ON THE VERGE: Megan Good

Megan Good surprised me and continued to do so for our entire interview.  She's not at all what I expected and I'm tickled magenta that such a young, groovy earth mother is on the side of good.

Good is currently flexing her comedy chops as 1980s cable news executive Linda Jackson ---the woman in charge of Ron Burgundy's changing world in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" which Ferrell co-wrote with director Adam McKay. It's a holiday hit which at press time was holding the number two spot. 

It's the kind of signature role that placed the young actress, best known for supporting parts in niche comedies "Think Like a Man" and "Jumping the Broom" and the lead in the now canceled NBC drama "Deception," in the "big, big" time!

What really struck and stayed with me, about Megan, was her easy going style which is demonstrated in her philanthropic causes most of which concern the future of young women of color. 

She also loves GOD and isn't afraid to profess it and while that truism might turn some readers way off and fine tune others way too closely let me share that my impression was that Megan Good wasn't a broken record mouthpiece for religious thumping zealots!

I've interviewed, lived with and debated with those passionate types, from many religions and Megan couldn't qualify for that (throat clearing please) eclectic melange (group).

I'm on assignment at Eden Spa, researching the perks of celebrity and submerged in a deep, wooden bathtub filled with soft, fragrant rose petals, my phone rings and my Beyonce ringtone smashes my serenity.

 My minuscule masseuse, Katherine from Guzng Zhou China, reluctantly stops and lets me do my job!

Hello, it's Megan.  That cherry statement was followed by :60 seconds of silence. Patiently, I wait for the Paramount publicist to connect me.

Hello, the chipper voice repeats, It's Megan, Megan Good. 

This was the first surprise.  She had dialed me directly from her cellphone.  No layers of Hollywood "people" just Megan calling.

Here's what she had to say about comedy, enjoying spas, helping others and her love for GOD. 

myNewYorkeye: It's you?  Wild, well how are you Ms.Good?

Megan Good: Great. We just had the NYC premiere of "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" and I'm kind of exhausted. 

myNewYorkeye: Your in NYC?  We should have done this interview at Eden Spa!  It's wonderful and I'm in total zen.  Come down now, YING (owner), just made me lunch! 

Megan Good: OMG.  I would in there in a NY-minute but I'm flying back home (LA) tonight.  Can I rain check?  I love a good spa day.  What woman doesn't?  You do sound very zen.

myNewYorkeye: I'll arrange it with Eden.  You were so funny in the movie and I'm not just gushing because I'm being pampered like I know Oprah and Gayle!

How was it working with the boys of comedy?  In Hollywood they are a powerful group; individually and combined, a lethal money making machine!

Megan Good: The boys treated me like a princess.  It was an atmosphere of great support and much laughter.  No pranks just fun on top of fun!

myNewYorkeye: Your character,  Linda Jackson, is in charge!  It was such a welcome surprise!  Any more surprises?

Megan Good: The first "Anchorman," is one of my favorite comedies so I was very pleased when the shoe, that I threw in the audition, (at Will) got me the gig!

myNewYorkeye: Sweet, you "showed" Ron Burgundy!    My colleagues have written, at length, about the type of racial jokes in the film.  In my opinion comedy is a good way to show just how stupid the "isms" are! 

Megan Good: Agreed. That's the beauty of comedy. It disarms people. 

myNewYorkeye: What's your favorite comedic film?

Megan Good: Anything that Kevin Hart is in!

myNewYorkeye: That's a lovely shout out to Hart. You sound and feel very "unhollywood" how did that miracle occur?

Megan Good: Thank you.  I grew up in the Canyon Country community of Santa Clarita.  My father, an LAPD officer, was strict.  I also started working in the industry fairly early but my love of GOD keeps me focused.  I'm answering to a higher source. 

myNewYorkeye: Amen.  Wow, I'm shocked twice.  A Hollywood working Christian!  Single, married, engaged?

Megan Good: Married and here comes another shock. 

myNewYorkeye: I'm sitting, actually, still in the tub at Eden so hit me with your best shot!

Megan Good: My husband is an executive at Columbia Pictures.

myNewYorkeye: That's not a Hollywood shock!  Your stunning and you would make a great Hollywood wife.  Congratulations by the way!

