Ursula Rucker Documentary to Premiere at Urbanworld Film Fest
I must admit that poetry has always made me feel uncomfortable. Maybe it has to do with the lack of singing and the over-expression of emotion that sometimes occurs...often with the presence of a bongo or two. Despite all of this, there really is something so special and unique and inexplicable about Ursula Rucker. From the moment she emerged from an opus of hip hop beats to create her own realm on the last labeled track of The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??! album she has been a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, the folks at Reel Black have a thirty-minute documentary about Ursula that will be premiering at the 2008 Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City taking place from September 10-13. In the trailer below, ?uestlove, Saul Williams and Sonia Sanchez all wax poetic (pun intended) about this amazing "supa sista." If by any chance you are not familiar with Ms. Rucker's work, more info about her can be found here.
The trailer for the film The Secret Life of Bees surfaced recently, and after much (wait for it...) "buzz"--which has included major props at various film festivals--director Gina Prince-Bythewood is ready to unveil her adaptation of the Sue Monk Kidd bestselling novel. Set in South Carolina in the 1960s, the film stars Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens, a 14-year-old who runs away from home with her caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) in search of her mother's hometown. Their journey leads them to the Boatwright farm, home of beekeeping sisters May, June and August Boatwright (played by Sophie Okonedo, Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah, respectively). The film also stars Tristan Wilds ("Michael," The Wire) as the object of Lily's affection, and Nate Parker in yet another period piece, fresh from his great work in The Great Debaters. I don't know about anybody else, but I'll definitely be checking this out, if only to see if Alicia can hold her own with the Queen, and if Jenny can further "de-Effie" herself. Do you plan on checking it out? Peep the trailer below and let us know.
We will finally see a biopic about the life and journey of the minister of soul, Marvin Gaye. F. Gary Gary (The Italian Job) will hold the responsibility of directing Marvin with C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond) writing the script. Contrary to the rival film Sexual Healing starring Jesse L. Martin
that only covers the fall of Gaye, this picture will explore the rise
and fall of Marvin Gaye from the early years with Motown to the tragic
assassination by the hands of his father. Calling it his "passion
project," Gary promises the story will include not only Gaye's musical
significance but also his political significance: "This isn't the
average biopic of a rock star wrestling with drugs and women, but a man
whose musical awakening became a call to action that questioned
critical issues like a costly foreign war, recession, environment,
inequality--issues that are relevant now." It would be great to see
the method actor Leon, who's already taken on the roles of Little Richard and David Ruffin, flex his acting chops in the iconic role. [
Between the Fame 
If you watched HBO's Sex and the City for any length of time, then you probably didn't think black women lived in New York! Sarah Jessica Parker, on behalf of director Michael Patrick King, 
At first Fame was an Oscar Award-winning film in 1980, starring Debbie Allen and Irene Cara, that followed a group of kids at a performing arts high school in NY, who dance, sing and cry their way from "audition" to "graduation." Then, Fame was a television show that aired between 1982 and 1987, with Allen reprising her role as "Lydia Grant." The television version also saw stars like Janet Jackson and Nia Peeples drop by. 
