Introduction The Birth of a Nation 1900-1915 African-American Timeline 1915-1925 Independent African-American Filmmakers 1927-1948 Race Movies 1949-1969 The Integration Period 1960-1970 The Talented Comics 1970-1990 A Period of Free Flowing Images and Experimentation 1980-1990 Established Motion Picture Stars 1990-Date The African-American's Place in the Motion Picture Industry Today's Expanding World Changing Times in the Movie Business Actors and Actresses: Jim Brown Godfrey Cambridge Dorothy Dandridge Whoopi Goldberg James Earl Jones Eddie Murphy Richard Pryor Denzel Washington Behind the Scenes: Bobbi Banks Reginald Hudlin Spike Lee Lee Lemont Oscar Micheaux John Singleton Mario Van Peebles More Behind the Scenes Special Features: Post Production Movie Theaters The Oscars Working with the Stars Film Festivals Hip Hop Influences For Further Reading Acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION The subject of African-Americans in Motion Pictures provides some of the most interesting studies along with the many controversial interpretations of the roles as actors they played on the silver screen. As far back as the silent films era, African-Americans have been featured in motion pictures playing roles depicting some aspect of acting and being purveyors of a black image. The messages or themes of these movies have over the years presented a mixture of images based upon what was thought to please the viewers of each particular film. Unfortunately, many of those films showed black characters in negative stereotypical roles which the average African-Americans would never truly identify as being like themselves. Since many of our American icons and heroes have come from our motion picture stars, we need to understand what this narrow view presented and compare it with what we presently see at our local cinema today. This exhibit will take you on a journey through those stages. In some way it will be a short history of African-Americans and their quest to be a part of the glamour of Hollywood and the heroes portrayed on the silver screen. Prof. Melvin Sylvester Black History Month, February 1999 B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library

THE BIRTH OF A NATION When this controversial motion picture was released in New York City on March 3, 1915, it played continuously for 44 weeks. It was the Gone with the Wind of its day. D.W. Griffith had come up with a film based upon the 1906 play by Thomas Dixon Jr. entitled The Clansman. At 25 cents a head admission, it was the movie to see, due to its spectacular scenes and lengthy version of America's Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction Period (1865-1877). Remember, this was a silent film having none of the words vocalized via this medium. Therefore everyone had to read the flash transcripts between fast moving scenes. Nevertheless, The Birth of a Nation was hailed as "the greatest motion picture of all time." D.W. Griffith was credited with producing a 3 hour and 7 minute movie with cinematic techniques using close-ups, flashbacks, fades and the capturing of staged war scenes and a storyline supposedly based on "true" historical events in America. Griffith had brought to America a new way to capture the attention of large audiences. The Motion Picture industry was ready to move on, and the full length movie spectacle was big box office stuff. The Birth of a Nation was even shown at the White House, and President Woodrow Wilson (held office 1913-1921) commented on The Birth of a Nation for its content and accuracy in dealing with the Civil War and Reconstruction Periods. He said it was "like writing history with lightning!" The Birth of a Nation appeared at a time in America's history when race relations were on the decline. World War I (1914-1918) was in full force, and the First Great Migration (1910-1930) brought to the urban cities a shift in population from the rural South - both Blacks and Whites seeking housing and jobs, partially associated with Northern factories and war related industries. As a pastime, movies were a big part of weekly entertainment. Cities like Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New York, New York; and Detroit, Michigan drew large crowds to see this new phenomenon - The Motion Picture. At the same time, progress was on the minds of upwardly mobile African-Americans. A Closer Look at the Film and Its Treatment of Race The year of 1915 firmly established the achievements of African-Americans (see timeline) at the time The Birth of a Nation was released. This one film also lead to outspoken outrage by many African-Americans, including the NAACP organization. To no avail, the NAACP tried to have the film banned or parts of the film censored or deleted. Most of the black roles were done by Whites in blackface, with only selected scenes for African-Americans in this film. The Birth of a Nation, by all standards of today's filmmaking, might appear laughable, even silly, but the storyline and production visually shown in 1915 was believable history for many who wanted this propagandized view of African-American's status and position displayed. The film included themes on: Violence Southern life being lost and overtaken by Blacks Liberal white Northerners favoring unprepared and irresponsible Blacks Black characters depicted and shown as thieves, coons, untrustworthy, and decadent, as servants, mulattoes, dominant mammies False identities of Blacks chasing dreams of marrying and becoming white And, finally, the justification of the existence of the Ku Klux Klan All of these unacceptable stereotypes lead to the formation of a new venture in movie making for African-Americans.

BLACK TIMELINE: 1900-1915 1900 W.E.B. Du Bois was working with the Pan-African Congress. Booker T. Washington organized the National Business League. Booker T. Washington published his book, Up from Slavery. The Washington Society for Negro Dentists became the first one established in Washington, D.C. for black dentists. The U.S. Census Bureau showed African-Americans making up 11.6% of the U.S. population. 1901 George H. White served in U.S. Congress from 1897-1901. (Not until 1928 did another African-American serve in the Congress of the U.S.A.) 1902 The talents of "Ma" Rainey were being displayed as "Queen of the Blues." Jockey, Jimmy Winkfield, won the Kentucky Derby in a field of sports made prominent by African-American jockeys. 1903 Maggie Lena Walker founded her bank, The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, in Richmond, Virginia, becoming the first African-American woman bank president. W.E.B. Du Bois published his book: The Souls of Black Folk. Meta Vaux Warrick, African-American sculptress, exhibited her works at the Paris Salon, Paris, France. 1904 Mary McLeod Bethune established in Florida a college which later was renamed Bethune-Cookman College. Charles W. Follis became the first African-American professional football player with the Shelby Athletic Association, Shelby, Ohio. 1905 Two African-American Harvard graduates and classmates, W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter led a movement called the Niagara Movement in Canada for the sole purpose of protesting the denial of African-Americans their civil and human rights. This organization would later become the NAACP in 1909. Alonzo F. Herndon founded the largest African-American owned business in the nation - the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Robert S. Abbott began publishing the well-known African-American newspaper, the Chicago Defender. 1906 Alpha Phi Alpha was established as the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity established at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 1907 Alain Leroy Locke (1885-1954) became the first African-American Rhodes Scholar to study at Oxford in England. 1908 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for African-American women was established at Howard University, spearheaded by Ethel Hedgemen. The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was founded by Martha M. Franklin to improve the general situation of practicing black nurses. 1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established as the premier organization for African-American rights. The organization attracted some of America's most educated and progressive leaders of the 1900's. The New York paper, The Amsterdam News, under the editorship of James Anderson, was first published. Matthew Henson placed the American flag on the top of the North Pole as a member of Admiral Robert E. Peary's expedition. 1910 William Monroe Trotter led a protest against the play, The Clansman, based on the novel by Thomas Dixon. This play was later redone as the movie featured here - The Birth of a Nation. The Crisis, under the editorship of W.E.B. Du Bois was published. This protest organ was established as a place for disseminating news and protest information relating to issues of segregation and discrimination of African-Americans. Jack Johnson, boxer, won the World's Heavyweight Championship by knocking out James Jeffries. 1911 Several organizations: The Committee for Improving the Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York (est. 1906); the League for the Protection of Colored Women (est. 1906); and the Committee on Urban Conditions among Negroes (est. 1910); all merged to form the National Urban League with co-founders George Edmund Haynes and Eugene Kinckle Jones. This was an interracial League helping mainly African-Americans but also other new arrivals seeking life adjustments and jobs in the big industrial cities of America. Arthur Schomburg and Edward Bruce co-founded The Negro Society for Historical Research. Scott Joplin completed his folk opera, Treemonisha, which was staged later in 1915. The Chicago American Giants was formulated under the leadership of Andrew "Rube"Foster in baseball. 1912 Carter G. Woodson received his PhD from Harvard University in history. James Weldon Johnson, African-American novelist and poet, published his The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. 1913 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was established at Howard University to provide assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, founder of the black operated Provident Hospital in Chicago and the first doctor credited with the first open-heart surgery operation (1893), became a chartered member in the prestigious American College of Surgeons. Southern University opened its new campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1914 Famed vaudevillian actor Bert Williams came to center stage and starred in Darktown Jubilee, one of the first movies to use an African-American actor in blackface, rather than using a white person in the same role in blackface. 1915 Oscar DePriest became the first elected black alderman in Chicago, Illinois. Not since the original peak period of 1870 had the Ku Klux Klan surfaced. From 1915-1924, the Ku Klux Klan again peaked with a high membership of 4.5 million people. 1915 saw the first of these chapters taking root in Fulton County, Georgia. Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in Chicago, Illinois. His work led to the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926 and, later, Black History Month in 1976. Dr. Ernest Everett Just, famed African-American biologist and cell researcher was presented the Spingarn Medal for his research. Jelly Roll Morton published his sensational "Jelly Roll Blues." Booker T. Washington died November 14, 1915. Release of The Birth of a Nation.

INDEPENDENT AFRICAN-AMERICAN FILMMAKERS 1915 saw for the first time the formation of the Independent African-American Filmmakers. African-Americans as independent filmmakers took up their cause by counter-attacking the making of The Birth of a Nation. They sought out their own financing in order to produce films with more positive images of Blacks. The Birth of a Race (ca. 1918) was to be the first independent black film undertaken and produced by Emmett J. Scott, personal secretary to Booker T. Washington of the Tuskeegee Institute. The film was released in 1919 but never drew movie goers as previously envisioned. The Johnson Brothers, George P. and Noble Johnson, had already begun movie making as the Lincoln Motion Picture Company which opened business in the summer of 1915. They wanted to produce movies which presented Blacks "in his everyday life, a human being with human inclination and one of talent and intellect." By 1916, they completed and distributed two films, The Realization of the Negro's Ambition (1916) and A Trooper of Troop K (1916). Two years before these films, Bert (Egbert Austin) Williams (1873-1922), the famed actor, singer and vaudevillian, became the first African-American to appear as a star in a motion picture. His 1914 film, Darktown Jubilee, was not well received even though his role was covered up in Blackface. By Right of Birth, 1921, was another one of the "hope for success" movies produced by The Lincoln Motion Picture Company. It covered the portrayal of black life featuring successful middle-class African-Americans. The seeds were now planted, and 1918 brought to the forefront the legendary name of Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951). Micheaux is credited with keeping the African-American independent movie production industry alive from 1918 thru 1948.