Megan Good: Thank you. His name is DeVon Franklin and he's also a minister.

myNewYorkeye: Lovely. .. .say what now?  A minister and a Tinseltown power broker? That Is a shock!  Is it really possible to be loyal to the morality of the faith and succeed in Hollywood? 

Megan Good: Absolutely!  My husband and I uplift one another while we lovingly promote the kingdom.  I've turned down roles that didn't reflect my values and I suspect that I'll turn down more. 

GOD is everything and first in my life.  Hollywood, it's a job.  A good job and I love my work but my heart is locked on heaven and I love GOD far more!

myNewYorkeye: You've told the world that you want to play the late Whitney Houston; I watch Arsenio!  Hey, the next time your in NYC will you hang with me at Eden Spa and keep me in the loop about the progress on the late Ms. Houston's bio pic?

Megan Good: I'm there and then I can also give you the details on a new not-for-profit  that I've formed (2014) with my sister.  The focus is to uplift young woman in a myriad of ways.  I am so excited!

Megan Good's next film is "Think Like a Man Too" (June).  @MeganGood

Around Our Colorful City, Superman

CHELSEA — Superman, now 75, has a lot in common with Harlemites.

Wait, hear me out on this. All around Harlem, you have big and little boys giving mad, bro-love to the man of steel.

Corey Ortega, special assistant to Assembly member, Richard L.T. Wright (70th District) is a self-confessed comic book geek and Superman fan and he made me look at that fascination and connection in a very different way.

"He is one of my favorite Superheroes." Ortega confessed. "And I will tell you why. One, has the little people's back, so you know he would be welcome uptown and treated like one of our own. Two, he is an immigrant.  Three, he is an unregistered alien; trying to work and hiding in plain sight.  We understand him." 

Sunday, January, 26, the Center for Jewish History celebrated the 75th anniversary of the iconic comic figure.

Superman, who first appeared in 1938 was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster who were both Jewish.

"Superman at 75: Celebrating America's Most Enduring Hero" also had a discussion panel which was hosted by Larry Tye, author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero.

Tye shares:  "In addition to having Jewish creators, there are hints that Superman himself is Jewish," he explained.

When Superman came from Krypton, his name was Kal-El, which in Hebrew means vessel or voice of God. That's not accidental."

Superman's origins — escaping Krypton in a small pod and being adopted by Gentiles — also has echoes of Moses' escape from death as a baby in Exodus.

"Plus, there's my favorite reason," Tye added. "If your name ends in the word 'man,' you're either a superhero or Jewish — or in this case, both."

The exhibit will also featured Shuster's 1945 sketches of Stanley Weiss, a New Jersey dad who the Superman co-creator thought was the spitting image of Superman, on display for the first time.

Paul Zapata, video journalist and creator of the new, digital pop culture show RFP-NYC extended the invitation and my curiosity accepted. 

A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage, the recent SVA graduate, and son of a New York Police Lt., has a personal connection with feeling like an outsider and being the object ridicule.

"I was bullied in school and there were many moments that I wanted to be superman or wish he was related to me." shared Zapata. "He spoke to the scared, little boy and now, he speaks to the geek in me." 

He is one of many Superman fans that are anxiously and obsessively waiting for the new, slick and improved hero to hit the big screen.

This wait is short because Warner Bros. has rebooted the character in this summer's upcoming Superman movie, Man of Steel, which is produced by The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan. 

Sitting in Ortega's office, at the Harlem State Building on 163rd, both men let out their enthusiasm for the new movie full throttle:  "O-My-Gosh," both Ortega and Zapata shouted in union:  "We are so there on opening day!"

The unveil of Superman 2013 is authentic.  Here is a hint about the super secrecy around the new film, not a single executive at DC Comics has seen anything.  That includes DC Comics President, Jeanette Kahn, who I suspect, would have shared if she could.  Says Kahn, I've have seen nothing not even a script. Honestly."

My X-ray bullshit detector said she was telling the truth so I will keep any eye open for anything new.

'Django’ is off the chain - Scenes from “Django Unchained”

Quentin Tarantino’s new film, “Django Unchained,” is unapologetically excellent. His critics can squawk all they want, and they will, but QT is shaping into a brilliant storyteller. His writing soars, his direction keeps the viewer riveted and the casting is flawless.

This is an exciting film—Tarantino-exciting! That means meaty characters, unexpected humor and stylized violence crafted into scenes so jarring they remain in the mental archive long after you leave the theater. 

