“Tyler Perry can make movies up to a certain budget, and then he hits a ceiling….it’s more they (Hollywood) don’t want to take a chance. Because this town, black or white, they’re just bean counters.  They’re just crunching the numbers.”

Washington,  who just wrapped up filming Flight with director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”), admits that Paramount Studios only gave the project a mere $32 million budget because of the movie’s somber subject matter–Denzel’s character is an alcoholic airline pilot.

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:

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Five years ago I met an auditioned for one of the biggest managers in Hollywood. Before the audition we talked about the industry as it relates to Black actors and actresses and Hollywood’s production(or lack thereof) of Black films. What he said vastly opened my eyes  about Black entertainment. And after hearing George Lucas talk about the struggle to get his new film Red Tails made last week on The Daily Show(watch the interview!) because there wasn’t enough white people in it , it brought back to life for me, that five year old conversation and the agony of knowing that certain perceptions and problems still exist when making Black movies.

During the time I was meeting with the aforementioned manager (who shall remain nameless), it was 2007 and the movie The Great Debaters was on it’s way into theaters on Christmas weekend. For those who don’t recall, The Great Debaters set in 1935, was a film directed by and starring Denzel Washington that was based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in Texas. He inspires the students to form the school’s first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. I asked him, “Why won’t studios make more Black films like this to give more Black actors like myself a chance to work in mainstream film?” His answer? “Don’t take this the wrong way, but Black people don’t want to see those kind of movies. The proof is in the ticket sales.”

READ REST OF ESSAY HERE

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Samuel L. Jackson has been around since Spike Lee’s breakout films and Laurence Fishburne has been acting since 1975 playing Wilford Robinson in Cornbread, Earl and Me.

We pay homage to the top Hollywood vets, who probably say to younger actors, :You know, back in my day…”

1. Laurence Fishburne
Not only was he the famed kid in Cornbread, Earl and Me, but Laurence is still works regularly on television and movies.

2. Samuel L. Jackson
He always plays the risky roles that other actors may find unbecoming, but he’s one of the highest paid actors–Black or White.

3. Glynn Turman
From Cooley High to A Different World, he’s definitely got his acting stripes!

4. Morgan Freeman
He’s got a lot of flack for his role as Miss Daisy’s docile driver, but he’s been acting since the mid-60s and it’s hard not to distinguish his voice narrating commercials and movies.

5. Denzel Washington
He was the first black actor to win an Oscar for leading male role; need we say more?!

In this month’s issue of Essence magazine journalist Dream Hampton carefully broaches the issue of Idris’ infant son Otenga with ex-girlfriend Desiree Newberry. In the August 2010 issue of Upscale magazine Elba was cagey when discussing his children simply stating: “I have kids. I love my children and I love my kids. But they are not part of that world,” he said referring to Hollywood.

Rumors began to spread of discord between Elba and his now ex and whether he was indeed the father of the baby. Newberry issued a statement in November of 2010 addressing the gossip saying that Elba was a “positive influence in their child’s life and that he is providing all the love, care, and support that are required at this time.”

So it only made sense that Essence would ask Mr. Elba about his children. When asked how his daughter liked being an older sister he flatly replied, “I only have a daughter.”

Elba goes on to chastise the press for jumping to conclusions.  However, when something is public record what course is there to take? We can hardly blame Elba if it turned out that the baby was not his. It happens to plenty of men around the world. But don’t make it seem like folks are crazy for wondering what happened when he said one thing and is now saying something else.

For what it’s worth Elba has shown to be a very devoted father and brought his daughter Isan with him to this year’s Emmys. Wherever Otenga is we hope he’s healthy and happy.  But if Idris really wants people to stop speculating about his kids he can just keep tweeting pics like this one. They’ll forget all about it.

READ MORE OF THE COVER STORY AT ESSENCE.COM

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The Festival will screen 51 films, including 9 feature films, 11 documentaries and 27 short films.

The feature films include, “Rocksteady” a movie about the son of a Jamaican immigrant who becomes a race car driver, “Threading Needles” a story of an African immigrant who falls in love with a white girl, “Chicken And Beef Presents “Monkey Gang” The Mockumentary” a mock documentary comedy parodying negativity in hip-hop, and “Lesson Before Love,” a romantic comedy.

Other features include, “Billy” a story about an African American photographer who encounters racism and opposition when he moves to Canada in 1906, “A Mother’s Love,” a family drama, “Mystery Of Birds,” the story of the struggles of a Nigerian female who immigrates to the U.S., “Fish Above Sea Level” a Jordanian film and “Changing The Game” the story of a Black man from the streets who infiltrates Wall Street only to find out the Wall Street is as crooked as the streets.

Documentaries include, two Jamaican films, “Bad Friday, Rastafari After Coral Gardens,” a movie about Jamaican oppression of Rastafarians during the 1960s, and “Bob Marley: The Making Of A Legend” which covers Bob Marley’s early years. Other docs  include, “Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise And Fall Of The Spook That Sat By The Door,” a movie about Sam Greenlee’s epic movie, “The Spook That Sat By The Door” and “Phunny Business” a film about the legendary Chicago comedy club, “All Jokes Aside”

For more information on The Hollywood Black Film Festival go to www.hbff.org.

His new movie Cobu 3D is an action dance flick that he thinks needs to be in multiple dimensions. Watch our exclusive interview from this years DJ Irie Weekend in Miami.

In the 3D action-comedy The Green Hornet, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. To get close to the criminals, they come up with the perfect cover: they’ll pose as criminals themselves.

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At Sunday’s Academy Awards we’ll find out what the industry thinks, but this Friday we want to know what you think about this highly controversial film.

Noted film producer and DVRepublic.org founder and chief Warrington Hudlin, in partnership with NewsOne, has brought together two acclaimed Black thinkers to lead the discussion: Outspoken cultural critic Stanley Crouch and NYU film professor Sheril D. Antonio will go head to head in a live debate about the movie this Friday, March 5th, at 7:30pm.

Watch a live stream of their debate on NewsOne.com and join what promises to be an explosive conversation.

The West Coast favorites come back from their “hiatus” in a major way.

Check out the video below:

(Shout out to Nah Right for the vid…)

Crescendo’s projects include the documentary Darfur Now and a Miles Davis biopic that’s in development.

The shingle, also headed by Cheadle’s partners Lenore Zerman and Kay Liberman, will remain in offices outside Overture’s Beverly Hills headquarters, but will work closely with Overture CEO Chris McGurk and chief operating officer Danny Rosett.

Cheadle’s connections to McGurk and Rosett also pre-date the first-look deal, as his film Hotel Rwanda was co-distributed by MGM while the pair headed the studio

SOURCE: EURWeb.com