She was told she’d never be on the cover of Vogue. She proved them wrong. Beverly Johnson speaks to CNN’s Don Lemon.
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From the category archives:
Articles & Interviews
Beverly Johnson was a 21-year-old ingenue sleeping on a mattress on the floor of her midtown Manhattan apartment when she went into the photo studio with legendary photographer Francesco Scavullo 35 years ago this month.
The atmosphere, she remembers, was “magical.” “You could kind of feel it in the air during the shoot,” says Johnson. “I knew it was going to be a good picture.
But the rising model was stunned when she learned that an image from the session — of her in a simple, powder blue sweater and a Mona Lisa smile — would become the cover of Vogue in August 1974, making her the magazine’s first black cover model.
Johnson became a poster child for the American civil rights movement practically overnight, her name mentioned in the same breath as that of the Rev. Jesse Jackson (who was, all of a sudden, calling her to discuss race relations in America).
“Everyone was like, ‘Do you understand the significance of this?’ ” recalls Johnson, now 56. “They were making the comparisons with Jackie Robinson and what he did for the baseball league.” At the time, she says, she was only vaguely aware of what they were talking about.
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HONEY MAG: Why do you only go by Melina? Why don’t you go by your last name as well?
Melina Matsoukas: I’m actually going by both now. It’s one of those things that have to be translated onto whatever the network that my stuff is being played on. But it definitely started out that way, where I liked the one name Melina thing when I was doing videos, and then Melina Matsoukas when I was doing film and commercials. Then I kind of let that go, maybe in the past eight months. But I guess people are so used to seeing Melina that even when I write it in the credits Melina Matsoukas, it still just becomes Melina when I see it on T.V.
HONEY MAG: Okay, so why did you decide to get involved with film?
Well, I went to NYU and I was already big into photography from high school. I was studying math when I started. I was always kind of a good student — good at everything, but never really passionate about anything — and then I started meeting some of the film students and learning about the film program at NYU, which is a really a great program. My parents are both really political and vocal and progressive kind of people. I grew up in a very progressive kind of way where I wanted to say something, make change, affect people and change the world, so when I got to NYU and began meeting all the film students and learning about the film program, I felt it was the greatest way to speak out and make change. So, I took a film course to make sure I liked it, and I loved it. And then I enrolled in the film program and that’s how it started.
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Article Date: October 20, 2009
Article Headline: Making Precious
Article Source: ebonyjet.com
Since it made its premiere this past January at the Sundance Film Festival, few films have been as acclaimed or talked about than Precious. Based on the bestselling book, Push, by Sapphire, the film relates the tale of Precious, an overweight, unloved, pregnant, abused teen living a horrific existence and her painful and uplifting journey to self acceptance and love.
Precious is the second film to be directed by Lee Daniels, a former talent manager turned filmmaker.
After a talent search for months to find the perfect person to play Precious, Daniels discovered Gabourey Sidibe, a 24-year old college student and receptionist from Harlem with very little previous acting experience. Just last week we had a chance to talk to Daniels and Sidibe about her experience working on the film, why Daniels decided to direct such a difficult story and why he loves to make controversial films.
EBONY (to Daniels): You had a very successful career first as a talent manager then as a producer making films like Monster’s Ball and The Woodsman. Why did you decide to move into directing? There aren’t many film producers who have done that. Perhaps some creative urge that wasn’t being fulfilled?
DANIELS: I started out as a director in theater, which led me to casting, which led me to managing actors, which led me then to producing, which then led to directing. I’ve just come full circle. So people know me for my producing work, but I started out in theater. I had a life before Monster’s Ball.
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Timbaland samples “Khosara”, composed by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi in the mid-20th century and originally recorded by the famous Egyptian vocalist Abdel Halim Hafez for the track’s beat leading to its Middle Eastern sound.
In 2007, the song sparked controversy when a copyright co-owner of the stolen track Osama Admed Fahmy filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court, objecting to the fact that Timbaland illegally replayed portions of “Big Pimpin” note-for-note, using a melody lifted from the song.
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Article Date: Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Article Headline: Rappers Jay-Z, Timbaland Sued Over ‘Big Pimpin’ Melody
Article Source: allhiphop.com
Another song produced by superstar rapper Timbaland is in question, as rap star Jay-Z and the producer have been hit with a lawsuit over the single “Big Pimpin.”
Copyright co-owner Osama Admed Fahmy filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court, claiming that Timbaland illegally replayed portions of “Big Pimpin” note-for-note, using a melody lifted from the song “Khosara, Khosara” which was written by composer Baligh Hamdi and performed by Egyptian star Abdel-Halim Hafez in 1957.
“Big Pimpin,” which is taken from Jay-Z’s hit album Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter also features Texas rap legends UGK and hit #1 in 1999.
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An MTV report:
It was Jay-Z that alerted Timbaland to Drake’s skills, and Drizzy himself said that when he talks with Hov, the Jiggaman drops wisdom on various subjects. Drake and Jay collaborated for a record called “Light Up” off of the 23-year-old newcomer’s Thank Me Later LP.