OSCAR DEVEREAUX MICHEAUX: 1884-1951 Both of Oscar Micheaux's parents were born in Kentucky from former slaves. From his parental union came thirteen children. The Micheauxs moved to Metropolis, Illinois where Oscar was born on January 22, 1884. Oscar was not fond of living and working on his parents' farm, therefore he moved at age 17 to Chicago and stayed with an older brother who worked with the Chicago railroad as a pullman porter. Eventually, Oscar worked as a pullman porter also and accumulated enough money to move and buy a ranch in eastern South Dakota in the year of 1905. Oscar married in 1910 and was divorced two years later. Oscar Micheaux taught himself the techniques of writing whereby he published and sold from door to door his first novel in 1915, entitled The Conquest. Encouraged by his success, Micheaux took his farm and life experiences and wrote about them in his second novel, The Homesteader, published in 1917. From the book sales profits, Micheaux invested in his own business by 1918 which he called the Micheaux Film and Book Company. They operated in two cities: Sioux City, South Dakota and Chicago, Illinois. Oscar Micheaux was still not satisfied with this endeavor, therefore he decided to make his first feature film based upon his novel, The Homesteader. The film version, a silent 35mm film, The Homesteader, was released at the end of 1918. A successive series of 35mm silent films were later produced by Oscar Micheaux. They were: Within Our Gates, 1919 The Brute, 1920 Symbol of the Unconquered, 1920 The Gunsaulus Mystery, 1921 The Dungeon, 1922 The Virgin of the Seminole, 1922 The Ghost of Tolston Manor, 1922 Uncle Jasper's Will, 1922 Deceit, 1923 The House Behind the Cedars, 1923 Birthright, 1924 A Son of Satan, 1924 Body and Soul, 1925 The Devil's Disciple, 1925 The Conjure Woman, 1926 The Spider's Web, 1926 The Broken Violin, 1927 The Millionaire, 1927 Marcus Garland, 1928 Dark Princess, 1928 A Fool's Errand, 1928 Thirty Years Later, 1928 The Wages of Sin, 1929 Easy Street, 1930 He went on to produce the following sound films: A Daughter of the Congo, 1930 Darktown Revue, 1931 The Exile, 1931 Ten Minutes to Live, 1932 Black Magic, 1932 Veiled Aristocrats, 1932 The Girl from Chicago, 1932 Phantom of Kenwood, 1933 Ten Minutes to Kill, 1933 Harlem after Midnight, 1934 Murder in Harlem, 1935 Temptation, 1936 Underworld, 1936 God's Stepchildren, 1937 Swing, 1938 Birthright, 1938 Lying Lips, 1939 The Notorious Elinor Lee, 1940 The Betrayal, 1948 Lorenzo Tucker appeared in several of Oscar Micheaux's films. He was given the name, the "Black Valentino." Dealing with the issue of skin color had been presented from many angles in motion pictures with African-Americans as the major target. In 1937, Micheaux produced the film, God's Step Children. The movie was highly criticized by Blacks due to its blatant coverage of a sensitive topic. The theme centered around a mulatto woman who adamantly rejected her black origins. The cast included many light-skinned actors and dance girls. The movie was seen as exploiting the issue of color, and Micheaux took heed and withdrew God's Step Children from distribution. Oscar Micheaux decided to marry again in 1929. His second wife was the actress, Alice Bertrand Russell, who assisted him in his company's operation and the development of his long list of films. Oscar Micheaux will be remembered for several reasons. He kept his book and film business alive for 30 years. His determination to succeed in the motion picture industry included these critical points: Micheaux went on the road and booked his dates for the showing of his completed films. He financed and produced his own films. He studied other filmmaker's films first hand. He was a recruiter of actors by watching their live stage performances. He was the maker and distributer of all his films. He was able to make the transition as a silent filmmaker to one dealing with the "talkies" or sound films. He had a tight production and budget schedule. Oscar Micheaux was posthumously inducted into the Director's Guild of America in 1986 for his contributions as a writer, director, producer, and distributor of his own films in an industry unable at that time to deal with race as a positive reflection of African-Americans. Each year, the National Black Programming Consortium gives out the Oscar Micheaux Award to an accomplished, deserving media professional or entertainer whose work embodies the creativity, dedication and pioneering spirit of Oscar Micheaux in the development, production and presentation of programming depicting people of color and their culture throughout the world in non-stereotypical ways.

RACE MOVIES: 1927-1948 The year of 1927 ushered in a new era in the motion picture industry. The use of sound films or the "talkies" was the new technique connecting the silent staged scenes in movies to the voices of actors and the action of those scenes. The usage of blackface in sound films was still a carry over from the silent films when depicting African-Americans in movie roles. The old minstrel shows of entertainment by using exaggerated black characters was also a continued trend. The popular rendition of Al Jolson as the Jazz Singer, produced in 1927, and two white sisters, Rosetta Duncan (in blackface) and Vivian Duncan (in natural face), as Topsy and Eva in 1927 dealt with Whites in characterizations of Blacks. In the sound films, the actors were forced to be convincing or sensitive or silly and stereotypic. Soon the black dialect and "suitable" musical talents of both black and white actors had to fit into the making of "talkie" motion pictures. Entertainment had to be more convincing by phasing out the blackfaced white actors and the use of more "suitable" African-Americans in black character roles. The roles of African-Americans during the 1929's thru 1940's saw the rise of black actors seeking work but only receiving roles dealing with light comedy, music, or dance. Therefore we see Stepin Fetchit getting star billing as an African-American actor in a series of films as the slow-talking, lazy-like plantation Negro (Hearts in Dixie, 1929). The film, Hallelujah (1929), conveyed multiple themes of black stereotypes exhibited in song, dance, blues, spirituals, and frivolity, making star billing with Nina Mae McKinney, a light-skinned African-American woman as a standard barer for future lead roles when using black women. Other stars to receive star billings were Ethel Waters (On with the Show, 1929) and Lorenzo Tucker, who was given the name of the Black Valentino, appearing in Wages of Sin (1928), The Black King (1931), Daughter of the Congo (1930), and Temptation (1936). The famed Bessie Smith made her only screen appearance in the short film, St. Louis Blues (1929). From 1929 thru 1939, we see America experiencing two major events: The Great Depression of 1929, when America's stock market crashed, causing massive layoffs The start of World War II in 1939 which lasted until 1945 These two events saw the co-existence of the race movies being made and the Hollywood versions (MGM, Hollywood Productions, United Artists) at the same time periods being produced. Race movies were low-budgeted and mostly aimed at black audiences in segregated movie-houses of the South and where large city black populations dwelled in the North. Hollywood was not interested in making Positive Image Movies about African-Americans -- they saw them as "risky" undertakings; therefore the major roles available to black actors were maids, walkons, butlers, servants, or comics. Remember: blackface was still in vogue, and it could sell movie tickets: Jimmie Durante (in blackface) The Phantom (1932) Early Amos 'n' Andy in Check and Double Check (1930), played by F. Gosden and C. Correll (in blackface) Mickey Rooney (in blackface) Babes in Arms (1939) Fred Astaire (in blackface) Swingtime (1936) Eddie Cantor (in blackface) Roman Scandals (1933) Judy Garland (in blackface) Everybody Sing (1938) Al Jolson (in blackface) Wonder Bar (1934) The successful African-American actors were: Stepin Fetchit, subservient comic in Carolina (1934), Judge Priest (1934), Steamboat the Bend (1935) Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, tap dancer: The Littlest Rebel (1935), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), and One Mile from Heaven (1937) Louise Beavers, maid, black mammy figure: Imitation of Life (1934), No Time For Comedy (1940) Paul Robeson, due to his strong characterization as a black male, had to do most of his films in England from 1936-1939. His interpretation of Eugene O'Neill's play, The Emperor Jones, was unusual for a 1933 motion picture. Hattie McDaniel, black maid, obedient servant: Anniversary Trouble (1935), Judge Priest (1935), Gone with the Wind (1939). She became the first African-American to win and Academy Award Oscar as the Best Supporting Actress. Race movies with all black cast members were still being made, therefore we see Spencer Williams, who was later known as the Andy in the TV version of Amos 'n' Andy, doing some similar work in films as Micheaux. He was the star, director, screenwriter, and producer of multiple films. Some of them were: The Blood of Jesus, 1941 Son of Ingagi, 1940 Marching on!, 1943 On One Blood, 1944 Go Down Death, 1944 Juke Joint, 1947 The Girl in Room 20, 1946 Race movies saw another aspect of African-American life at its peak during this period. The themes of music and dance, westerns, sports biographies, and comics. Music and Dance produced stars in: Cabin in the Sky, 1943 Ethel Waters Eddie Rochester Lena Horne Louis Armstrong Rex Ingram Duke Ellington & Orchestra Stormy Weather, 1943 Lena Horne Bill (Bojangles) Robinson Cab Calloway Katherine Dunham & Troupe Fats Waller Nicholas Brothers Harlem Is Heaven, 1932 Bill (Bojangles) Robinson Eubie Blake & Orchestra Noble Sissle Jivin' in Be-Bop, 1947 Dizzy Gillespie Hi-De-Ho, 1947 Cab Calloway Ebony Parade, 1947 Cab Calloway Mills Brothers Count Basie Mantan Moreland Dorothy Dandridge Westerns Two Gun Man from Harlem, 1938 Herbert Jeffrey, the Singing Cowboy Mantan Moreland Spencer Williams Harlem on the Prairie, 1938 Herbert Jeffrey Mantan Moreland Connie Harris Harlem Rides the Race, 1939 Herbert Jeffrey Spencer Williams The Bronze Buckaroo, 1938 Herbert Jeffrey Spencer Williams Clarence Brooks Look-Out Sister, 1946 Louis Jordan Suzette Harbin Monte Hawley Bob Scott Sports Biographies The Fight Never Ends, 1947 Joe Lewis (Future World Heavyweight Champion) Ruby Dee Mills Brothers Crooked Money, 1940 Kenny Washington (All American Football Star, UCLA) Mantan Moreland Keep Punching, 1939 Henry Armstrong (Champion Fighter) Alvin Childers Canada Lee Arthur Wilson Francine Everett Comics High Tones, 1929 Ford Washington and John William Sublett as song and dance duo: Buck and Bubbles Dark Town Follies, 1929 Buck and Bubbles Laff Jamboree, 1945 Buck and Bubbles Professor Creeps, 1941 Mantan Moreland Lucky Ghost, 1941 Mantan Moreland The Dreamer, 1948 Mantan Moreland She's Too Mean for Me, 1946 Mantan Moreland Fight That Ghost, 1946 Dewey (Pigmeat) Markham House-Rent Party, 1946 Dewey (Pigmeat) Markham Dress Rehearsal, 1939 Eddie Green Comes Midnight, 1940 Eddie Green Boarding House Blues, 1948 Dusty Fletcher Jackie "Moms" Mabley

