Kweli will also take the stage during the early evening festivities paying homage to the activist, writer and esteemed bard of the Black Arts Movement. The program is a fundraising initiative to support the programs of the Center for Black Literature. (www.mec.cuny.edu/blacklitcenter)

And if 1980s avant-garde art is your thing, the 100-plus piece Brooklyn Museum exhibition on the abstract works of Jean-Michel Basquiat is the place to be.

The recently opened exposition is said to be the most comprehensive re-evaluation of the prolific artist's career since a 1992 retrospective at New York's Whitney Museum. The new exhibition includes more than seventy paintings and twenty works on paper presented on two floors.

Mr. Basquiat's meteoric career coincided with the emergence of the hip-hop movement and he contributed to the revival of painting in the United States before his untimely death. Sponsored by JP Morgan Chase, the national tour of Basquiat is on view until June 5 at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. (www.BasquiatOnline.org)

Following the Brooklyn Museum presentation, the exhibition will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from July 15 to October 9, 2005, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from November 18, 2005 to February 12, 2006.

Music Notes
Apparently people who work in the business are still believing the hype that they create. A terse email went out to entertainment publicity professionals last week requesting "A-LIST CLIENTS ONLY" for an Official Album Release Party to be held in honor of SonyBMG chanteuse Amerie on Tuesday night at New York City's Quo. "Who is Amerie?" a lot of flacks wondered--some very vocally. The relatively-unknown Half Korean/Half Black R&B starlet has been receiving major airplay over the past two months with her hot new single "1 Thing," which was rumored to have been solicited by J. Lo, and subsequently featured on the soundtrack for Will Smith's latest box office foray "Hitch." But yet Amerie still barely cracked the top 10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and didn't even go platinum with her debut low-radar set, "All I Have," which was released in 2002. According to sources at the label, the new album, called "Touch," shipped close to 350,000 copies to retail. And apparently the only "A Listers" that party promoters and publicists could drum up were rap acts Young Gunz, Freeway, Memphis Bleek, Fabulous and MTV personality and Carmelo Anthony flame La La. Oh Okay.

On a more "real" note, the always accessible and down-to-earth singer/songwriter Tweet has big tour plans underway. "The RU Report" is happy to be the very first to report that the Rochester-bred Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott protégé is in talks to go out on tour with John Legend, who is quickly becoming the biggest music story of the year. The touring jaunt is still being ironed out between the camps. And Tweet's recent signing with the Mathew Knowles-helmed Sanctuary Urban Management Group may be just what the doctor ordered to help resuscitate her career. While her sophomore album, "It's Me Again," was critically acclaimed and she received a flurry of favorable press, the first single "Turn The Lights Off" failed to ignite at radio. Let's just hope this new association will be worthwhile for her.

And speaking of Mr. Legend, he will get the royal treatment on the July issue of "Vibe" where he and his "homies" Kanye West and Common will grace the cover. Someone privy to the fabulous photo shoot--lensed by sought after photographer Sarah A. Friedman--hinted that it was very "Destiny's Child." You have to see it.

And do we need to stand corrected. It seems that former Motown Records President Andre Harrell is only in talks to be a President over at a soon to be restructured BET. Along with former Vanguard Media chief Keith Clinkscales and filmmaker Reginald Hudlin. This is getting very interesting.

Notable/Quotable
"…I always felt that my show was second class, because I'm not a star like Barbra Streisand or Maria Callas. I'm just dancing and singing… Stars can be bitchy and full of themselves. I've never had an attitude. I feel like my dress is great, I can sing, and I'm here to put on a good show for the people."
--Multiple Grammy Award winning entertainment legend Tina Turner.

Coming Up
"The RU Report" will celebrate the theatrical arts with our annual "Give My Regards…" series, which will run throughout the entire month of May, preceding the Tony Awards. Last year, award winning divas Heather Headley and Tonya Pinkins were interviewed, alongside introspective profiles on theatrical wizard Woody King, Jr., and white-hot theater director Kenny Leon ("A Raisin In The Sun."). Stay tuned for what we will roll out this season.

©2005 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