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https://www.blackenterprise.com/janelle-monae-marries-art-food-and-tech-belvedere-vodka/
True to her calling card as one chosen to liberate the oppressed, singer/actor/activist Janelle Monae is back at it again (as if she ever stopped). Her aim? To empower women and those who identify as such via art, music, mentorship, and education. In partnership with Belvedere Vodka, Monae hosted ‘A Beautiful Future’ dinner—a sensory bouquet immersing guests in music, art, dance, and tech at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art on the eve of her Lollapalooza performance.
“This collaboration is a convergence of our shared beliefs: optimism and the power of ‘the we, not me’ to bridge divides,” said Rodney Williams, president of Belvedere Vodka. It was the next level up from the Hidden Figures starlet’s Fem the Future grassroots organization and similarly-named series of brunches previously hosted in Berlin, London, and New York.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
“I think it’s important whenever you work with brands that they understand your vision,” says Monae, who in addition to playing an abolitionist master teacher in Harriet Tubman’s life story, was also recently announced to replace Julia Roberts as the headlining character in the psychological thriller, Homecoming. “When Belvedere heard that I wanted to highlight voices and put more opportunities in the hands of women they said, ‘How can we help?’”
(Image courtesy of Getty)
Aside from debuting a metallic collage-designed, limited edition bottle of Belvedere’s super-premium vodka—inspired by Monae—the event zeroed in on art, food, and the celebration of four individuals from Chicago whose work aligns with the theme of diversity, inclusion, self-expression, and “access to explore one’s passions freely,” explained Monae.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
The honorees included sexual assault activist Scheherazade Tillet, co-founder and executive director of A Long Walk Home, a nonprofit that uses art and film to raise awareness and end violence against girls and women; Nikki Roberson, fundraising director and community outreach liaison for Kicks 4 the City; LaForce Baker, founder and CEO of Moon Meals; and celebrated visual artist and architect, Amanda Williams.
“She believes in positivity and elevating other’s voices and these are ideas that as a brand we can champion and get behind,” said Carlos Zepeda, VP of Belvedere Vodka US.
Baker, the founder of Moon Meals, is one of those voices. Currently, his product is sold in 188 grocers across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa and he projects it will be available in over 1,000 stores, including Whole Foods, CVS, and Walgreens by the end of 2020.
Moon Meals, he says, builds upon Monae and Belvedere’s Beautiful Future motif in three ways: by increasing access to quality meals on the South and West sides of Chicago, where food deserts are prevalent; by generating revenue for economically depressed neighborhoods; and by hiring and servicing women of color. “Our products empower our customers, which are predominately women, by giving them the nutrition they love, on the go, and without much sacrifice.”
The dinner was served at a stunning 90-foot-long table, attended by 80-plus cultural tastemakers, social justice influencers, and key Chicago business stakeholders with rousing music from DJ Rae Chardonnay. It featured five courses by Jason Hammel, chef of Marisol, a restaurant at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Technology also took a center seat at the table. Running down the center for the full length of the table was an LED display monitor pumping messages of encouragement and inspiration. The first course of the five-course dinner included a plate with brightly lit headphones playing a special message from Monae’s alter ago, Cindy Mayweather, an android from the year 2719.
“Tech is a powerful tool. But I want to make sure that the bias is not there. That’s been a big concern of mine,” says Monae, who stresses that as technologies like artificial intelligence or voice and facial recognition are developed further, Silicon Valley should bring women and diverse voices to the table on the front end.
“Because when we’re not in the room and there is only one type of person in the room making these decisions, I think that it won’t be a beautiful future.”
True to her calling card as one chosen to liberate the oppressed, singer/actor/activist Janelle Monae is back at it again (as if she ever stopped). Her aim? To empower women and those who identify as such via art, music, mentorship, and education. In partnership with Belvedere Vodka, Monae hosted ‘A Beautiful Future’ dinner—a sensory bouquet immersing guests in music, art, dance, and tech at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art on the eve of her Lollapalooza performance.