THE INTEGRATION PERIOD: 1949-1969 The motion picture industry was never too quick to change their approach in presenting African-Americans in realistic roles depicting social or civil conditions in an integrated context. Many of these roles required scenes showing African-Americans in positions of authority or relating to white Americans in a positive way. This Integration Period therefore brought together African-American actors with scenes along side white actors in roles showing both players dealing with racial conflict and resolution. Between 1946 and 1949, attendance at the local movie theaters began to sag due to more home TV watching. Visual entertainment was shifting toward TV shows, therefore new ideas in the motion picture industry became important to its survival. Some of these new endeavors started with the following motion pictures. Home of the Brave, starring James Edwards, Steve Brodie, Lloyd Bridges, and Frank Lovejoy, came out in 1949. The controversy of dealing with racism and bigotry and the black soldier of World War II and a plot that ended with a healing process was a box office success. Two other movies of 1949 dealt with the controversial issue of race and color. Lost Boundaries, starring Canada Lee, William Greaves, Beatrice Pearson, James Hilton, and Mel Ferrer, and later Pinky, starring Jeanne Crain (as Pinky), Ethel Waters, William Lundigan, Nina Mae McKinney, and Frederick O'Neal. These two movies broke grounds, for they dealt with light-skinned Blacks "passing for white." The implications and privilege of a Black crossing the line and working and socializing with whites were the "must see" movies at the box office in 1949. These films were cutting the edge of placing black and white actors in dramatic roles depicting situations centered around the black plight and the issue of color on the big screen. 1950 saw Hollywood presenting the story of a black middle class family. In No Way Out, Sidney Poitier is seen as the successful Dr. Luther Brooks, MD. The cast included young Ossie Davis, Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, and Frederick O'Neal. 1953 put Dorothy Dandridge in the spotlight in the role as a school teacher in the movie, Bright Road. Harry Belafonte was the school principal. 1955 saw Sidney Poitier as the tough high school kid, Gregory Miller, in Blackboard Jungle. Glenn Ford was his teacher. Sidney Poitier went on to establish himself as one of the best actors coming out of Hollywood. Some of his other critically acclaimed movies from 1951-1969 included: Cry, the Beloved Country, 1951 Go Man Go, 1954 Goodby, My Lady, 1956 Edge of the City, 1957 Something of Value, 1957 The Defiant Ones, 1958, with Tony Curtis Porgy and Bess, 1959 Paris Blues, 1961 A Raisin in the Sun, 1961 Pressure Point, 1962 Lilies of the Field, 1963 * The Bedford Incident, 1965 A Patch of Blue, 1965 Duel at Diablo, 1966 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, 1967 In the Heat of the Night, 1967, with Rod Steiger To Sir, with Love, 1967 For the Love of Ivy, 1968 The Lost Man, 1969 * Poitier won the coveted Academy Award as Best Actor of 1963 for Lillies of the Field. He became the first African-American male to win this award. Harry Belafonte, Mel Ferrer, and Inger Stevens starred in The World, The Flesh and the Devil in 1959; Odds Against Tomorrow, also in 1959, starred Harry Belafonte with Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Cicely Tyson, and Carmen DeLavallade. The classic film, Nothing But a Man, came out in 1963 starring Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, and Gloria Foster. In 1964, interracial romance and marriage was the plot of One Potato, Two Potato, starring Bernie Hamilton and Barbara Barrie. Miss Barrie won the best actress award for the film at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1964, Hollywood produced Black Like Me, a movie based upon the true life experience and book written by John Howard Griffin published in 1961. The movie version starred James Whitmore as John Howard Griffin and Roscoe Lee Brown. The Jazz musician world was brought to the silver screen when Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra Jr., Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Mel Torme, and Peter Lawford appeared together in A Man Called Adam in 1966. Also in 1966, Woody Strode, the veteran actor, appeared in The Professionals along with Claudia Cardinal and Lee Marvin, and 1967 saw Al Freeman Jr. and Shirley Knight in The Dutchman. Controversial for its time, 1969 saw Robert Downey's daring production of Putney Swope, starring Arnold Johnson and Alan Arbus. It is said that Blacks appearing in Putney Swope were "as free as whites." The movie was well accepted and did well financially at the box office, making this the starting point for the infusion of more diversified, experimental African-American roles on the silver screen.

DOROTHY DANDRIDGE The Tragic Life of an Actress Called the Dream Goddess Dorothy Dandridge (b.Nov. 9, 1924-d.Sept. 8, 1965) grew up knowing about the world of movies and being an actress. Her mother was the Memphis, Tennessee born actress Ruby Dandridge who appeared in movie small parts from 1930 to the end of 1959. She can be remembered as Oriole on the Beulah TV show (1952) and as Delilah on the Father of the Bride show from 1961-62. Ruby also played in the movies, Cabin in the Sky (1943) and My Wild Irish Rose (1947). Ruby and Cyril Dandridge had two daughters: the older, Vivian, and the younger, Dorothy. Dorothy never got a chance to know her father, for he left home just before she was born. Mrs. Dandridge recognized her two daughters' propensity for dancing, singing, and acrobatics; therefore they began touring cities doing performances under the names of "The Wonder Kids." Soon, Mom and the two girls were off to live in Los Angeles, California. This was the Depression Era in America, but Vivian and Dorothy as teenagers were determined to act and sing on the stage and in films. Therefore California was the perfect setting. That opportunity came when they both appeared in a Marx Brothers film called A Day at the Races in 1937. Up until 1940, Vivian and Dorothy also worked with another teen, Etta James, and they called themselves the "Dandridge Sisters." They got a chance to do small performances with Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. In 1939, they appeared in the film Going Places along with Louis Armstrong and Maxine Sullivan. Remember the famous dance team of the Nicholas Brothers. Dorothy Dandridge, now of age, was smitten by Harold, one of the brothers, while working together in the 1941 movie, Sun Valley Serenade. They were married in 1944, and the following year she gave birth to a baby girl, named Harolyn, who was born mentally disabled. Dorothy's marriage to Harold sadly ended in the same year. Besides her mother, Ruby Dandridge, Dorothy had watched three other African-American leading actresses become "near the top" stars. She watched the stardom of Nina Mae McKinney (b.1912-d.1967) from the movies Hallelujah (1929) and Pinky (1949), Fredi Washington (b.1903-d.1994) from Imitation of Life (1934) and The Emperor Jones (1933), and the incomparable Lena Horne (b.1917) from Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943). Dorothy Dandridge has always wanted to be the consummate Hollywood actress. After being validated by beating out Lena Horne for the leading roles in both Bright Road in 1951 and Carmen Jones in 1954, Dorothy felt that this was the road to the top. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress of 1954, making her the first African-American ever nominated. Dorothy Dandridge brought to the silver screen this ravishing beauty and a natural talent. She was an early arrival to the center stage -- but movie directors were not yet sure where to place this African-American actress on the silver screen of the 1940's and 1950's. Was she to be the sex goddess, romantic beauty, or African queen? No one was sure, and roles for talented, beautiful African-American women were not yet played up as top billing on the silver screen. In the final stages of her career as a motion picture actress, even Dorothy Dandridge had doubts. The glamorous actress spent the last days of her life trying desperately to put together the world of stardom and Hollywood. Dorothy Dandridge died on September 8, 1965 at age 41 from an overdose of antidepressants. Her manager, Earl Mills, had just completed a new movie contract before this tragedy occurred. Donald Bogle, in an Ebony magazine article, "The Last Days of Dorothy Dandridge" (August 1997, p.52-64), and his book, Dorothy Dandridge, a Biography (New York: Amistad Press, 1997. 631p. ISBN 1-56743-034-1), has created a new interest in this forgotten African-American starlet, and the actresses of today are being considered to play out her life on today's silver screen. Dorothy Dandridge's films include: A Day at the Races, 1937 Drums of the Congo, 1942 Hit Parade 1943, Atlantic City, 1944 Pillow to Post, 1945 Remains to Be Seen, 1953 Four Shall Die, 1946 Flamingo, 1947 Ebony Parade, 1947 Going Places, 1939 Lady from Louisiana, 1941 Sundown, 1941 Bahama Passage, 1942 Tarzan's Peril, 1951 The Harlem Globetrotters, 1951 Bright Road, 1951 Carmen Jones, 1954 * Island in the Sun, 1957 The Decks Ran Red, 1958 Tamango, 1959 Porgy and Bess, 1959 Malaga, 1962 * Dorothy Dandridge won an Academy Award nomination as best actress for Carmen Jones in 1954: the first African-American actress ever nominated.

THE TALENTED COMICS: 1960-1970 Poking fun and dealing with issues of race has always been a concern when depicting complex situations of color in motion pictures. Looking back at the horrors of the actors in early movie blackface, the not-so-funny can easily become discernable business. Therefore, the talented comics had to be funny at the ultimate price of not being seriously offensive. They had to know what was universally funny and how to keep the movie audiences laughing but also remembering the identifiable message. Keeping it real and never offensive, these talented comics became treasures of Laughter. Some of the talented comics from 1960-1990 in motion pictures were: Godfrey Cambridge Gone Are the Days, 1963 The Troublemaker, 1964 The Busy Body, 1967, appearing with Richard Pryor (his first movie) and Marty Ingels The President's Analyst, 1967 The Biggest Bundle of Them All, 1968 Watermelon Man, 1970 Cotton Comes to Harlem, 1970 Richard Pryor The Busy Body, 1967 (his first movie) with Godfrey Cambridge Wild in the Streets, 1968 You've Got to Walk It like You Talk It, 1971 Lady Sings the Blues, 1972, with Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams Dynamite Chicken, 1972 The Mack, 1973 Car Wash, 1976 The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, 1976, with James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams Silver Streak, 1976, with Scatman Crothers and Gene Wilder Which Way Is Up?, 1977 Greased Lightning, 1977 The Wiz, 1978 California Suite, 1978 Stir Crazy, 1981, with Gene Wilder Bustin' Loose, 1981 Some Kind of Hero, 1982 The Toy, 1982 Superman III, 1983, with Christopher Reeve Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, 1985 Brewster's Millions, 1985, with John Candy Moving, 1988 Another You, 1991, with Gene Wilder Eddie Murphy 48 Hrs, 1982 (his first movie) with Nick Nolte Trading Places, 1983 Beverly Hills Cop, 1984 Best Defense, 1984 The Golden Child, 1986 Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987 Coming to America, 1988 Another 48 Hrs, 1990, with Nick Nolte Boomerang, 1992 The Distinguished Gentleman, 1992 Beverly Hills Cop III, 1994

