Inspired In New York Honors Celebrated An Electrifying Evening with
TAMARA TUNIE & HAZEL DUKES
L to R: Actress, Director & Producer Tamara Tunie and President of the New York State Conference NAACP photos courtesy of Wireimage
TAMARA TUNIE, world renown film, stage and television actress, director and producer, and HAZEL DUKES, President of the New York State Conference NAACP were honored by INSPIRED IN NEW YORK on Tuesday Evening, March 13, 2012 at Tian At The Riverbank in Harlem, NY.
Tamara Tunie and Hazel Dukes were chosen to receive this recognition by the honorable Assemblyman Herman Denny Farrell due to their many years as innovators and trendsetters in the arts and entertainment industries and their philanthropic fight for Human Rights. Both honorees received a proclamation from New York for their contributions.
On behalf of Inspired In New York Series we would like to give a special thanks to Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell and his team Al Taylor and Ernestine Temple. Hazel Dukes and the NAACP, Judge Laura Blackburne, Amy Brownstein, Tamara Tunie, David Weaver and the Community Board 10 members, Avalyn Simon, Sharon Long and the members of the New York Chapter of 100 Black Women, Angelo Ellerbee, Stephanie Courtney and Tai Chunn and his MVC Production Team. The success of last night's event would not be possible without all of your support.
Media Sponsor: Uptown Magazine.
Contributing Sponsors: CME Group, Denim Lounge, Ellique Inc., Lezplay Radio, Blue Limousine Inc., MEGA Personalities, International Festival Network.
by MUSED MAG ONLINEDrake also shares the spotlight with actors/directors Dave Franco and John Slattery for the April 2012 issue. The issue is set to hit newsstands on March 20 featuring the ‘Style Bible’ installment. During the interview, Drake talks about the hip hop culture, the effects his music has had on his life and finding ways to deal with fame.
On rap music today…
“Rap now is just being young and fly and having your shit together. The mood of rap has changed.”
Dealing with fame and finding inspiration…
“When I was in my mom’s house, I had nowhere to go, no real obligations. My girlfriend at the time, if she was mad at me, my day was all fucked-up. I didn’t have anything else. And that made for some of the best music, I think, to date. Records where I felt small. That feeling is hard to capture when you’re sitting out here in a space like this.” [gestures to the pool, the tennis court, the volleyball court, the stables] “It’s really difficult for me to find something that makes me feel small.”
On past promiscuity…
“There’s just a time where it was like, just getting p$%^&. Where I was in that sort of ‘I’m young, I’m going to disconnect from my emotions and just do what everyone else tells me I should do and just a be a rapper and have my fun.’ And for me as a person, it just doesn’t work. The seconds after a man reaches climax, that’s the realest moment of your life. If I don’t want you next to me in that fifteen, twenty seconds, then there’s something wrong.”
Being one of the classic movies in black films, Love Jones celebrated its 15 year anniversary. Yes, 15 years! It doesn’t even seem like it has been that long but fans cannot get enough and still demand a sequel from writer and director Theodore Witcher.
In his debut, Witcher left us with a movie that helped portray another side of black culture. Since 1997, Loves Jones has had audiences craving black romantic films. Witcher seems to be current with the times a movement preparing to take on a film that deals with homosexuality in the black community.
Check out the interview between Witcher and the Urban Daily as he discussed his plans for Love Jones 2, black films and tackling homophobia in the black community.
How did it feel watching Love Jones again on the big screen?
Actually, I didn’t. I stayed for the first few minutes, and came back towards the end. It’s been so long, and the audience has seen it before, so it’s not like I’m getting the original reactions from people. Now it’s really about the pleasure of the familiarity. Your favorite scene’s coming up, your favorite line’s coming up. Over the years, your relationship with a movie changes tremendously.
There were complaints that Love Jones signaled the end of the spoken word movement, because everyone jumped on the bandwagon.
It’s the same thing as digging a rock band that no one else knows about other than you. Then when they became a hit, people say they’re a sellout because they’re a success. It’s the same phenomenon. People find a corner of a universe and once it expands, they don’t like it. My concern was more for the actual spoken word poets who wouldn’t think the poetry featured in the movie wasn’t good. If you lived in Brooklyn and going to Brooklyn Moon, that was the authentic ground zero shit. The spoken word in Love Jones would seem like a Hollywood version. I knew that, but I had to make it more accessible to a mass audience.
Last month, Larenz Tate and Nia Long tweeted a question to their followers “How would you feel about a Love Jones 2?” and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Would you consider directing a sequel?
Yes, we’ve discussed it. We’re working on it.
With The Help we had two black actresses (Viola Davis, Octavia) that were put front and center for award nominations. Would you consider The Help a black film?
Well, what qualifies a black film? Does it have to have a Black director? Norman Jewison who is White, directed A Soldier’s Story which has a predominantly black cast. The Help which is a mixed cast, is a story about the plight of black people. White novelist, White screenwriter, White director—is that a Black film? Probably not in the way most people mean it. If you mean like Do The Right Thing, then it’s not a Black film.
News dropped last year that you’re working on a film adaptation of E. Lynn Harris’ “Invisible Life.”
I’ve been working on that for the past year with Tracey Edmonds and some other folks. That’s still ongoing, there’s a script. It’s still a work in progress.
We had Pariah that dealt with lesbian themes, how receptive do you think the black viewing audience will be to Invisible Life?
We actually talked about that. I’m hoping they’ll be receptive. In my adaptation I took the fundamentals of the story and tried to make it as universal as possible. The main character is trying to be true to himself in an environment that won’t allow him to be. The setting takes place in the 90’s, almost 20 years ago and it was worse back then. It’s no secret that in segments of the black community there’s a certain amount of homophobia. I’m hoping we will join the 21st century and be on the right side of history and just look at the story from a human point of view.
