SKINNY the movie Premieres in NYC this weekend

FILMMAKER PATRIK-IAN POLK OF

“PUNKS” AND “NOAH’S ARC”

NEW YORK CITY OPENING OF NEW INDIE FILM

“THE SKINNY” AT THE FAISON FIREHOUSE THEATER ON FRIDAY, JUNE 8TH

The highly anticipated NYC premiere of THE SKINNY, the third feature film from Patrik-Ian Polk (PUNKS, NOAH’S ARC) will be presented during the First Annual Pride Cultural Series at the Faison Firehouse Theater, 6 Hancock Place, Harlem, NY 10027 opening Friday, June 8th with proceeds benefiting GMAD’s (Gay Men of African Decent) Charles Angel Youth Leadership Academy's 'Stop the BS' campaign- an anti gay-bullying and suicide initiative.

A sharply scripted comedy, THE SKINNY tells the story of four young, black, gay men (Magnus, Sebastian, Kyle, Joey) and their lesbian best friend (Langston), who meet up in New York City one year after their graduation from Brown University. Their plans for a weekend of fun start off well, relaxed in each other’s company as only old friends can be. But old tensions quickly resurface.

Drinking, drugs, hidden desire and the demands of promiscuity put friendship, trust and even lives at risk. In between sharp one-liners and a great soundtrack there’s a few important lessons that these pleasure-seekers must learn for themselves. Written with a real sense of the demands of urban living, these bright and believable characters will remind you of someone you know. Remaining true to his past work, Polk addresses issues in THE SKINNY that face the LGBT community such as date-rape, infidelity, and HIV/AIDS awareness.

The film stars Jussie Smollett (the former child actor of “Mighty Ducks” & “North”, and older brother of well-known actress Jurnee Smollett), Blake Young-Fountain, Anthony Burrell, Shanika Warren-Markland and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman. Supporting cast includes alumnus of Polk’s past features such as Darryl Stephens (“Noah’s Arc”), Jennia Fredrique (“Noah’s Arc”), Wilson Cruz (“Noah’s Arc”) and Seth Gilliam (“Punks”, “The Wire”, “Oz”, “Teen Wolf”). The cast also includes newcomers Dustin Ross and internet sensation B. Scott.

THE SKINNY’s open-ended NYC run begins Friday, June 8th at the Faison Firehouse Theatre in Harlem (6 Hancock Place, New York, NY 10027) as the featured film of the Firehouse's First Annual Pride Cultural Series.

OPENING WEEKEND's Showtime: 3:30pm | 5:30pm | 7:30pm & 9:30pm

Tickets $15.00 purchased in advance online at Smarttix.com.

For additional details & showtimes go to Skinnythemovie.com.

LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR - What do you think?

"Glee" meets "Paris Is Burning" in this groundbreaking film directed by Sheldon Larry ("Noah's Arc") and written by Glenn Gaylord ("Eating Out: All You Can Eat"). Jaw-dropping dance numbers are courtesy of Beyonce's choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. When Brad's mother kicks him out, he steals her car and heads to L.A. in search of shelter. There he meets Queen Latina and her House of Eminence. Brad falls for the fierce ball scene "and a cute new boy" but can he ever really escape his past?

Does Friends With Benefits Truly Work?

I am one of those romantic comedy fans that can't wait to go see the romantic comedy "Friends With Benefits," starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. While others are going to see "Captain America: The First Avenger" I will be going to see this romantic comedy. I have seen too many superhero movies. It's time to take a break.

With the release of this movie and saying the title so many times, it brought up a big conversation in my head. I have met a couple of people that tried to be friends with benefits. I tried it at least twice in my life. I was having a conversation with an old friend about his recent break-up. He wasn't sad that he didn't have a boyfriend anymore. He was more upset that he temporarily had to say goodbye to sex.

"I need a beneficial friend," he said.

Me and him were the only two people walking together while on our way to Whole Foods. Knowing that I still cared for my friend and I hated to see him sad, I quickly volunteered my services. These were teenagers years people. I'm not the only one that did a bunch of insane things when I was a teenager.

Suddenly, I am getting a phone call the next day saying he doesn't want to be my beneficial friend. Of course, it was the obvious answer. He knew that if we decided to get intimate like that, he would get emotionally attached, and everything will be ruined.

Fast forward two years. I had a beneficial friend for two months. It ended just the way we ended. We had sex without getting emotionally attached. Whenever either of us are done with each other, we cut off our connections and move on with our lives. When it comes to being friends with benefits that worked out just as planned.

Now that "Friends With Benefits" is coming out I can't help but wonder. When it comes to friendships, does friends with benefits truly work?

You're Never Too Old To Find Love

I said this once and I will say it again. I am a fan of romantic comedies and buddy comedies. I don't care what time of day it is, or even if happens around night time. I will sit there in the theater and enjoy myself.

The one movie that I can't stop thinking about is Something's Gotta Give. It's a romantic comedy directed/produced/written by Nancy Meyers. This is one movie that stand out to me. It centers around the lives of two people who's combined age is near the triple digits. What surprised me was that I am young man who is just entering adulthood, and I could totally relate to what these older people were going through.