A PERIOD OF FREE FLOWING IMAGES AND EXPERIMENTATION: 1970-1990 By 1970, African-Americans were firmly in the doors of Hollywood. There were enough purely black themes to play in movies, but also many, many crossover roles were available. It was not strange anymore to see a black actor or actress dressed up as a lawyer or doctor. The African-American was ready to be portrayed as part of America's everyday occurrences. Something else happened at the beginning of the 1970's -- African-Americans could now play strong roles as detectives, cowboys, superheroes, supervillains, and black bucks. Black violence, black comedy, and a host of "blaxploitation" films which had begun in the Sixties were still in vogue, but they expanded into the Seventies. 1970 brought in the second African-American under the name of director in a movie production. (Oscar Micheaux was credited with being the first African-American movie director). Ossie Davis, the actor, was now directing a movie based upon the novel, Cotton Comes to Harlem, written by the African-American writer, Chester Himes. Because it was a comedy based upon a story taking place in Harlem, New York -- it was at first criticized for its undertaking. The movie, starring Raymond St. Jacques and Godfrey Cambridge, proved to be funny and a financial success at the box office. 1971 brought to the silver screen a successive series of superhero black or "blaxploitation" films. Shaft was released in 1971, and Richard Roundtree was the superman black hero detective. He was compared by many to the white James Bond. Gordon Parks was the movie director for Shaft which took hold and became a box office success with both black and white moviegoers. 1971 saw Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, directed, written, and acted by Melvin Van Peebles in the leading role. Jim Brown, the former college and professional football star from the Cleveland Browns, came to the silver screen in 1964, appearing in Rio Conchos, a western. He later made his mark in the 1967 movie, The Dirty Dozen, with Lee Marvin and Telly Savalas. Jim Brown was able to do what many African-American males had previously been denied. He portrayed on the silver screen a black male being aggressive, hip, smart, and playing the big black buck. He was one of the first African-American actors to play romantic love scenes with white female actresses. Some of his movies were: The Split, 1968 Dark of the Sun, 1968 100 Rifles, with Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds, 1968 Ice Station Zebra, 1968 Riot, 1969 The Grasshopper, 1970 Tick... Tick... Tick, 1970 El Condor, 1970 Black Gunn, 1972 Slaughter, 1972 Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, 1973 The Slams, 1973 I Escaped from Devil's Island, 1973 Three the Hard Way, with Jim Kelly and Fred Williamson, 1974 Being big, bad, tough, and in charge as a black male was being endorsed by Hollywood. Along with violence, hand guns were part of filmmaking and black star's action parts. We see: Calvin Lockhart Melinda (1972) Fred Williamson Hammer (1972) The Legend of N*gger Charley (1972) Black Caesar (1973) That Man Bolt (1973) Adios Amigo (1975) Death Journey (1976) Take a Hard Ride (1975) Bucktown (1975) Boss N*gger (1975) One Down, Two to Go (1982) Hell up in Harlem (1974) Raymond St. Jacques Come Back Charleston Blue (1972) Robert Hooks Trouble Man (1972) Richard Roundtree Charley One-Eye (1972) Yaphet Kotto The Limit (1972) Shark's Treasure (1976) Blue Collar (1978) Louis Gossett Jr. Skin Game (1971) An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Iron Eagle (1985) Firewalker (1986) The Principal (1987) Sidney Poitier They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) Bernie Casey Hit Man (1972) Bill Cosby with Robert Culp Hickey and Boggs (1972) The Sheroes in female leading roles: Vonetta McGee Blacula with William Marshall (1972) Brothers (1977) Thomasine and Bushrod (1974) Pam Grier Black Mama, White Mama with Margaret Markov (1972) Above the Law (1988) Coffy (1973) Scream Blacula Scream (1973) Sheba Baby (1974) Foxy Brown (1974) Drum with Ken Norton (1976) Tamara Dobson Cleopatra Jones (1973) Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1974) Cleopatra Jones Meets the Dragon Princess (1975) Annazette Chase & Isaac Hayes Truck Turner (1974) Gloria Hendry & Jim Kelly Black Belt Jones (1974) Diana Ross Mahogany (1975) Rosalind Cash Melinda with Calvin Lockhard (1972) Amazing Grace with Moses Gunn and "Moms" Mabley (1974) Uptown Saturday Night with Sidney Poitier (1974) Cornbread Earl and Me with Laurence Fishburne (1975) Grace Jones A View to a Kill (1984)

JAMES EARL JONES Perhaps best known today as the voices of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies, Mufasa in The Lion King, and the booming "This is CNN" announcer, James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi, and suffered from a serious stutter as a child, sometimes only being able to communicate with people through writing. He forced himself to overcome this during his teen years by participating in oratorical contests and debating teams. In 1949, Jones attended the University of Michigan, originally as a premedical student, but decided to try out for some of their theatrical productions and ultimately graduated with a degree in drama. After two years in the army, he moved to New York in 1955 to begin what would become an impressive theater career spanning both classical and contemporary works, including a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award in 1969 for The Great White Hope, a role he would recreate on film in 1970 for which he would receive an Oscar nomination and win a Golden Globe. He also began appearing on television during the 1960's and became the first black man to have a recurring role on a soap opera in 1965 as Dr. Jerry Turner on As the World Turns. In 1964, he made his film debut in Dr. Strangelove. Other memorable film and television roles include: Roots: The Next Generation, Conan the Barbarian, Matewan, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October, The Simpsons, and Frasier. He received another Tony for Fences as well as a Cable Ace Award and Emmy Award for Heatwave, and more Emmys for Gabriel's Fire, Pros & Cons, and Soldier Boys.

ESTABLISHED MOTION PICTURE STARS, 1980-1990 By the 1980's, certain African-American names on a movie marquee could definitely identify them as "stars" of the movie business. Casting a well-known movie idol in a comedy, serious drama, musical, or film based upon history could, in most cases, help finance the end product at the box office. Hollywood wanted to embrace these "stars," and the independent movie makers wanted to do the same. Later on the television producers reached out to these stars in the making of full length motion pictures just for television or the buying of the rights to show previously released motion pictures featuring these actors. Names like: Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Louis Gossett Jr., Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Billy Dee Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, and Samuel L. Jackson were chief calling cards as stars of the silver screen. Will Smith could be added to this list, but he came later on into the 1990's. These African-American motion picture stars have an appeal to both black and white moviegoers. Their endorsed star quality has allowed them to play crossover roles along side white actors and also in movies involved mainly with black themes. These stars were also in demand for sequels to their first run movies. Some examples we see in this changing status of the African-American movie star could include the following: Eddie Murphy Beverly Hills Cop, 1984 Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987 Beverly Hills Cop III, 1989 Eddie Murphy & Nick Nolte 48 Hrs, 1982 Another 48 Hrs, 1990 Danny Glover & Mel Gibson Lethal Weapon, 1987 Lethal Weapon II, 1989 Lethal Weapon III, 1992 Denzel Washington For his diversity of roles in motion pictures. Denzel Washington is to many moviegoers one of the premier American movie stars. Before making motion pictures, this Mount Vernon, New York native, studied at Fordham University (Bronx, New York) and the American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco, California). He has worked his way from the theater, through TV, and then on to motion pictures. His role in A Soldier's Story (1984) showed off his talent in the production of the character role of Peterson in this thriller involving a mystery with a convoluted plot. Denzel Washington went on to combine his dramatic skills and movie screen projections in several other box office hits: Power, 1986 Cry Freedom, 1987 *, for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category Glory, 1989 *, won the Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category The Mighty Quinn, 1989 Mo' Better Blues, 1990 Richochet, 1991 Mississippi Masala, 1992 Malcom X, 1992

WHOOPI GOLDBERG Whoopi was born in New York City. Her birth name is Caryn Johnson, but to everyone she is Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi came up during the 1960's and was connected with the hippie movement and civil rights marches. She worked on Broadway in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Pippin. She was married for a short period and has one daughter. Ms. Goldberg is said to be "a born mimic with a natural, flawless eye and ear for details of character." This special acting ability helped her to create her one-woman show on Broadway called Whoopi Goldberg (1984-85). Many of her recreated characters were taken from real people she knew. Whoopi was extremely funny in her stage portrayals but constantly reminded her interviewers and critics that she was an "actor not a comic." Whoopi Goldberg has to her credits several motion pictures. Her role as Celie in The Color Purple (1985) helped the movie critics to see another side of Whoopi's character acting ability. She also played in: Jumping Jack Flash, 1986, with James Belushi Burglar, 1987 Fatal Beauty, 1987 Clara's Heart, 1988 The Telephone, 1988 The Long Walk Home, 1990 Ghost, 1990 * Sister Act, 1992 Sister Act II, 1993 * Whoopi Goldberg won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost. The movie made a gross of 200 million dollars.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN'S PLACE: 1990 TO DATE By 1992, the market for African-Americans in the motion picture industry had been well established. Moviegoers selected the movies they enjoyed seeing along with watching their favorite movie idols. The representation of the movies appearing at the multiplex cinemas could now offer a wide selection of films and, the ticket holders were determining which ones to see. Advertisements and the critics could determine, partially, the success of the movie at the box office, but, most times, the moviegoers made the movie a hit, especially a financial one. Some of the box office hit movies were: Spike Lee's 1989 movie, Do the Right Thing, was at first thought to be a racially reactionary film aimed at the psyche of both black and white viewers. It proved just the contrary. The movie was a success due to the untouched topics of racial situations, ethnic tensions, and human encounters of anger. The superb cast of both black and white actors made the motion picture industry aware of a newer avenue for films and race relations. Danny Aiello, as Sal, the pizzeria store owner, won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Spike Lee was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Reginald Hudlin, as an up and coming African-American movie director, produced the movie, House Party, in 1990 with a budget of 2.5 million. The movie grossed 25 million. The crossover appeal to both black and white youth, along with the talents of the late Robin Harris, Christopher Reid, Tisha Campbell, and Martin Lawrence, made this movie a huge success. Mario Van Peebles, the son of Melvin Van Peebles and a Columbia University graduate, produced New Jack City in 1991. Seeing on the screen a new wave of violence dealing with the drug, crack, and the outcome, including a look at Gangsta Rap earned this 8.5 million budgeted movie a big 44 million gross. Wesley Snipes, Queen Latifah, Ice-T, and Vanessa Williams were some of the actors in the film. John Singleton, a graduate of the University of Southern California, took his talents and produced Boyz n the Hood in 1991 with Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Tyra Ferrell. The hard truths of issues dealing with guns and violence in this setting were so compelling that black and white youth wanted to see this film to "be in the know." John Singleton won an Oscar nomination as Best Director (the first time in this category for an African-American). His next film, Poetic Justice in 1993, did not do as well at the box office, but it brought to the screen Janet Jackson and the rap idol, Tupac Shakur, along with Regina King and Joe Torry as the star performers. Some of the most popular blockbuster movies coming out of the 1990's were: Sister Act (1992) with Whoopi Goldberg Lethal Weapon III (1992) with Danny Glover and Mel Gibson The Bodyguard (1992) with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner Jungle Fever (1991) with Wesley Snipes, Ossie Davis, Annabella Sciorra, and Ruby Dee Six Degrees of Separation (1993) with Will Smith Mississippi Masala (1992) with Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhoury What's Love Got to Do with it? (1993) with Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne White Men Can't Jump (1992) with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson

POST PRODUCTION There are still few African-Americans working in post production in feature films and in television, and it has never been recognized that they are nonetheless a very integral part of the process. Bobbi Banks (Automatic Dialog Replacement Supervisor and Supervising Sound Editor) has worked in the film industry for the past 20 years; her most current position was co-ADR Supervisor on Shaft. She began her career in the film industry as an administrative assistant to the owners of Sound One Corporation in New York. Sound One is the largest post sound facility in New York City. She worked in management for 4 years and then started technical training at the studio. She went into the sound editorial department in 1985 as a freelance sound apprentice. Bobbi Banks is currently one of the few African-American ADR Supervisors in feature films and one of the very few women Supervising Sound Editors in film and television. She is the first and only African-American to be voted in and currently serving on the board of directors for the Motion Picture Sound Editors Society. She has held this seat for the past 9 years. They are an organization much like the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, only specializing in sound and music for film and television. The Motion Picture Sound Editors have a Golden Reel Awards Banquet annually. It is much like the Oscars, again only specializing in sound and music categories. Banks is on a panel that votes on various categories to select the winners. She also reviews hundreds of feature films, tv shows, tv movies of the week, student films, documentaries, and animation films that were released the prior year. She selects what she feels are the most unique shots and compiles a tape no longer than 8 minutes as the opening clip for the banquet. She has solely taken on this task for the past 4 years. As a Supervising Sound Editor, Banks is responsible for the finished sound product of a film. She sits with the director, producer, and picture editor and compiles their specific notes for the film. She makes specific notes for the editors, reviews their work, and chooses effects. She then goes to the mixing stage with the re-recording mixers, director, producer, [etc.] and they blend all the various elements together for the finished product. As an ADR (automatic dialog replacement) Supervisor, Banks consults with the director and picture editor to choose which lines or scenes need to be redone. Her duties also include dialog coaching, baby sitting, and various other tasks as needed. After the lines are edited, she goes to the mixing stage to make sure the lines are in sync, as well as production and ADR lines are balanced. At Church of the Harvest, Banks also served in the Media department under the direction of Elder Louis Mellini and Cedric Lyons. She worked more closely with Cedric Lyons. Her primary task was as an editor, but she also trained as a shader, camera operator, and technical director. During the annual Harvest Fire Conferences, her tasks included: documenting highlights of the message and music ministry; choosing and editing the highlight tapes; selecting the music; and editing the music video. She also reviewed various tapes, selecting shots for commercials and partner luncheon videos. Banks has also worked with Ms. Attallah Shabazz for 6 years on the NAACP Image Awards Show. She worked with the production team using walkie-talkies to seat guests, escort talent and presenters to their destinations, and helping to make sure the live show flowed smoothly and on time. She has also worked on the Stellar Awards, National Council of Negro Women's Family Reunion Show, a few political campaigns, organized gospel concerts, and fund raising events. Her credits include: Supervising Sound Editor The Breaks - Eric Meza/Artisan Entertainment Foolish - Dave Meyers/Artisan Entertainment Woo - David Rayner/New Line Cinema Rumble in the Bronx - Stanley Tong/New Line Cinema The Glass Shield - Charles Burnett/Miramax Supervising ADR Editor Lockdown - John Luessenhop/Palm Pictures Whatever It Takes - David Rayner/Phoenix Pictures/Columbia The Breaks - Eric Meza/Artisan Entertainment The Wood - Rick Famuyiwa/Paramount/MTV Films Woo - David Rayner/New Line Cinema Playing God - Andy Wilson/Beacon Films Rosewood - John Singleton/Columbia Higher Learning - John Singleton/Columbia Dead Presidents - Albert & Allen Hughes/Caravan Pictures Poetic Justice - John Singleton/Columbia ADR Editor Shaft - John Singleton/Paramount The Runner - Ron Moler/Overseas Films Life - Ted Demme/Universal Pictures Payback - Brian Helgeland/Universal Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Gregory Nava/Warner Brothers Soul Food - George Tillman Jr./20th Century Fox Spawn - Mark A. Dippe/New Line Cinema Batman and Robin - Joel Shumacher/Warner Brothers Up Close and Personal - Jon Avnet/Touchstone Mortal Kombat - Paul Anderson/New Line Cinema Angus - Patrick Read Johnson/New Line Cinema The Tie That Binds - Wesley Strick/Interscope Cobb - Ron Shelton/Warner Brothers Speed - Jan DeBont/20th Century Fox Blown Away - Stephen Hopkins/MGM On Deadly Ground - Steven Segal/Warner Brothers A Perfect World - Clint Eastwood/Warner Brothers The Program - Davis S. Ward/Buena Vista The Thing Called Love - Peter Bogdanovich/Paramount Hocus Pocus - Kenny Ortega/Disney Captain Ron - Thom Eberhardt/Disney School Ties - Robert Mandel/Paramount A League of Their Own - Penny Marshall/Columbia Honey I Blew Up the Kid - Randal Kleiser/Disney Star Trek VI - Nicholas Meyer/Paramount Dead Again - Kenneth Branagh/Paramount Naked Gun 2 1/2 - David Zucker/Paramount Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Steve Barron/New Line Cinema I Come in Peace - Craig R. Baxley/Media Home Entertainment Lee Lemont (Supervising Automatic Dialog Replacement Editor, ADR Editor, and Foley Editor) has worked with such directors as Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Keenan Ivory Wayans, John Carpenter, and Arthur Hiller. His work on Titanic and Under Seige received the M.P.S.E. Golden Reel Award for Best ADR Editing and Best Sound Editing, respectively. He worked on the teams that received Academy Award nonimations for Best Sound Effects Editing for the films: Clear and Present Danger, The Fugitive, and Under Seige. His eleven nominations also include Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, Star Trek: Generations, and White Man Can't Jump. He is a member of the Motion Picture and Videotape Editors Guild, Motion Picture Sound Editors, and the Black Filmmakers Foundation. His credits include: Supervising ADR Editor Scary Movie - Keenan Ivory Wayans/Miramax The Warden - Turner Network Television The 10th Kingdom - Hallmark Entertainment House Arrest - Harry Winer/Rysher-Sony The Tie that Binds - Wesley Strick/Interscope Weapons of Mass Distraction - Home Box Office Casino (West Coast Supervisor) - Martin Scorsese Grace of My Heart (West Coast Supervisor) - Allison Anders/Gramercy Pictures Copy Cat (West Coast Supervisor) - John Amel Big Bowling Ball - Home Box Office Body Bags - John Carpenter/Home Box Office The Red Coat - Robin Swicord In the Name of the Father (ADR Consultant) - Jim Sheriklan/Universal Gridlock'd - Vondie Curtis Hall/Interscope ADR Editor Pay It Forward - Mimi Leder/Bel Air Entertainment The Thin Red Line - Terence Malick/Warner Brothers The Shrink Is In - Richard Benjamin/USA Films Mercury Rising - Harold Becker/Universal Titanic - James Cameron/Fox-Paramount Batman and Robin - Joel Schumacher/Warner Brothers Kazaam - Paul Michael Glazer/Buena Vista Tin Cup - Ron Shelton/Warner Brothers Steal Big Steal Little - Andrew Davis/Savoy Batman Forever - Joel Schumacher/Warner Brothers Four Rooms - Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez/Miramax Stuart Smalley - Harold Ramis/Paramount Star Trek: Generations - David Carson/Paramount The Brady Bunch - Betty Thomas/Paramount Clear and Present Danger - Phillip Noyce/Paramount Roomates - Peter Yates/Disney On Deadly Ground - Steven Seagal/Warner Brothers The Fugitive - Andrew Davis/Warner Brothers The Program - David S. Ward/Touchstone Under Seige - Andrew Davis/Warner Brothers Rapid Fire - Dwight Little/Fox The Babe - Arthur Hiller/Universal Memoirs of an Invisible Man - John Carpenter/Warner Brothers Three Men and a Little Lady - Emile Ardolino/Touchstone White Man Can't Jump - Ron Shelton/Touchstone Blaze - Ron Shelton/Touchstone See No Evil, Here No Evil - Arthur Hiller/Tri-Star Foley Editor Ghost in the Darkness - Stephen Hopkins/Paramount Carpool - Arthur Hiller/Warner Brothers Destiny Turns on the Radio - Jack Baran/Rysher Entertainment