“This collaboration is a convergence of our shared beliefs: optimism and the power of ‘the we, not me’ to bridge divides,” said Rodney Williams, president of Belvedere Vodka. It was the next level up from the Hidden Figures starlet’s Fem the Future grassroots organization and similarly-named series of brunches previously hosted in Berlin, London, and New York.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
“I think it’s important whenever you work with brands that they understand your vision,” says Monae, who in addition to playing an abolitionist master teacher in Harriet Tubman’s life story, was also recently announced to replace Julia Roberts as the headlining character in the psychological thriller, Homecoming. “When Belvedere heard that I wanted to highlight voices and put more opportunities in the hands of women they said, ‘How can we help?'”
(Image courtesy of Getty)
Aside from debuting a metallic collage-designed, limited edition bottle of Belvedere’s super-premium vodka—inspired by Monae—the event zeroed in on art, food, and the celebration of four individuals from Chicago whose work aligns with the theme of diversity, inclusion, self-expression, and “access to explore one’s passions freely,” explained Monae.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
The honorees included sexual assault activist Scheherazade Tillet, co-founder and executive director of A Long Walk Home, a nonprofit that uses art and film to raise awareness and end violence against girls and women; Nikki Roberson, fundraising director and community outreach liaison for Kicks 4 the City; LaForce Baker, founder and CEO of Moon Meals; and celebrated visual artist and architect, Amanda Williams.
“She believes in positivity and elevating other’s voices and these are ideas that as a brand we can champion and get behind,” said Carlos Zepeda, VP of Belvedere Vodka US.
Baker, the founder of Moon Meals, is one of those voices. Currently, his product is sold in 188 grocers across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa and he projects it will be available in over 1,000 stores, including Whole Foods, CVS, and Walgreens by the end of 2020.
Moon Meals, he says, builds upon Monae and Belvedere’s Beautiful Future motif in three ways: by increasing access to quality meals on the South and West sides of Chicago, where food deserts are prevalent; by generating revenue for economically depressed neighborhoods; and by hiring and servicing women of color. “Our products empower our customers, which are predominately women, by giving them the nutrition they love, on the go, and without much sacrifice.”
The dinner was served at a stunning 90-foot-long table, attended by 80-plus cultural tastemakers, social justice influencers, and key Chicago business stakeholders with rousing music from DJ Rae Chardonnay. It featured five courses by Jason Hammel, chef of Marisol, a restaurant at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Technology also took a center seat at the table. Running down the center for the full length of the table was an LED display monitor pumping messages of encouragement and inspiration. The first course of the five-course dinner included a plate with brightly lit headphones playing a special message from Monae’s alter ago, Cindy Mayweather, an android from the year 2719.
“Tech is a powerful tool. But I want to make sure that the bias is not there. That’s been a big concern of mine,” says Monae, who stresses that as technologies like artificial intelligence or voice and facial recognition are developed further, Silicon Valley should bring women and diverse voices to the table on the front end.
“Because when we’re not in the room and there is only one type of person in the room making these decisions, I think that it won’t be a beautiful future.”
As we adjust to the news that Spider-Man will (maybe) no longer be in the MCU, it’s time to pour one out for the greatest live-action incarnation of Marvel’s #1 hero. Although Spidey has existed on the big screen since 2002, it was this third incarnation that truly got Peter Parker right. When Sam Raimi gave the world its very first taste of a big screen Peter Parker by way of Tobey Maguire, he did right by the character in many ways. But I think it’s fair to say that it wasn’t until Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios got ahold of him that we all got the truest version of the wall-crawler ever put on film. Simply put, Kevin Feige understand what makes Spider-Man tick more than any producer ever.
The Raimi movies understood that Peter Parker was a lovable loser, and Tobey Maguire nailed that part of the character from the word go. But he was never the quippy, funny guy when he put on the red and blue tights—at least nowhere near as much as he should have been. Meanwhile, Spidey 2.0 Andrew Garfield did get the smart-ass nature of Spider-Man down, but he was this traditionally handsome dude, with Twilight hair and charm for days. I never bought he’d ever be anything but the popular guy in school.
