Intro - March 15, 2001 IT'S ALL ABOUT THE STORIES STUPID It appears that writers, agents, producers & studio executives are finally getting the message that African-American movie-goers are not monolithic and we definitely want more films about the positive people of this race we call Black. On March 23rd, Screen Gems (Sony) will deliver to theaters nationwide, THE BROTHERS. The film has been dubbed, "Refusing to Exhale" by the director, Gary Hardwick. Much like THE WOOD and THE BEST MAN, this film follows the flow of four African-American men as they tackle the usual - love, sex, friendship, honesty and the BIG C word - Commitment. These themes are much needed in the African-American film vocab - we have seen far too many remakes of "Boyz In The Hood," one too many "buddy-cop" flops and we are still sick and tired of being killed in Act 1! And a quick note to our own creative community - when is the thug-life player gonna disappear? If any studio executive or producer were to watch our music videos, they just might be forced into thinking that all we care about are big-asses, bling-blinging or what you ridin' on? No offense to the rap game and the pseudo R&B thugs, but its time to be a little more creative with your videos. The images that you are feeding us are getting old and tired. But rest assured, just like The Best Man, THE BROTHERS will bring some new material to the forefront. Don't miss this one. ON TAP for this issue: Wilson Morales talks with Terra Renee the founder of the African-American Women in Cinema Conference & Festival and Blackfilm.com's Hollywood Correspondent, Scott D. Southard, says the Scooby Doo movie should not be made. Tune in NEXT WEEK as Nasser Metcalfe returns with the VIDEO VAULT; Lee Moore takes us to THE SOUNDLAB with "The Caveman's Valentine" soundtrack and you KNOW we have some thoughts on the upcoming OSCARS. Intro - March 9, 2001 MUSIC SEEMS FAIR - CAN WE SAY THE SAME ABOUT FILM? Thanks for visiting us. For African-Americans and other minority film actors, directors, producers, etc, March is always a bittersweet month. Hollywood's most exclusive party lights the night but rarely are we honored for our creativity, hard work and dedication to this business. Nevertheless, the tide is changing. No longer are we sad or bitter about not winning an Oscar. We are taking things into our own hands. Although the NAACP'S Image Awards aren't celebrated on the world scale like the Oscars, they do represent something "real" and dear to our hearts. Blackfilm.com would like to congratulate the NAACP for helping to keep dreams alive. We also want to congratulate all of the young filmmakers that have scraped and starved to accomplish their dream. Never stop dreaming and never, ever give up. Just think -- a white-rapper from Detroit won 3 Grammy's so your day is destined to come. And please note, Eminem earned his awards - no doubt about that - the boy has skillz on the mic. We just hope that when talented actors like Denzel (Hurricane, Malcolm X) scorch the screen or directors like Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, ) deliver outstanding motion picture products that the Voting Members of the Academy look deeply at a filmmaker's skill or the actor's command of the craft as opposed to any other factors.