TODAY'S EXPANDING WORLD African-Americans in Motion Pictures in today's expanding world of visual imagery can be seen on many expanding fronts. We see the making of motion pictures on subjects or themes which can be taken from history, life experiences, music, and unexplored events. Today's markets are open, and African-Americans are taking advantage of these open door opportunities. Actors and actresses are expanding their roles from stage acting to movies to TV miniseries to media resources on CD-ROM, video cassettes or discs, and roles taken from books, both hardcovers and paperbacks, plus movie soundtracks. African-Americans are included in the top money making motion pictures. The following lists are compiled from the top 50 domestic hits of each year, followed by the top 100 domestic hits of all time (data courtesy of Box Office Mojo): 1998 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 1 Saving Private Ryan Vin Diesel Dream Works $216,540,909 2 Armageddon Michael Clarke Duncan Buena Vista $201,578,182 6 Doctor Dolittle Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Raven-Symoné Fox $144,156,605 7 Rush Hour Chris Tucker New Line $141,186,864 8 Deep Impact Morgan Freeman, Blair Underwood Paramount $140,464,664 11 Lethal Weapon 4 Danny Glover, Chris Rock Warner Brothers $130,444,603 15 Enemy of the State Will Smith, Lisa Bonet Buena Vista $111,549,836 28 Star Trek: Insurrection LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn Paramount $70,187,658 29 Blade Wesley Snipes New Line $70,087,718 36 U.S. Marshals Wesley Snipes Warner Brothers $57,167,405 40 What Dreams May Come Cuba Gooding Jr. PolyGram $55,382,927 47 The Negotiator Samuel L. Jackson Warner Brothers $44,547,681 49 The Siege Denzel Washington Fox $40,981,289 1999 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 1 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Samuel L. Jackson, Ahmed Best Fox $431,088,301 5 The Matrix Laurence Fishburne, Gloria Foster Warner Brothers $171,479,930 12 The Green Mile Michael Clarke Duncan Warner Brothers $136,801,374 17 Wild Wild West Will Smith Warner Brothers $113,805,681 24 Entrapment Ving Rhames Fox $87,704,396 28 Any Given Sunday LL Cool J, Jim Brown Warner Brothers $75,530,832 29 Deep Blue Sea LL Cool J, Samuel L. Jackson Warner Brothers $73,648,142 30 Galaxy Quest Daryl Mitchell Dream Works $71,583,916 32 Blue Streak Martin Lawrence, David Chappelle, Nicole Ari Parker Sony $68,518,533 34 The Bone Collector Denzel Washington, Queen Latifah Universal $66,518,655 35 Bowfinger Eddie Murphy Universal $66,384,775 36 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Eddie Griffin Buena Vista $65,538,755 37 Life Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac Universal $63,886,029 39 Three Kings Ice Cube Warner Brothers $60,652,036 41 The Cider House Rules Delroy Lindo Miramax $57,545,092 47 South Park - Bigger, Longer and Uncut Isaac Hayes Paramount $52,037,603 48 The Hurricane Denzel Washington Universal $50,699,241 2000 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 3 Mission: Impossible II Ving Rhames, Thandie Newton Paramount $215,409,889 8 X-Men Halle Berry Fox $157,299,717 9 Scary Movie Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall Miramax $157,019,771 11 Dinosaur Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Della Reese Buena Vista $137,748,063 16 The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy Universal $123,309,890 17 Big Momma's House Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Cedric the Entertainer Fox $117,559,438 18 Remember the Titans Denzel Washington, Nicole Ari Parker Buena Vista $115,654,751 22 Gone in 60 Seconds Delroy Lindo Buena Vista $101,648,571 23 Unbreakable Samuel L. Jackson Buena Vista $95,011,339 26 The Emperor's New Groove Eartha Kitt Buena Vista $89,302,687 33 Shaft Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa L. Williams, Busta Rhymes, Richard Roundtree Paramount $70,334,258 37 Bring It On Gabrielle Union Universal $68,379,000 39 Rules of Engagement Samuel L. Jackson, Blair Underwood Paramount $61,335,230 41 Mission to Mars Don Cheadle Buena Vista $60,883,407 42 Coyote Ugly Tyra Banks, Ellen Cleghorne Buena Vista $60,786,269 45 Next Friday Ice Cube, Tamala Jones, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon New Line $57,328,603 46 The Whole Nine Yards Michael Clarke Duncan Warner Brothers $57,262,492 48 Romeo Must Die Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, DMX, Delroy Lindo, D.B. Woodside, Anthony Anderson Warner Brothers $55,973,336 2001 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 3 Shrek Eddie Murphy Dream Works $267,665,011 5 Rush Hour 2 Chris Tucker New Line $226,164,286 6 The Mummy Returns Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Universal $202,019,785 7 Pearl Harbor Cuba Gooding Jr. Buena Vista $198,542,554 8 Ocean's Eleven Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle Warner Brothers $183,417,150 10 Planet of the Apes Michael Clarke Duncan Fox $180,011,740 14 The Fast and the Furious Vin Diesel, Ja Rule Universal $144,533,925 16 Dr. Dolittle 2 Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wilson, Raven-Symoné Fox $112,952,899 25 Save the Last Dance Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Fredro Starr Paramount $91,057,006 26 Atlantis: The Lost Empire Phil Morris, Cree Summer Buena Vista $84,056,472 29 Training Day Denzel Washington, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray Warner Brothers $76,631,907 30 Along Came a Spider Morgan Freeman Paramount $74,078,174 32 Scary Movie 2 Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Regina Hall Miramax $71,308,997 33 The Score Angela Bassett Paramount $71,107,711 35 Swordfish Halle Berry, Don Cheadle Warner Brothers $69,772,969 37 Down to Earth Chris Rock, Regina King, Wanda Sykes Paramount $64,186,502 41 Ali Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Mario Van Peebles, Jada Pinkett Smith Sony $58,203,105 44 Rat Race Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lanei Chapman Paramount $56,618,055 48 The Royal Tenenbaums Danny Glover Buena Vista $52,364,010 49 Exit Wounds DMX, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, Michael Jai White Warner Brothers $51,758,599 2002 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 3 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Samuel L. Jackson, Ahmed Best Fox $302,191,252 7 Austin Powers in Goldmember Beyoncé Knowles New Line $213,307,889 8 Men in Black II Will Smith, Rosario Dawson Sony $190,418,803 10 Chicago Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs Miramax $170,687,518 12 Die Another Day Halle Berry MGM $160,942,139 15 XXX Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson Sony $142,109,382 21 The Bourne Identity Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Universal $121,661,683 22 The Sum of All Fears Morgan Freeman Paramount $118,907,036 23 8 Mile Mekhi Phifer Universal $116,750,901 25 Panic Room Forest Whitaker Sony $96,397,334 29 The Scorpion King Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michael Clarke Duncan Universal $91,047,077 31 Blade II Wesley Snipes New Line $82,348,319 32 Snow Dogs Cuba Gooding Jr., Sisqó, Nichelle Nichols Buena Vista $81,172,560 35 Barbershop Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve MGM $75,782,105 38 John Q. Denzel Washington, Eddie Griffin New Line $71,756,802 41 Changing Lanes Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Staunton Paramount $66,818,548 45 The Time Machine Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Omero Mumba Dream Works $56,832,494 46 Drumline Orlando Jones, Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Leonard Roberts Fox $56,399,184 50 Like Mike Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Vanessa Williams Fox $51,432,760 2003 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 4 The Matrix Reloaded Laurence Fishburne, Gloria Foster, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gina Torres Warner Brothers $281,576,461 5 Bruce Almighty Morgan Freeman Universal $242,829,261 6 X2: X-Men United Halle Berry Fox $214,949,694 7 Elf Faizon Love New Line $173,398,518 9 The Matrix Revolutions Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gina Torres, Mary Alice Warner Brothers $139,270,910 11 Bad Boys II Will Smith, Martin Lawrence Sony $138,608,444 13 Bringing Down the House Queen Latifah Buena Vista $132,716,677 15 2 Fast 2 Furious Tyrese, Ludacris, Thom Barry, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Ealy Universal $127,154,901 18 S.W.A.T. Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J Sony $116,934,650 22 Scary Movie 3 Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley, Ja Rule, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, Macy Gray Dimension $110,003,217 23 The Italian Job Mos Def Paramount $106,128,601 26 Daddy Day Care Eddie Murphy, Regina King Sony $104,297,061 27 Daredevil Michael Clarke Duncan Fox $102,543,518 29 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Bernie Mac, Ja'net DuBois Sony $100,830,111 33 Mystic River Laurence Fishburne Warner Brothers $90,135,191 38 The Haunted Mansion Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason Buena Vista $75,847,266 40 Kill Bill Vol. 1 Vivica A. Fox Miramax $70,099,045 43 Big Fish Robert Guillaume Sony $66,809,693 48 Bad Santa Bernie Mac, Tony Cox Dimension $60,060,328 49 Gothika Halle Berry, Charles Dutton Warner Brothers $59,624,069 2004 Rank Title Featuring: Studio Total Gross 1 Shrek 2 Eddie Murphy Dreamworks $441,226,247 4 Meet the Fockers Ray Santiago Universal $279,261,160 5 The Incredibles Samuel L. Jackson Buena Vista $261,441,092 6 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Lenny Henry Warner Brothers $249,541,069 7 The Day After Tomorrow Arjay Smith Fox $186,740,799 9 National Treasure Stephen A. Pope Buena Vista $173,008,894 10 The Polar Express Nona M. Gaye Warner Brothers $162,775,358 11 Shark Tale Will Smith, Ziggy Marley, Doug E. Doug, Missy Elliott Dreamworks $160,861,908 12 I, Robot Will Smith, Chi McBride Fox $144,801,023 14 Ocean's Twelve Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle Warner Brothers $125,544,280 18 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Cedrick the Entertainer Paramount $118,634,549 19 DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story Chris Williams, Jamal Duff Fox $114,326,736 23 Collateral Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinket Smith, Irma P. Hall, Richard T. Jones, Barry Shabaka Henley Dreamworks $101,005,703 24 Million Dollar Baby Morgan Freeman, Mike Colter Warner Brothers $100,492,203 25 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Raven-Symone Buena Vista $95,170,481 26 Starsky and Hutch Snoop Dogg, Fred Williamson Warner Brothers $88,237,754 27 Along Came Polly Kevin Hart, Kym Whitley Universal $88,097,164 28 Mean Girls Tim Meadows Paramount $86,058,055 32 The Notebook Jennifer Echols New Line $81,001,787 33 Alien vs. Predator Sanaa Lathan Fox $80,282,231 34 Man on Fire Denzel Washington Fox $77,911,774 35 The Terminal Chi McBride, Barry Shabaka Henley, Zoe Saldana, Corey Reynolds Dreamworks $77,872,883 36 Garfield: The Movie Mark Christopher Lawrence Fox $75,369,588 37 Ray Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry J. Lennix, Bokeem Woodbine Universal $75,331,600 38 Ladder 49 Morris Chestnut, Kevin Daniels Buena Vista $74,571,707 39 Christmas with the Kranks Mark Christopher Lawrence Sony / Revolution $73,780,539 41 White Chicks Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Frankie Faison, Terry Crews, Rochelle Aytes Sony $70,831,760 42 Hidalgo Adam Alexi-Malle, Peter Mensah Buena Vista $67,303,450 43 The Forgotten Robert Wisdom, Alfre Woodard Sony / Revolution $67,133,509 44 Kill Bill Vol. 2 Vivica A. Fox, Samuel L. Jackson Miramax $66,208,183 45 The Manchurian Candidate Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie, Dorian Missick Paramount $65,955,630 46 Barbershop 2: Back in Business Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Harry J. Lennix, Robert Wisdom, Jazsmin Lewis, Carl Wright, Kenan Thompson, Queen Latifah, Garcelle Beauvais MGM $65,111,277 48 Friday Night Lights Derek Luke, Lee Jackson, Lee Thompson Young, Grover Coulson Universal $61,255,921 All Time Hits (Domestic gross as of 3/7/06) Rank Title Featuring: Studio Lifetime Gross Year 2 Star Wars James Earl Jones Fox $460,998,007 1977 3 Shrek 2 Eddie Murphy Dream Works $441,226,247 2004 5 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Samuel L. Jackson, Ahmed Best Fox $431,088,301 1999 7 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Samuel L. Jackson, Ahmed Best Fox $380,270,577 2005 11 Jurassic Park Samuel L. Jackson Universal $357,067,947 1993 14 Forrest Gump Mykelti Williamson Paramount $329,694,499 1994 15 The Lion King Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Robert Guillaume Buena Vista $328,541,776 1994 18 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Samuel L. Jackson, Ahmed Best Fox $310,676,740 2002 19 Return of the Jedi James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams Fox $309,306,177 1983 20 Independence Day Will Smith, Vivica A. Fox Fox $306,169,268 1996 23 The Empire Strikes Back James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams Fox $290,475,067 1980 27 The Matrix Reloaded Laurence Fishburne, Gloria Foster, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gina Torres Warner Brothers $281,576,461 2003 28 Meet the Fockers Ray Santiago Universal $279,261,160 2004 29 Shrek Eddie Murphy Dream Works $267,665,011 2001 31 The Incredibles Samuel L. Jackson Buena Vista $261,441,092 2004 36 Men in Black Will Smith Sony $250,690,539 1997 37 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Lenny Henry Warner Brothers $249,541,069 2004 39 Bruce Almighty Morgan Freeman Universal $242,829,261 2003 43 Ghostbusters Ernie Hudson Columbia $238,632,124 1984 44 Beverly Hills Cop Eddie Murphy Paramount $234,760,478 1984 45 War of the Worlds Morgan Freeman, Rick Gonzalez Paramount $234,280,354 2005 48 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Vanessa Lee Chester Universal $229,086,679 1997 50 Rush Hour 2 Chris Tucker New Line $226,164,286 2001 52 Ghost Whoopi Goldberg Paramount $217,631,306 1990 54 King Kong Evan Parke Universal $216,975,465 2005 55 Saving Private Ryan Vin Diesel Dream Works $216,540,909 1998 56 Mission: Impossible II Ving Rhames, Thandie Newton Paramount $215,409,889 2000 57 X2: X-Men United Halle Berry Fox $214,949,694 2003 58 Austin Powers in Goldmember Beyoncé Knowles New Line $213,307,889 2002 60 Wedding Crashers Ron Canada New Line $209,255,921 2005 61 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Geoffrey Holder Warner Brothers $206,459,076 2005 63 Batman Begins Morgan Freeman, Colin McFarlane Warner Brothers $205,343,774 2005 64 Terminator 2: Judgement Day Joe Morton, S. Epatha Merkerson TriStar $204,843,345 1991 65 The Mummy Returns Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Universal $202,019,785 2001 66 Armageddon Michael Clarke Duncan Buena Vista $201,578,182 1998 67 Gone With the Wind Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen MGM $198,676,459 1939 68 Pearl Harbor Cuba Gooding Jr. Buena Vista $198,542,554 2001 70 Madagascar Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer Dream Works $193,595,521 2005 72 Men in Black II Will Smith, Rosario Dawson Sony $190,418,803 2002 75 The Day After Tomorrow Arjay Smith Fox $186,740,799 2004 76 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Kerry Washington, Keith David, Angela Bassett Fox $186,336,279 2005 81 Ocean's Eleven Bernie Mac Warner Brothers $183,417,150 2001 86 Mission: Impossible Ving Rhames Paramount $180,981,886 1996 87 Planet of the Apes Michael Clarke Duncan Fox $180,011,740 2001 89 Hitch Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Robinne Lee, Nathan Lee Graham, Paula Patton Sony $179,495,555 2005 94 Ice Age Cedric the Entertainer Fox $176,387,405 2002 98 Polar Express Nona M. Gaye Warner Brothers $173,675,955 2004 100 Elf Faizon Love New Line $173,398,518 2003 African and African-American film festivals exist as places for screening and showcasing black films. Some of the festivals are: Black Film Fest America (BFFA), a touring film festival showcasing the best and brightest in independent Black cinema. New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), held in April and May in conjunction with the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Museum. Acapulco Black Film Festival, held each summer in Acapulco, Mexico. Urbanworld Film Festival (UWFF) , held in various Manhattan, New York theaters during the summer months with an advisory board of distinguished filmmakers such as Debbie Allen and Danny Glover. Newark Black Film Festival, held since 1974 with late June into July screening sites located in the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Newark Symphony Hall Black Film Works: A Festival of Film and Video, held in Oakland, California by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and the Kodak Company during the end of December Sarasota Africana Film Festival, is held in mid-February with a mix of entrants from Africa, the Caribbean, USA, and United Kingdom African Film Festival, held in March at Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois; dealing with the diaspora and its film history, ritual, and culture Untraditional Roles. African-Americans are appearing in more full feature movies and TV movies in a variety of untraditional themes. Some of those could include: Cinderella, with Brandy as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother (ABC TV movie) The Faculty, science fiction thriller with Usher Raymond, singer and top pop recording star (Dimension Films) A Knight in Camelot, with Whoopi Goldberg as Vivian (ABC movie for TV by Disney) The Color of Courage, based upon the 1940 true story of Minnie McGhee (played by Lynn Whitfield) and her next door neighbor, Anna Sipes (played by Linda Hamilton), (USA cable network TV movie) Selma, Lord, Selma, with child actress Jurnee Smollett (star of Eve's Bayou), based upon the violence and the Civil Rights March of 1965 from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama, the state capital (Walt Disney TV movie) What Dreams May Come, with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robin Williams; dealing with after death and the mystery of the afterlife The Hip Hop Influences. According to the Time Magazine February 8, 1999 issue cover story, Hip Hop Nation, after 20 years how it's changed America, "Hollywood too is feeling the rap beat." Rap stars: Ice Cube, writer, producer, and actor also took on the movies in Boyz n the Hood and Fridays. Queen Latifah appears in Living Out Loud and stars on TV's Living Single. Ice T came out in 1991 in New Jack City. Will Smith still does rapping while starring on TV's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and then in the movies such as Independence Day, Six Degrees of Separation, and Enemy of the State. Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) appeared in Poetic Justice and Grid Lock'd. The rap stars of 1999 are all over the pages of magazines, such as Black Beat, Rap Pages, Vibe, and The Source, to name a few. These stars are larger than life, and they are on MTV Music Television. Look on: they will be entering the next full step -- the films of the motion picture industry, probably in more diverse roles than just as rap artists.

