News & Entertainment ‘Love Jones’ Creator Talks Directing E. Lynn Harris’ ‘Invisible Life’ + ‘Love Jones 2′?

by MUSED MAG ONLINE

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 21^st century and be on the right side of history and just look at the story from a human point of view.

Read more of the interview at Urban Daily

HUE MAN BOOK STORE PRESENTS: The Debut Release & Book Signing of “LOVE YOURSELF FIRST”

Marva Allen owner of the historic Hue Mann Bookstore and author Delvon Johnson are proud to present the highly anticipated book release of “Love Yourself First” on January 27, 2012 at Hue Mann Bookstore in Harlem, NY. Attendance is by INVITE ONLY.

Delvon Johnson is a critically acclaimed author from Newark, NJ. His debut novel, Love Yourself First received five stars on Amazon. This fictional piece is a compelling and explosive novel that demonstrates how one’s decisions can often create consequences that you may not be prepared to live with. Critics have compared his writing ability to E. Lynn Harris. In March, the author is slated to commence a ten-city tour to promote the release. www.delvonjohnson.com

The crème de la crème of the literary and entertainment industry will be in attendance to support this release and author Delvon Johnson on this momentous occasion. Publisher: World Audience Publications

Confirmed Attendees Include: Stanley Bennett Clay (actor, director, playwright), James Earl Hardy (award-winning author of the B-Boy Blues fiction series) DJ Baker (host of the longest-running LGBT radio program in America,) Lee Soulja (performance artist and Broadway stage actor), Frank Romano and filmmaker Alan Baxter to name a few.

E. Lynn Harris Cause of Death

LOS ANGELES (July 30) -- A coroner's official says heart disease, complicated by high blood pressure and a hardening of the arteries, is what killed author E. Lynn Harris last week.

County coroner Craig Harvey said Wednesday that the 54-year-old died of natural causes. Harris died July 23 while visiting Los Angeles to promote his latest book.

Harris lived in Atlanta and was considered a pioneer of gay black fiction, enjoying unprecedented success in the genre. He wrote 11 novels, and ten of them became New York Times best-sellers. More than four million of his books are in print.

Dishin' it - "E. Lynn Harris"

E. Lynn Harris was a success for the world of literature, the state of Arkansas, and the black LGBT community. Raised, along with three sisters, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended Hall High School and attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where he was the school's first black yearbook editor, the first black male Razorbacks cheerleader, and the president of his fraternity. He graduated with honors with a degree in journalism.

Harris sold computers for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T for 13 years while living in Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He later wrote his first novel, Invisible Life, and, failing to find a publisher, he published it himself in 1991 and sold it mostly at black-owned bookstores, beauty salons, and book clubs before he was "discovered" by Anchor Books. Anchor published Invisible Life as a trade paperback in 1994, and thus his career as an author was "officially" launched.
Invisible Life was followed by Just As I Am (1994), And This Too Shall Pass (1996), If This World Were Mine (1997), and Abide With Me (1999), all published by Doubleday. All of Harris's books have been bestsellers; And This Too Shall Pass, If This World Were Mine, Abide With Me, Not A Day Goes By and A Love of My Own were New York Times bestsellers. They also appeared on the bestseller lists of the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and Los Angeles Times. Harris's sixth novel, Not A Day Goes By (2000) debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and was a #1 Publishers Weekly bestseller for two consecutive weeks. His seventh novel, Any Way the Wind Blows (2001), also debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list. His most recent novel, which is novel eleven, Basketball Jones (2009), his love letter to the black gay community. Currently, there are over three million copies of Harris's novels in print.

Harris also had and astonishing career working in theater, as professor in education, and even optioned three of his books for film. In 1996, Just As I Am was awarded Blackboard's Novel of the Year prize. In 1997, If This World Were Mine was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. Abide With Me, Any Way the Wind Blows, and A Love of My Own were also nominated for NAACP Image Awards. In 2002 Any Way the Wind Blows won Harris his second Blackboard Novel of the Year prize, and A Love of My Own was recently named Blackboard Novel of the Year, making Harris the first author to receive back-to-back honors and to receive the prize a record three times. Undeniably, Harris was one of the most gracious and giving individuals in the industry. He easily made himself available mentoring and providing assistance to aspiring writers all over America. The 54 year old Pioneer will greatly be missed and his work shall forever live on. The FUTURE sends our love and prayers to his partner, family, and friends.


Dwight Allen O'Neal