I sat there in my bedroom, watching every moment that this couple went through. Even though I was young, their stories touched me. Here is this guy that is a total bachelor. He dates these young women that are decades apart from him. Then after a traumatic heart attack, he stays at his girlfriend's house, where her mother happens to be living in at the moment in order to get some work done. The girlfriend leaves for work. So the two of them are alone. They become good friends at first, but they suddenly get close.

Sadly, they couldn't be together because one of them has never been in love. So he doesn't know how to cope with his feelings. Once he finally realized what love was he fought to get the girl of his dreams. I know it's a very unusual plot, but you can easily relate to this story if you pay close attention to it.

The one thing that I like about this movie is that I hope it puts an end to what people say about love. They always say that they will be lonely forever once they reached thirty. Teenagers say twenty years old is old. There are times when I just want to slap them in the face. I am turning twenty this year and I can't wait for it to come. As I get older, I feel the growth inside of me. I become more responsible and learned more than I thought I would in one year.

So for all the people reaching their twenties, thirties, fourties, and fifties, you are never too old to find true love. Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson's age was 125 combined by the time they received accolades from this movie. It's never too late for love to come into your life.

Below is the movie trailer of Something's Gotta Give

Whoopi Goldberg slams New York Times for Oscar 'snub'

Academy Awards veteran ... Whoopi Goldberg has presented the Oscars four times. Photograph: WireImage.com

By Ben Childs

guardian.co.uk

Actor furious over article on black Academy Award winners that neglected to mention her 1991 prize for best supporting actress

Hell hath no fury like an Oscar winner scorned. The actor Whoopi Goldberg has attacked the New York Times for failing to mention her in an article about black Academy Award winners.

Last week's extended feature by Manohla Dargis and AO Scott concerned the lack of racial diversity among this year's Oscar nominees in comparison to previous years. It mentioned past winners such as Halle Berry and Denzel Washington, who won the best actress and best actor gongs in 2002, as well as figures such as Hattie McDaniel, awarded best supporting actress in 1940 for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind.

There were also mentions for Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker, who best actor in 2005 and 2007 respectively, as well as Morgan Freeman (best supporting actor in 2005), Jennifer Hudson and Mo'Nique (best supporting actresses in 2007 and 2010). But there was no mention of Goldberg's win in the same category for 1990's Ghost, in which she played a fake psychic who begins to see real spirits.

"I am embarrassed to tell you it hurt me terribly," Goldberg said during an appearance on US TV show The View yesterday. "When you win an Academy Award, that's part of what you've done, your legacy. I will always be Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg, and [I] have been dismissed and erased by the New York Times film critics, who should know better."

Goldberg added: "I have made over 50 films. I have been nominated twice – once for The Color Purple, once for Ghost. And I won for Ghost."

"This is not hidden information, and to these two critics, who are the head critics of the New York Times ... it's hard not to take it personally. This is sloppy journalism."

"People in Somalia know [about my Oscar win]," Goldberg said. "People in China know."

The New York Times was, however, unapologetic: "The error lies with those who are reading the story incorrectly. The point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar, it was to draw a comparison between the number who won prior to 2002 (the year Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won) and those who have won since. And the story states very clearly that in 73 years, prior to 2002, only seven black actors/actresses won Oscars.

Mary J. Blige to Star in Nina Simone Biopic

Thanks to the movie For Colored Girls and the countless TV commercials and Films using her music, Nina Simone fever has been building over the past few years. So when is her story coming to the silver screen? That’s right folks in 2012. The moody, forceful soul diva Mary J. Blige has signed on play the moody, forceful soul diva Nina Simone, in Nina, the latter's inevitable biopic.

Blige becomes perhaps the highest-profile musician to star in another musician's biopic since Babs played Fanny Brice, though there have been a number of recent crossovers: club R&B star Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for playing Ray Charles, of course, and Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for one for Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Beyonce played Etta James in Cadillac Records and who can forget Jennifer Lopez lip-syncing so movingly, Selena in Selena?

R&B songstress Mary J. Blige will tune up her jazz vocals after signing to star in Cynthia Mort's "Nina," a movie about legendary singer Nina Simone. Mort's script focuses on Simone's relationship with her assistant Clifton Henderson, who will be played by David Oyelowo, backers said.

William Morris Endeavor's Global Finance & Distribution Group brought the film to U.K. production, finance and studio facility operator Ealing Studios. Ealing is financing, producing and selling internationally the $10 million movie scheduled to shoot in the fall this year. WME Global is handling North American rights.

Mort's resume includes a stint as a writer-producer on TV's "Rosanne" and "Will & Grace" and as creator of "Tell Me You Love Me." Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.

FEELING GOOD by Nina Simone

FOUR WOMEN by Nina Simone

SINNERMAN by Nina Simone

HTC “You” TV Campaign - simpled SINNERMAN by DJ Felix Da Housecat

The Thomas Crown - SINNERMAN by Nina Simone

Zolra's Corner- Resident Evil: Afterlife Brings Back The Fantasy

I am so looking forward to this weekend. The thing about this weekend is that it appears that fantasy is really taking over the world right now. I live for projects that deals with adventure, and fantasy dominates that by a thousand percent.