CHANGING TIMES IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS In the world of business, movie making is a multi-billion dollar industry. Today we can identify an array of talented African-Americans entering all aspects of this fast paced business of making motion pictures. Eighty years ago, the talented Oscar Micheaux made it known that African-Americans could indeed make movies and appear on the silver screen as movie stars. The road to making motion pictures with the inclusion of African-Americans has been evolutionary on all levels with lots of observable changes. Noticeable among them are the diversified range of movies produced and an industry more willing to try new themes when making motion pictures with African-Americans as stars, producers, directors, screenwriters, etc. Some of these trends are exemplified here. Black actors and actresses with star qualities and key players in motion pictures could include: Actors Sidney Poitier Laurence Fishburne Morgan Freeman Danny Glover Wesley Snipes Samuel L. Jackson Denzel Washington Eddie Murphy Forest Whitaker Blair Underwood Will Smith Cuba Gooding Jr. and newcomers, Chris Tucker Mekhi Phifer Actresses Whitney Houston Angela Bassett Whoopi Goldberg Vanessa Williams Lela Rochon Alfre Woodard Lynn Whitfield Oprah Winfrey More cross sections of movies with historical themes, suspenseful thrillers, involved plots, and themes taken from published books: Amistad (slavery) Beloved by Toni Morrison (slavery) Soul Food (family matters) Waiting to Exhale (love troubles) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (life and situational love) Down in the Delta (regional life and family) Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (mystery/thriller) Daughters of the Dust (about black women) Eve's Bayou (involved plot, mystery, and family) Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored by Clifton Taulbert (black life in a certain period) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (time period, involved plot, male/female relationship) Why Do Fools Fall in Love (biography, life of singer) Enemy of the State (action thriller) Independence Day (battle of space aliens) Men in Black (secret agents, alien fighters) More African-American film directors, producers, and writers: Haile Gerima, writer, director, producer of film Sankofa John Singleton, film director of Shaft (remake), Rosewood, Higher Learning, Poetic Justice, Boyz n the Hood; producer of Woo, Higher Learning, and Poetic Justice St. Clair Bourne, university professor of film, producer, director: In Motion: Amiri Baraka, John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk, Paul Robeson: Here I Stand Davis Barclay, producer, noted for such movies as Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Juice in the Hood (black parody) and The Cherokee Kid (black western parody) Charles Burnett, producer, director, and writer of movies such as The Glass Shield (thriller), To Sleep with Anger (family matters) Rusty Cundieff, writer, director, and actor of movies including Fear of a Black Hat (musical parody dealing with rap groups) and Tales from the Hood (black parody directed and written with Darin Scott) Carl Franklin, producer and director of movies including One False Move (action thriller), Devil in a Blue Dress (black life), Laurel Avenue (for HBO; facing general family life problems) F. Gary Gray, director and filmmaker of movies including Set It Off (women with false ideas), Friday (comedy) Reginald Hudlin, filmmaker and director; movies include House Party (young black life comedy), Boomerang (romantic comedy); co-produced Bebe's Kids (black animated feature film), The Great White Hype (comedy about boxing) Doug McHenry, movie executive and producer with the Jackson-McHenry Entertainment Company; movie credits include Krush Groove (black life situation), New Jack City (in the hood), House Party II and III, (young black life comedies), Jason's Lyric (rites of passage), A Thin Line between Love and Hate (romantic comedy) Robert Patton-Spruill, producer; movie: Squeeze (kids and gang violence and distress) George Tillman Jr., director of movies including Soul Food for Edmonds Entertainment (black family life in the inner city), Scenes for the Soul (living as a Black) Theodore Witcher, filmmaker, screenwriter: movie credit: Love Jones (love theme); wrote screenplay: Body Count (crime and stress) Ice Cube, rap star, filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and actor; co-writer: Friday (comedy); director and writer: Players Club (sleazy night life entertainment) Michael Henry Brown, writer, producer; movie credit: Dead President (in the hood) Quincy Jones, musical scores for movies, producer; musical scores: In Cold Blood, (crime), In the Heat of the Night, (thriller); produced and scored: The Color Purple (male and female relationship) Oprah Winfrey, TV producer, talk show host, actor, film executive for Harpo Productions; movie credits: Beloved (slavery; co-produced and star of movie) Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds, songwriter, singer, film producer, owner of Edmonds Entertainment Company, and Tracy Edmonds, co-producer and record company executive; produced soundtrack for movies: Waiting to Exhale (women and love); soundtrack and producer of: Hav Plenty (romantic comedy); producer of Soul Food (black family life in inner city) Vondie Curtis Hall, actor, writer, film distributer, director; movie: Gridlock'd (drug addiction; with the late Tupac Shakur) Keenen Ivory Wayans, actor, screenwriter, and director; movie: I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (comedy) David Johnson, producer, screenwriter, and actor; movie: The Session (satire on black nationalist movement) Kevin Hooks, actor, filmmaker, director; son of Robert Hooks, actor; movies: The Fled (runaway convicts), Vietnam War Stories (HBO TV movie; Vietnam War) Julie Dash, director, writer, producer, editor; movies: Daughters of the Dust (nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival), The Rosa Parks Story (nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award and a Black Reel Award), Love Song, Incognito, Funny Valentines, Praise House, Illusions, Diary of an African Nun, Four Women, and Working Models of Success. Kevin Rodney Sullivan, director, producer, actor, writer; movies directed: Barbershop 2: Back in Business, How Stella Got Her Groove Back (nominated for Best Director at the Acapulco Black Film Festival). Richard Wesley, writer: Uptown Saturday Night (1974), Let's Do It Again (1975), Fast Forward (1985), and Native Son (1986); the TV movies: Murder Without Motive (1992), Mandela and de Klerk (1997), Bojangles (2001), and Deacons for Defense (2003); and episodes of the series 100 Centre Street (2001). As the experiences of the actors and musical score writers check out the work behind the films' cameras -- you will see more and more "stars" turn to the roles of directors of movies. Indeed, the doors are still being opened.

