THE FACTS
Marlon Wayans touched on his growing anticipation to portray Richard Pryor in his upcoming biopic.

THE SPIN
Many were disappointed to learn that Eddie Murphy nor Mike Epps would be portraying Richard Pryor in the long discussed biopic, Richard Pyror: Is It Something I Said?

That might have to do with the fact that Marlon is more known for movies like White Chicks and Little Man versus his very inspired performance in the indie movie, Requiem for a Dream.

In a recent profile in the Los Angeles Times, Marlon addressed some of the criticism head one.

He said:

“Look, I want to be able to make the stupidest movies ever, because they make people laugh and they make money. But that’s not all I want to do. And I think I’ve proven to some people — the ones paying attention — that I can do more. Everybody else, well, they can wait and see and make up their mind.”

And the youngest Wayans made it clear:

“I have no complaints, but I do have a plan. I love doing comedy, but I also love to do drama.This is like an invitation to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for me, and I’ve never been more excited in my life than when I got the role,” he said last week. “I want to be in dramas, I want to produce, I want to write and I want to prove I can handle a role such as this one.”

Although Eddie Murphy passed on the role amid creative differences, he wishes Marlon Wayans well.

A rep for the star said:

“Eddie thinks Marlon will be wonderful in the role and he’s given his blessing for Marlon to do it. He’s looking forward to seeing Marlon in the role.”

I have faith in Marlon. I think he’s going to surprise people and may even net himself an Oscar nod in 2012. Mo’Nique has proven you have to give people the benefit of the doubt.

But I guess a better question is are you all biopic out or is this a movie you can’t wait to see? And do you think Marlon Wayans can pull it off?

The film goes into production this fall.

Source

YOUR SPIN: Do you think Marlon is right for the role? Tell us here.

Image courtesy of nydailynewsp.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

THE FACTS
In an interview with EbonyJet.com, Antoine Fuqua and Wesley Snipes talked about the alleged lack of masculine actors.

THE SPIN
Antoine Fuqua’s latest film, Brooklyn’s Finest, is officially in theaters as of today. The film chronicles the lives of a trio of New York City cops played by Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke. Rounding out the cast is the IRS’ favorite actor, Wesley Snipes, who portrays an ex-con slowly drawn back into the life he abandoned.

While reading Fuqua and Snipes’ interview with EbonyJet.com I found their comments about the state of the black male actor interesting.

EBONY: Too many black films now are aimed at women. Or nerds or comic book geeks. I mean what happened to us? What happened to movies for men?

SNIPES: That’s right!

EBONY: What happened in the film industry?

FUQUA: I think we’re in a time they’ve cut the cojones off or are trying to. You want me to put it to you for real? Everything is soft, they’re putting everyone in dresses and O.K. that’s fun. But I grew up watching movies about men. Watching movies from the 1930’s the 40’s the 50’s Movies like Public Enemy and Scarface (i.e. referring to the original Howard Hawks’ 1932 version with Paul Muni).

EBONY: Exactly! You don’t have those definite masculine actors today like you had back then like Robert Mitchum, Gary Cooper, Lee Marvin, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, William Holden. You can go on and on the list was endless back then.

SNIPES: We just had this same conversation…

FUQUA: Yeah we just had this exact same conversation just recently. Even in casting now, it’s hard to find men. I mean we have Denzel. No doubt. We’ve got Wesley. But Wesley now is going to come back and help me do that. Because if Denzel is busy, then where am I going to go? We’re not that deep with skilled quality actors and masculinity.

The interviewer goes on to say that “we’ve got too many soft black men from the U.S. in movies now.

Outside of Tyler Perry and a few comedians doing family roles (which is typical for an actor of a certain age and appeal), I don’t feel like we’ve seen that great a dip in seeing the hypermasculine black male on film.

In fact, the influx of rapper turned actors (you know, those sensitive souls) have kept that sort of theme in Hollywood even more constant. But maybe I’m mistaken.

YOUR SPIN: Are we in need of more “manly actors?”  Tell us here.

Source

Image courtesy of blogtribuna.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

THE FACTS
In a recent interview with the Associated Press Mo’Nique answers the question about her alleged refusal to promote the film Precious for free directly.

THE SPIN
For the longest time Mo’Nique dodged the question of whether or not she really did refuse to promote Precious on the film circuit without compensation. And now finally, she answers the question for the AP.

AP: There’s been a lot of talk about you not showing up early on to promote “Precious” because you were worried about money.

Mo’Nique: Well, when they say Mo’Nique was worried about money, I wasn’t worried about money. Mo’Nique has a talk show that comes on five nights a week and she tapes six times a week for that talk show. And yes, when I leave my home, I leave my home and get paid to leave my home, so I wasn’t worried about money. They simply said, “You know, well Mo’Nique we can’t pay you to do that.” … We said, “OK, baby. Well, then, that’s not something we can do.” Because, when I leave out, why ever would I go do something for free when I can go and do something and bring money back home to my family?

Some people might find this line of thinking short sighted. Others may argue that it’s all about the bottom line and in the end, Mo’Nique may likely get her Oscar and she didn’t hurt the promotion of the film.

As far as said film goes, Mo’Nique also touched on how her role as Mary Jones has led to others confiding in her about their similar transgressions.

AP: Has anyone, after watching the movie, come up to you and opened up about the past?

Mo’Nique: It’s been quite a few. But one, it was this Asian brother at the DGA (Directors Guild of America) screening, and he came up to me and he had been crying, and he said, “Mo’Nique, what I’m getting ready to say to you is gonna sound weird. But I am Mary Jones, and I was Mary Jones to my brother and my sister.” And we hugged and we were crying, and I said, “Congratulations for saying it out loud, and go get you some help.”

AP: How does that make you feel?

Mo’Nique: When you hear that you say, “We’ve already won.” So when people say, “Mo’Nique, are you excited about the Oscars and are you excited about the (NAACP) Image awards, are you excited?” I’m excited anytime somebody wants to say, “You know what, we appreciate what you did.” But when you get that, that’s priceless.

Source

YOUR SPIN: What do you think about Mo’Nique’s new attitude? Tell us here.

Image courtesy of concretemusic.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)