So when I found out that the Resident Evil franchise was releasing a fourth movie, I was so excited. I am a huge fan of Milla Jovovich. I still can't forget her work in Ultraviolet. Ever since then, I have called her what most people call her. The Queen of Kickbutt.

Resident Evil: Afterlife takes place after the third movie. The human race has become extinct, with the exception of a few humans. In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

If you in love with fantasy or action-adventure films, this film can give you both or one of the other.

Zolra's Corner: Life Is Very Complicated

After my second day of filming my fifth movie, I finally got to the chance to see the romantic comedy It's Complicated. For most people that know me, I am a huge fan of romantic comedies. Through my eyes, they are the best movies ever made.

Due to my hard work, I wasn't able to see the movie the day it premiered. I thought theaters were closed on Christmas. But I guess some of them stay open. I finally managed to see the movie a month later after it premiered. Good thing I did because I had an amazing night watching the movie.

The movie centers around two people Jane (Meryl Streep) and her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin). Jane owns a successful bakery in Santa Barbara, California. Jake is a successful attorney.

After ten years of separation and three grown kids, things look peaceful now between the two of them. They can look at each other and not be upset about the divorce. Jake has married a much younger woman named Agness (Lake Bell) who has a son. So it appears that Jane doesn't have to worry about anything between the two of them.

Then the tables turn when they attend their son's college graduation in New York. After alot of partying, dancing, and drinking, Jane and Jake accidentally sleep together in their hotel room. The affair brings back memories through Jake's head while Jane feels bad for sleeping with him. Part of Jane knows it is wrong, since Jake and Agness are still married and trying to have a baby; the other part of Jane relishes in being "the other woman" and continues the affair with Jake in Santa Barbara. Jake is just enjoying the clandestine sex and doesn't show much interest in Jane's growth as a person. So they decided to continue on with this affair, keeping it a secret from everyone, including the kids.

But during this time, a spark begins to light between Jane and her architect Adam (Steve Martin), who was hired to remodel her house. Adam is just went through a divorce. This evens out the field between the two of them.

What becomes of the outcome of the movie? You'll have to see the movie to find out.

As for my review. This is one of the best romantic comedies of the year. It is a feel good movie. It makes you think of your past relationships and wonder if that spark is still there. Then once you figure it out. Then you'll know if it's alright to try again or if it's time to move on.

Zolra's Corner: Do Gays Love Romantic Comedies?

For me, I love romantic comedies. I think it's the best genre of movies in the world. I started writing screenplays, and the first script I wrote was a romantic comedy called Jen loves Stephen. I love to see the way how romance occurs in a comedic way. It's funny, and pays attention to the attraction towards the two characters at the same time.

Days ago, I went to see Along Came Polly, a romantic comedy I have been dieing to see for years. After watching it, tons of questions came in my head. I went out with some friends for dinner in order to keep myself entertained.

While some were talking about their relationships, I was talking about what's going on in the movies. Tons of questions were still in my head. Then it brought me up to the question. My relationships, my friend's relationships, the movies we love, the way we run our lives. This one question ended all questions.

Do gays love romantic comedies?

After that question popped up, I began searching and researching. Then I began to believe it's possible. For most of us, it's hard to find that one person that will treat you well and not move along the second they see someone that is hot and fresh. Going to the movies looks like the one way where we can find ourselves trapped in another world positively.

I have a shelf full of mostly romantic comedies. I have Straight and gay romantic comedies. I love them all. There are other genres, but romantic comedies are 98% on the shelf. As long as they keep me entertained, I will put them on my shelf. Relationships is something I take seriously. One thing romantic comedies do is teach me the good and bad parts of a relationship. One of the best romantic comedies I have seen years ago was created by Maurice Jamal called The Ski Trip.

It's pure original. It's something I have never seen before. The characters Omar and Corey resembles so much of me. In general, it's one of the best romantic comedies surrounding our community. Ever since I saw this movie, I have seen alot of gays and lesbians talking about this movie for a full year. It was like this film was this years Oscar winner for Best Picture. Then let's not forget the one movie that everyone is still talking about.

These are a few differences I see between Noah's Arc the tv series, and the movie. The tv show is considered a dramedy. It centered around the character's relationships and everyday life. Then there was the drama surrounding the issues around the gay and lesbian community. So when I went to see the movie, I considered it to be the same as the tv show. Then I when I saw it, I said to myself "This is a romantic comedy".

There were no issues surrounding the community at all (unless you include the problem surrounding Wade's side of the family). This was mostly about how the characters fixing their relationships, and it also centered around a wedding. If you been to a gay wedding like this in the movie, you will believe me by saying it's a romantic comedy. The press agrees too.

We might never know what types of movies we love. As long as the relationship between two individuals captures us, we will hooked on it no matter what the genre is.