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http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/lee-daniels-business-gay-black-man/
Yesterday, Black Enterprise chatted with Lee Daniels, Tyrese Gibson, and Amiyah Scott about the upcoming episode of Star, which, in the short clip below, portrays Queen Latifah’s love interest, played by Gibson, attempting to cleanse the spirit or “pray the gay away” from her transgender son Cotton Brown, played by Scott.
Being an outwardly gay male himself, this subject matter often comes up in Daniels’ art, surfacing in several episodes of Empire and now presenting itself again in the upcoming Wednesday episode of Star.
In a focus group, that took place during the early stages of creating Empire, Lee stated, in an interview with Daily Extra that, when it came to two men kissing, on a scale of zero to 10—zero meaning they hated it, 10 meaning they loved it—the participants rated zero. Everything beyond that was a 10. When asked why it is a zero, Daniels stated, “You knew that the hundred people in the room didn’t want to admit to their homophobia.”
(Image: Queen Latifah and Amiyah Scott)
So given the extremely taboo nature of the subject matter, especially within the black community, Black Enterprise asked Daniels how has his homosexuality affected his business career.
“Me living in my truth has caused quite a controversy. It’s upset a lot of African Americans but, it’s also liberated many Americans and I think that the body of work speaks for itself,” said Daniels. “Star, Empire, Monster’s Ball and Precious have all done what they’ve done because I’m living in my truth.”
That is a very powerful statement. A lot of us get caught up in trying to please everyone and in business, that doesn’t garner you results. Once Daniels decided that his art would be a reflection of his internal self, although it made others extremely uncomfortable, he started to build a reputable career and at this point, is one of the most renowned directors in Hollywood.
Some love him for it, some hate him for it, but after viewing his work, you can’t help but leave with a different perspective and a better understanding. The goal is not to please everyone. The goal is to get them thinking. Not everyone’s going to get it and not everyone’s going to like it, and that’s fine.
When asked how Gibson felt, he answered, “I’m an advocate for people doing what makes them happy.” Playing this role with Scott was the first time he’s communicated with a transgender, who not only plays one on the show but also lives her life as such.
As a Christian man, Gibson had preconceived notions but Daniels vulnerability, dedication to pushing the envelope, and unwavering ability to stay rooted in his truth, allowed Gibson to garner a new perspective. “Lee started sharing all of these personal deep, dark, things that Amiyah has been through and I walked away like damn, if I never felt myself having a heart for a transgender or some of the things that they have to deal with specifically, I have a heart for it now.”
(Image: Wilford Harewood/Tyrese Gibson)
Tune into Star this Wednesday, Feb. 15 on Fox to witness one of the most powerful, thought-provoking and controversial episodes on television. Check your local listings for show times.
Sequoia Blodgett is the Technology Editor for Black Enterprise, Silicon Valley. She is also the founder of 7AM, a lifestyle, media platform, focused on personal development, guided by informed, pop culture.
Yesterday, Black Enterprise chatted with Lee Daniels, Tyrese Gibson, and Amiyah Scott about the upcoming episode of Star, which, in the short clip below, portrays Queen Latifah’s love interest, played by Gibson, attempting to cleanse the spirit or “pray the gay away” from her transgender son Cotton Brown, played by Scott.
Being an outwardly gay male himself, this subject matter often comes up in Daniels’ art, surfacing in several episodes of Empire and now presenting itself again in the upcoming Wednesday episode of Star.
In a focus group, that took place during the early stages of creating Empire, Lee stated, in an interview with Daily Extra that, when it came to two men kissing, on a scale of zero to 10—zero meaning they hated it, 10 meaning they loved it—the participants rated zero. Everything beyond that was a 10. When asked why it is a zero, Daniels stated, “You knew that the hundred people in the room didn’t want to admit to their homophobia.”
(Image: Queen Latifah and Amiyah Scott)
So given the extremely taboo nature of the subject matter, especially within the black community, Black Enterprise asked Daniels how has his homosexuality affected his business career.
“Me living in my truth has caused quite a controversy. It’s upset a lot of African Americans but, it’s also liberated many Americans and I think that the body of work speaks for itself,” said Daniels. “Star, Empire, Monster’s Ball and Precious have all done what they’ve done because I’m living in my truth.”