But when Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios came on board, Spider-Man was saved. Casting Tom Holland was the absolute perfect choice. He was adorable, but in a teenage dorky way—not in a sexy “I got game” way like Garfield. Holland’s Peter was a science dork for sure, but like comic book Peter, he actually has friends in school. Tobey Maguire’s version of Peter only had Harry Osborn as a friend, and that’s because Harry used him as his tutor and kind of put up with him. Holland’s Spidey was the version from the comics we’d all been waiting years for.
Peter’s relationships with the kids around him—Ned, Liz, MJ, and the others—was a staple of the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics, and almost totally ignored by the non-MCU Spider-Man films. Making Spider-Man a John Hughes-esque high school story was a genius move, and it helped make this perhaps our most beloved version of Peter yet.
In let’s not forget: we got two great villains in a row with MCU Spider-Man. Michael Keaton as the Vulture and Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio were both fantastic in totally different ways. Among the first five Spider-Man movies, we got one truly great bad guy in the form of Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock. But they dropped the ball on just about everyone else. Willem Dafoe was a great Norman Osborn for sure, but the less said about his Green Goblin, the better. Feige fully understood what made Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery great.
And when MCU Spider-Man did deviate from the comics, like with Aunt May, it worked. We’d seen old and doting May Parker done perfectly well in the original films, but Marisa Tomei’s version of May made way more sense in a modern context. Feige has an uncanny instinct to know what things from the classic comics must be kept, and which things are ready for a change. And it was most true in the MCU Spider-Man films.
Tom Holland is remaining as Spider-Man for Sony, as are the previous two film’s directors Jon Watts. And maybe everything will proceed more or less as it has been, just without mention of any Avengers. But the MCU magic that Kevin Feige sprinkled onto Spider-Man is something that no one else can replicate. Here’s hoping this eulogy is premature, and somehow Peter Parker can remain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he clearly belongs.
Images: Sony Pictures
The post A Eulogy For the MCU Spider-Man (2016-2019) appeared first on Nerdist.
Sony has officially made a statement about the “divorce” of our Spider-Man parents, basically saying, “We’re separating and we’re going to work on our differences and who knows? It could work out.”
News broke yesterday that negotiations between Disney and Sony over the future involvement of Marvel’s Kevin Feige in standalone Spider-Man films had come to the unsatisfactory end for fans of Feige no longer being involved, because to be honest, Sony shouldn’t be allowed to touch Peter Parker without a big dose of help. I remember Spider-Man 3.
That being said, Sony has now issued a statement about the situation that makes me feel a bit better about everything going on. Essentially, it says that Feige just has too much on his plate (which makes sense because he just acquired the Fantastic Four and all of the X-Men), not that Sony is deliberately taking Spider-Man away from him, and that he will not be the lead producer on the Spider-Man films going forward. And guess what? That’s all it says.
It doesn’t say that Peter Parker is gone from the MCU or that we have to completely erase what happened to Peter in regards to the reveal of his identity by Mysterio or how he feels about Tony Stark. None of that was said. That’s more fans yelling on Twitter and freaking out.
You can read their official statement on Twitter:
Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. (1/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. (2/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue. (3/3)
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) August 21, 2019
So, when you look at the wording and how Sony Pictures has addressed the issues, it seems as if there is still hope for Peter Parker to remain a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in bigger crossover pictures, and because of how the MCU’s future is set up, that gives Sony plenty of time to take the character on a journey with Jon Watts and Tom Holland that Feige has, apparently, already laid out with them. Not only that, but Sony’s obvious desire to reassure fans that as little as possible is changing is reason to be optimistic about their desire to keep him connected to the MCU.
Am I worried about the situation? Yes, of course. Peter Parker is my son, and I love him with my whole heart and have since I was a kid, but I don’t think that Disney would just give him up after working so hard to get him into the MCU, and I don’t think it means that Sony has to forget everything that happened with him in the MCU.
It’s somewhat good news for fans, as nothing is set in stone. Only time will tell, but it seems like everyone still wants the same thing.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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