“It’s just me and Jay both rapping on it for an extended period of time,” Drake told MTV News on the set of his video for “Over.” “It’s real rap. It’s real rap. I do sing on it, but it’s just on the hook — but it’s rap. It’s great. The perspective, the dynamic on the track — it’s me and Jay’s relationship on the song, basically. When you hear it, people will be like, ‘Oh man.’ That’s how we are — just the two. He definitely has guided me a lot, as far as his words and his advice. We have a real funny rapport. I always enjoy my conversations with Jay. It’s good.”
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Looking at Muhammad Ali, one can almost hear the boxer’s famous, defiant statement — “I am the greatest!” Executed in 1977, Warhol’s picture of Muhammad Ali shows the boxer at the height of his fame and talents. At that point he was — for the third time — the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion. After more than a decade of professional bouts, he remained able to stun his opponents with his agility, winning fight after fight. Warhol has chosen to portray this giant of boxing, this sporting hero, in a combative pose; the raised fists are the tools of his trade, the attributes, his only necessary paraphernalia — they are the raw materials with which the boxer made his name and reputation. Muhammad Ali is presented here as a Pop icon, a god of the modern age, a contemporary hero.
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Article: Billionaire Roberts brothers operate on a simple business philosophy: You diversify or die…
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (A CNN Report)
Michael and Steven Roberts didn’t have two quarters to rub together a couple of decades ago. Now, the two African-American business leaders estimate their holdings — from hotels to TV stations — are worth $1 billion. One St. Louis hotel they own once barred black people.
“Black folks need legacy. We have to have examples of successes in order for us to be able to let the generations to come know that many of the successes that occurred by African-Americans in this country can be seen and pointed out and can be emulated,” says Michael Roberts, the chairman and CEO of The Roberts Companies.
Michael and his brother Steven, who is three years younger, stroll through their office, complete with wood-paneled doors, large leather chairs and a pool table fit for a king. Their office sits along a busy street in St. Louis called Kingshighway.
“They used to call us the Kings of Kingshighway, because we own so much on this street,” Michael Roberts says.
Their office is the culmination of hard work and a can-do American business attitude to strive for greatness. They launched their business from a historically black neighborhood in north St. Louis.
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No slight on Beyoncé’s pipes, but her soaring voice isn’t what makes “Crazy in Love” the song that it is. And nothing against Jay-Z, but his rap alone doesn’t warrant the track getting three nominations for Sunday’s Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year honors.
What makes the first single off Beyoncé’s Dangerously in Love work so well is that it blows.
“It’s the horn hook,” Beyoncé quickly pointed out when asked what made the track so lively and infectious. “It has this go-go feel to it, this old-school feel. I wasn’t sure if people were going to get it.”
The hook, a sample of the Chi-Lites’ 1970 song “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So),” came courtesy of producer Rich Harrison. And to her credit, Beyoncé was right about some people not getting it, at least at first.
“I remember when I first did the beat,” Harrison said, “I played it for a lot of my buddies, as I normally do, and they couldn’t dig it. But that’s when I knew I had something special,” he laughed. “Sometimes people need to hear the whole record.”
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He played Tango in the film American Gangster.
He co-produced and performed on the intro of Jay-Z’s 2007 album American Gangster.
O and he played and he played an American Gangster in the cult TV Series The Wire.
Idris co-produced and performed on the intro to Jay-Z’s 2007 album American Gangster. the “Intro”, which is credited to Chris Flames and co-production from Idris “Driis” Elba. American Gangster is the tenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released November 6, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. It is Jay-Z’s last release for the Def Label label and his first concept album, which was inspired by the film of the same name.
click to watch 2 videos of Idris, The AG!
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An Interview with Pam Grier: “I survived cancer…tomorrow is not given… I was given a second chance…”
www.hollywoodchicago.com did an amazing interview with Pam Grier…
Pam Grier has a strong, peaceful aura. After inventing the female action hero in her early 1970s hits “Coffy” and “Foxy Brown,” Grier has navigated her life through optimistic success. She was in Chicago for a book signing at Borders State Street, promoting ‘Foxy: My Life in Three Acts.”
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Very family has its unique rites of passage, those generational milestones that mark a child’s growth and remind parents of their own similar experiences, years earlier. In the Jolie-Pitt household, one such event is the day a kid begins collecting daggers. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s seven-year-old son, Maddox, like many boys his age, has lately developed a fondness for guns and knives, and Jolie proudly notes that the predilection runs in the family.
“My mom took me to buy my first daggers when I was 11 or 12,” she recalls. “And I’ve already bought Maddox some things. We take him to a special shop.” She emphasizes that the knife blades are dulled so they’re not dangerous, and that the purchases are accompanied by discussions about violence. But, she says, “we also talk about samurais and about the idea of defending someone as good. We talk about everything.”
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