THE OSCARS The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the Oscar each year at its Annual Oscar Presentation. The golden statuette is presented to the person or persons in recognition of their filmmaking achievement and excellence within twenty-four categories. Up to five nominations are made in each category. The secrecy of the voting is tabulated by the PricewaterhouseCoopers firm. It is said that the "Oscar represents the best achievements of the year in the opinion of those who themselves reside at the top of their craft." The Oscar has been presented every year since 1929. The prestige of this award can create for the picture and the actor, director, (etc.), a place in high esteem along with a lucrative standing for that picture and for future undertakings in the film industry. 2001 was the first year in which African-Americans won in both the Best Actor and Best Actress categories (as well as the first time an African-American woman has ever won). Critic Roger Ebert said, "Some hailed the Washington-Berry victories as the beginning of a new era, but it was more clearly the end of an old one: Hollywood's long history of indifference to black talent is clearly over. But it is important to acknowledge that Washington and Berry won their Oscars because they deserved them, not because of symbolism or scorekeeping. And that for most black actors, the struggle for good roles continues relentlessly." Films from 2003 marked the first performances by African-born actors to receive nominations: Djimon Hounsou (from Benin) and Charlize Theron (a white actress from South Africa). The following is a list of African-American winners* and nominees from 1929 to the present. Best Supporting Actress 1939: Hattie McDaniel*, Gone with the Wind 1948: Ethel Waters, Pinky 1959: Juanita Moore, Imitation of Life 1961: Rita Moreno*, West Side Story 1967: Beah Richards, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1983: Alfre Woodard, Cross Creek 1985: Margaret Avery, The Color Purple 1985: Oprah Winfrey, The Color Purple 1990: Whoopi Goldberg*, Ghost 1996: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets and Lies 2002: Queen Latifah, Chicago 2004: Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda 2006: Jennifer Hudson*, Dreamgirls 2007: Ruby Dee, American Gangster 2008: Viola Davis, Doubt   Best Supporting Actor 1969: Rupert Cross, The Reivers 1981: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Ragtime 1982: Louis Gossett Jr.*, An Officer and a Gentleman 1984: Adolph Caesar, A Soldier's Story 1987: Morgan Freeman, Street Smart 1987: Denzel Washington, Cry Freedom 1989: Denzel Washington*, Glory 1994: Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction 1996: Cuba Gooding Jr.*, Jerry Maguire 1999: Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile 2003: Djimon Hounsou, In America 2004: Morgan Freeman*, Million Dollar Baby 2004: Jamie Foxx, Collateral 2006: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond 2006: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls Best Actress 1954: Dorothy Dandridge, Carmen Jones 1972: Diana Ross, Lady Sings the Blues 1972: Cicely Tyson, Sounder 1974: Diahann Carroll, Claudine 1985: Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple 1993: Angela Bassett, What's Love Got to Do with It 2001: Halle Berry*, Monster's Ball Best Actor 1958: Sidney Poitier, The Defiant Ones 1963: Sidney Poitier*, Lilies of the Field 1970: James Earl Jones, The Great White Hope 1972: Paul Winfield, Sounder 1986: Dexter Gordon, 'Round Midnight 1989: Morgan Freeman, Driving Miss Daisy 1992: Denzel Washington, Malcolm X 1993: Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do with It 1994: Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption 1999: Denzel Washington, Hurricane 2001: Denzel Washington*, Training Day 2001: Will Smith, Ali 2004: Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda 2004: Jamie Foxx*, Ray 2005: Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow 2006: Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness 2006: Forest Whitaker*, The Last King of Scotland Honorary Award 1948: James Baskett*, for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus in Song of the South 1995: Quincy Jones*, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 2002: Sidney Poitier*, for his extraordinary performances and unique presence Best Director 1991: John Singleton, Boyz n the Hood Best Picture 1985: Quincy Jones (Producer), The Color Purple Best Documentary, Feature 1997: Spike Lee (Director) and Samuel D. Pollard (Producer), 4 Little Girls 2004: Karolyn Ali (Producer), Tupac: Resurrection Best Short Film, Live Action 1991: David Massey, Last Breeze of Summer 1995: Dianne Houston, Tuesday Morning Ride Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen 1972: Suzanne De Passe, Lady Sings the Blues 1989: Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing 1991: John Singleton, Boyz n the Hood Best Screenplay Adaptation 1972: Lonne Elder III, Sounder 1984: Charles Fuller, A Soldier's Story Best Original Song 1967: Quincy Jones and Bob Russell, Banning 1968: Quincy Jones and Bob Russell, For Love of Ivy 1971: Isaac Hayes*, Shaft 1981: Lionel Richie, Endless Love 1983: Irene Cara*, Flashdance 1984: Stevie Wonder*, The Woman in Red 1984: Ray Parker, Jr., Ghostbusters 1985: Lionel Richie*, White Nights 1985: Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, The Color Purple 1987: Jonas Gwangwa, Cry Freedom 1988: Lamont Dozier, Buster 1993: Janet Jackson, Poetic Justice 2005: Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard*, Hustle & Flow 2006: Siedah Garrett, Dreamgirls 2007: Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack, Tevin Thomas, August Rush Best Music Score 1961: Duke Ellington, Paris Blues 1967: Quincy Jones, In Cold Blood 1971: Isaac Hayes, Shaft 1978: Quincy Jones, The Wiz 1984: Prince*, Purple Rain 1985: Quincy Jones, [et al.], The Color Purple 1986: Herbie Hancock*, 'Round Midnight 1987: Jonas Gwangwa, Cry Freedom Best Costume Design 1997: Ruth E. Carter, Amistad 1992: Ruth E. Carter, Malcolm X 2006: Sharen Davis, Dreamgirls Best Film Editing 1969: Hugh A. Robertson, Midnight Cowboy Best Sound Mixing 1978: Willie D. Burton, The Buddy Holly Story 1980: Willie D. Burton, Altered States 1983: Willie D. Burton, Wargames 1988: Willie D. Burton*, Bird 1989: Russell Williams II*, Glory 1990: Russell Williams II*, Dances With Wolves 1994: Willie D. Burton, The Shawshank Redemption 1999: Willie D. Burton, The Green Mile 2006: Willie D. Burton*, Dreamgirls

MOVIE THEATERS The Past For most African-Americans living in the southern part of the United States prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, attending movies was restricted by law to "colored theaters" only. The use of the upper balcony and a separate entrance in white theaters was allowed in smaller towns and urban areas to accommodate African-American patrons wherever they lived in larger numbers. Early motion pictures with their all "colored" casts were also shown in these segregated theaters, especially in the heyday of the Saturday and Sunday entertainment weekly movie shows. Ironically, African-Americans before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed viewed all other mostly white casted movies in segregated theaters and identified heavily with the John Waynes, Jon Halls, Clark Gables, Tarzan, the Lone Ranger, and all the adventure, love, mystery, and comedy performed by these movie idols. The Present Today's multiplex cinemas are built to accommodate multiple viewing of several select movies playing at the same time or at cross intervals of time in one big complex. The screens are bigger, and the sound accompanying each movie has improved. African-Americans can enter and see a wide range of movies in any theater and take any seat. The past has given in to the present. Sony Retail Entertainment has joined together with Magic Johnson, the famed ex-Laker, in his Magic Johnson Theatres (MJT) to build more state-of-the-art movie cinemas across the country, especially in black communities where one wouldn't dare to build a lucrative, fancy movie theater a few years ago. Many of Johnson's theaters will connect to major shopping malls catering to black buyers and shoppers. This business venture, which started in Los Angeles, will now spread to Houston, Texas, Queens, New York, and New Orleans, Louisiana. One site in Cleveland, Ohio will service a racially mixed community according to Ernest Holsendolph's business report in Emerge Magazine (July/August 1997). Representing Sony, Kenneth Lombard says they plan "to add about 200 screens in the next few years." The motion picture industry has allowed another door to open.

WORKING WITH THE STARS Have you ever dreamed of working with a real established feature film and television actor? Well, our own Mr. Jim Tedaldi of the Library Business Office got that chance when he was asked by NBC to provide some first-hand insights into the character of Lieutenant Tom Warner for their new TV series, Prince Street, aired back in March of 1997. That star turned out to be the veteran actor, Joe Morton, known for his stage, TV, and movies credits. In fact, Newsday (Sunday, January 1, 1999, p. D22) talks about Joe Morton's new role in the Broadway hit, Art. But for Jim Tedaldi, a former detective with NYPD's Intelligence Department from 1971-1991, he saw this as a chance to meet Joe Morton, the star, and help him in his portrayal of some of the true to life encounters and cases Tedaldi had to resolve while on the police force in New York City. Tedaldi said that "Joe immediately struck up a friendship with him, and, after a number of meetings with him, Joe was able to prove he could play the character of Tom Warner based upon Tedaldi's life experiences as a detective." Prince Street did appear on TV for several episodes, but the continuing series was cancelled and, as of today, still remains on the shelf at NBC. Who knows, we might get a chance to see Jim Tedaldi's experiences as a former NYPD detective on TV again, but, meanwhile, hats off to detective Tedaldi, now of our Library Business Office. We love you Jim.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Trying to complete this Exhibit within an allotted time constraint was not an easy undertaking. The final creation involved lots of steps centered around an idea based upon what took place in the world of movies. While the exhibit was "under construction," Mr. Robert Delaney, staff librarian, kept me moving with his computerized printout of each section I completed. He also kept our Internet users current by posting on our website the time frame and what to look for in "Exhibits and Events." I am truly grateful and thankful to him for his untiring help which was essential in the final stages of this display and others done in the past. The banner at the top of the exhibit was done by Aehyun Jeong, a graduate assistant in the I.M.C. Thanks to her and to Gisela Miceli for the finished lamination she processed so willingly. Finally, thanks to my staff in Periodicals for their support while I was heavily engaged in this work. Thanks, Mel Sylvester