That is a very powerful statement. A lot of us get caught up in trying to please everyone and in business, that doesn’t garner you results. Once Daniels decided that his art would be a reflection of his internal self, although it made others extremely uncomfortable, he started to build a reputable career and at this point, is one of the most renowned directors in Hollywood.
Some love him for it, some hate him for it, but after viewing his work, you can’t help but leave with a different perspective and a better understanding. The goal is not to please everyone. The goal is to get them thinking. Not everyone’s going to get it and not everyone’s going to like it, and that’s fine.
When asked how Gibson felt, he answered, “I’m an advocate for people doing what makes them happy.” Playing this role with Scott was the first time he’s communicated with a transgender, who not only plays one on the show but also lives her life as such.
As a Christian man, Gibson had preconceived notions but Daniels vulnerability, dedication to pushing the envelope, and unwavering ability to stay rooted in his truth, allowed Gibson to garner a new perspective. “Lee started sharing all of these personal deep, dark, things that Amiyah has been through and I walked away like damn, if I never felt myself having a heart for a transgender or some of the things that they have to deal with specifically, I have a heart for it now.”
(Image: Wilford Harewood/Tyrese Gibson)
Tune into Star this Wednesday, Feb. 15 on Fox to witness one of the most powerful, thought-provoking and controversial episodes on television. Check your local listings for show times.
Sequoia Blodgett is the Technology Editor for Black Enterprise, Silicon Valley. She is also the founder of 7AM, a lifestyle, media platform, focused on personal development, guided by informed, pop culture.
It’s not uncommon for a fistful of independent horror flicks to make a splash at the festival circuit, find an audience on home video, and generate just enough excitement (and profits) to warrant a sequel, and that’s precisely what we have with Stake Land II.
The first Stake Land debuted in 2010, and it offered a novel enough spin on vampire lore that it managed to stand out in a perpetually crowded horror film marketplace. Director Jim Mickle (Mulberry St.) was able to combine vampire horror, post-apocalyptic settings, simple suspense, and a nice dash of action into an entertaining flick–and with very limited means–and he quickly went on to direct (very good) films like We Are What We Are (2013) and Cold in July (2014).
Mickle is still on board as a producer on Stake Land II, but this time the directorial reins have been passed to Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who last year gave us a little-seen but appreciably intense suspense thriller called Body. Fortunately for fans of the first Stake Land, there is a firm sense of legitimate continuity to the sequel. The always gruffly enjoyable Nick Damici returns as co-star/screenwriter, as does Connor Paolo, who plays our heroic, long-suffering, vampire-hatin’ hero Martin.
The plot is basic post-apocalyptic “road movie” material: after settling down with his beloved and fathering a child, Martin’s (relatively) contented life is interrupted by the arrival of a horrific she-vampire that slaughters his family and leaves our hero (once again) desperate and alone, so he heads out from the relative safety of “New Eden” and travels south in the hopes of meeting up with his old vamp-slaying cohort known only as Mister (Damici). Along the way he meets up with both allies and enemies –mostly enemies–and gets into all sorts of unpleasant scrapes. The two heroes are eventually reunited, but will they be able to mount an offense against a seemingly invincible vampiress who has the power to (uh oh) hypnotize other vampires into doing her bidding?
(You’ll have to watch the movie to find out.)
While Stake Land II is clearly working on a small budget, the filmmakers do all they can to deliver a fast-moving post-apocalyptic “quest” movie full of gory vampire attacks, colorful stock character archetypes, and a slyly surly attitude. Connor Paolo does a fine job as our noble, if kinda one-note, hero, and character actor Nick Damici (Late Phases) displays all sorts of bad-ass anti-heroic coolness. A few of the supporting actors are a little green, but whenever Paolo and Damici share the screen there’s a comfortable sense of cool, simple chemistry between the performers.
Credit as well to the FX designers who do some fine work with latex, blood, and random gory bits. The Stake Land creatures aren’t your typical vampires, but they are freaky-looking and more than ravenous enough to provide ample opposition for our vamp-hating heroes and their various short-lived sidekicks and allies. If all you know of vampires is stuff like Underworld and Twilight, then Stake Land II probably isn’t for you, but if you dug the first flick enough to consider a second chapter a welcome diversion, then odds are you’ll find something to like here.
3 scrappy sequel burritos out of 5
Image: Dark Sky Films