Robert Townsend might be primarily known for his comedy work, but his résumé also includes experience as actor, writer, producer, director, and network-programming CEO.
A Chicago native, Townsend first appeared on stage in a high school reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex — a far cry from comedy. Apparently his performance was so compelling, however, that he was encouraged to go further and performed in local plays. His life in comedy began when he began studying at the Second City comedy workshop for improvisation.
Over a decade later, and after acting in New York City, Townsend wrote, directed and produced “Hollywood Shuffle” (1987), a satire based on the hardships and stereotypes black actors face in the film industry — even now, “Hollywood Shuffle” is probably the work he’s best known for by those of us outside the industry.
It’s often a surprise to some, but Townsend has, in fact, done work in multiple genre productions: “Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,” “I Was a Teenage Faust (2002),” “Amazing Stories,” “Streets of Fire” and “The Meteor Man.” Townsend actually wrote, directed and starred in “The Meteor Man,” for which Marvel created a spin-off comic!
The multi-talented Townsend has worked with an impressive list of performers, including Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Alfre Woodard, Louis Gossett, Jr., Natalie Cole, Andre Braugher, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Beyoncé, Mos Def and Chris Tucker. He also directed Eddie Murphy in his comedy stand-up performances “Eddie Murphy Delirious” (1983) and “Eddie Murphy Raw” (1987).
A humanitarian, Townsend has a long history with social justice, community and philanthropic work. He’s a long-time spokesman for the Negro College Fund; he’s traveled to major cities across the U.S. with The Milken Family Fund, honoring exceptional teachers and inspiring a love of education in students; and in 2014, he initiated a mentorship program with the NAACP in his home neighborhood in Chicago.
Interesting facts about Robert Townsend:
* Townsend has made history by being nominated for over 30 NAACP Image Awards for film and television, and at the 2001 NAACP Image Awards he directed three performers nominated in the best actor/actress category in three different films: Leon, for his role in NBC’s “Little Richard”; Alfre Woodard in the Showtime Movie “Holiday Heart” and Natalie Cole for her self-portrayal in “Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story.” (Cole won the Image Award for best actress.)
* His first film appearance was in the classic “Cooley High” (1975).
* Townsend is often referred to as one of the “Godfathers” of the Independent Film World — in good company with Robert Redford, John Sayles, and John Cassavetes, among others.
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, http://www.qasas.com/projectarchives.
George Romero from the 2002 Showtime special “Masters of Horror” by Mike Mendez and Dave Parker
We’re taking the liberty of recognizing the birthday — one day late — of horror director extraordinaire George A. Romero.
See Romero’s filmography here.
Romero’s mother was Lithuanian-American and his father was born in Cuba, of Spanish heritage. Romero was born in the Bronx, but attended film school at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. The result? “Night of the Living Dead” was filmed in rural western Pennsylvania and most of his other films were set in and/or filmed in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.
Of course, his earliest film is also one of his most famous—perhaps THE most: “Night of the Living Dead” (1968). Made on a budget of $114,000, it grossed $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally.
It was the first of six Living Dead films. The most recent, “Survival of the Dead” was released in 2009, though out of the sequels, 1978’s “Dawn of the Dead” is probably the most well known.
“Night of the Living Dead” shocked audiences and critics, unused to its high gore factor — Romero intended to convey the concept of zombies as metaphor for but, the film also stood out for its sophisticated, yet subtle, comparison of the characters’ zombie crisis to what Romero has described race relations in the U.S. in the 1960s and ’70s. One of the most fascinating things about the film, however, is that this representation was unintentional. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while Romero was looking for distribution — with this, the movie suddenly took on an additional meaning. One of the leads, “Ben,” was played by Duane Jones, an African-American theater actor who graduated from the Sorbonne and worked as an acting teacher, as executive director of multiple theater organizations, and as a film actor. Jones’s character was an intelligent leader, complex, and realistically flawed which made the role not only compelling, but also defiant of racial stereotypes. For this we have both Duane Jones’s performance and George Romero’s vision to credit. Though Romero hadn’t written “Ben” to be any particular race or ethnicity, Jones turned out to be the best actor for the part, which many believe made the film even stronger than it might have been.
George Romero didn’t just direct zombie movies. “Martin” (1978) was a surreal vampire film, 1971’s “There’s Always Vanilla” was a romantic comedy, and 1973’s “Season of the Witch” should be self-explanatory. Romero also directed the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Dark Half.”
Interesting facts about George A. Romero:
* He’s a Guillermo del Toro fan.
* His initial work involved filming shorts for Pittsburgh public broadcaster WQED’s children’s series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
* Romero made a cameo appearance in Jonathan Demme’s Academy award-winning thriller “The Silence of the Lambs”(1991) as one of Hannibal Lecter’s jailers.
* Romero has appeared in video games and has written series for both Marvel and DC Comics.
* Romero lives in Canada and acquired dual citizenship in 2009.
Sources: Wikipedia, TheSocietyPages.org, http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Gibson wrote spec script with Mike Le.
Tyrese Gibson in still from “Fast Five.”
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” to be released February 13!
Find out about the movie at its website.
…Don’t know what to think, especially with the movie yet unseen. This (white) director apparently has good intentions, and who knows? *If* it does what he says it wants to, the film could be just what a lot of us want to see in black, female horror heroes.
Orrrrrrrrrr, it could be a hot mess. The word “savage” is in the title, and the use of the term “archetype” in the description below is off the mark. Maybe that’s ’nuff said.
From savagesistas.com:
Quiet & mild-mannered, the creator of SAVAGE SISTAS is writer / director Dan Smith. He has worked behind the camera for over twenty years directing commercials, corporate videos and multimedia events. Although he has enjoyed a lot of success in the field, it was time to pursue his ultimate passion… to make a feature film. As a big fan of horror films from the 70s and 80s, Dan was inspired to write the SAVAGE SISTAS screenplay by desert road trips to Las Vegas. The story is a love letter to the redneck-psycho sub-genre, which includes the films THE HILLS HAVE EYES, WRONG TURN, DELIVERANCE and of course THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
SAVAGE SISTAS puts a new spin on this familiar premise, by combining the bloodthirsty hillbilly element with a new kind of hero … tough African American women. Where did this heroic archetype go? Once a driving force in the Blaxploitation genre of the 70s, these no-nonsense, kick-ass females have all but disappeared from cinema. Where have they all gone? Dan is determined to make a film where the heroes have strong roles, make smart decisions in dangerous situations, and just happen to be black women. These female characters don’t make silly choices and they react to danger totally different than their white counterparts. “I’m a huge horror fan… and I’m making the kind of movie that fans want to see.”
Read about this comedy veteran’s journey at Vulture.com.
Comedian and actress, Leslie Jones
Dark Matters 
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