The slow burn, which unfolds in a particularly ferocious part of hell, is filled with characters so fantastically flawed and complex, it might supersede anything created by the ancient authors of the Greek legends.

This film gets under your skin. However, slavery is a nasty piece of business, and the atrocities committed upon generations were considerably more grotesque than anything this wildly imaginative filmmaker could fathom. 

“Django Unchained” loosely pays homage to the 1966 spaghetti western by director Sergio Corbucci. The film, titled “Django,” starred Franco Nero, who at the age of 71 returns for a brief cameo in Tarantino’s film.

Jamie Foxx plays Django, a slave who is being led across Texas in a chain gang, when the slave traders stumble across German immigrant Dr. King Schultz, played with eccentricity by Christoph Waltz. His unique wagon is affixed with a huge model of a molar, which is a great touch to understanding his inner character. 

The silver-tongued Schultz wants to purchase Django, even though he despises slavery on principle. His proposal is not enthusiastically embraced by the slave traders. It’s here, in the snowy, sub-zero, deep, dark woods that Schultz’s true nature erupts, and—well, it is a Quentin Tarantino film—you can surmise how the chapter unfolds. 

A principled bounty hunter, he promises Django freedom if he assists in the tracking and killing of three white slave overseers with a particularly gruesome history. In a twist of fate’s cruel irony and a nod to solid story structure, Django is intimately intertwined with the vicious outlaws. 

These are the thugs who separated him from his bride, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), and forced him to watch her get raped and whipped. To add more insult, they branded them both with an “R” on their cheeks, similar to a lasting teardrop. 

Revenge, an inconceivable prospect mere seconds before, is real, and Django seizes the opportunity to change his life and find his love. Like a duck to water, Django and Schultz get on like a murderous house on fire, dropping bodies and collecting the hefty bounty rewards, amassing a small and moving fortune.

Bonding over blood and revenge, the relationship shifts when Shultz learns that Django’s wife was taught German by her owners and named after the heroine Brunnhilde (the name being misheard and pronounced “Broomhilda”). The fatherland connection makes him a more willing co conspirator.

In a turn of violent events, they finally find Broomhilda working as a “comfort girl” on the notorious plantation known as Candyland, which is owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Candyland is only fun for the privileged few and is run, in part, by the cunning and wicked house slave Stephen, played with unbridled élan by the venerable Samuel L. Jackson. His character’s influence is such that he’s established himself as “second in charge” in a monstrous system that is built on death and fear.

When Django arrives riding a horse, holding a gun and able to speak on his own behalf, Stephen is almost paralyzed with seething rage. Hate is a soft term to describe the combustible exchange and lethal sparks that surround Django and Stephen.

On performance, Foxx holds his own, going toe-to-toe with the near-flawless performance given by the artistically dexterous DiCaprio. His portrait of Calvin is over-the-top by careful design, and his fascination with Django is almost his undoing. The exaggerated mannerisms are not out of place in this warped world, where the masters pretend that they possess sophistication.

In terms of language, the N-word is bantered about like 114 times, which, in historical context, is sparse. How can you, in truth, craft a film about one of the ugliest chapters in the world’s history and not use that tainted verbiage?

Washington’s performance is luminous and her instrument in exceptional condition. Truly, she was born to her profession. Her simply lush performance assists Tarantino in creating an immediate emotional impact that, in my opinion, hasn’t been as evident in past films.

“Django Unchained” is a bold Blaxploitation/spaghetti western/love story about American slavery with a revenge-seeking hero who is not afraid to get dirty to exact his measure of justice on those who seek to continue oppression and genocide.

Quentin Tarantino keeps delivering superlative work, thus adding even more to his cinematic legacy. This time, the hero is Black from head to toe, and that’s extremely fine in my opinion.

Review-Rise of the Guardians

To borrow loosely from the holiday classic film “Miracle on 34th Street,” “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and now he has tattoos.”

The new visual upgrades are the artistic handiwork of director Peter Ramsey, who has the distinction of being the first African-American man to helm an animated feature film. Certainly not a small feat and a well-earned one.

I love a good underdog story, and there is nothing better than a group of immortals fighting to maintain the delicate balance of good versus evil. 

On holiday cue, now playing at a theater near you is “Rise of the Guardians,” an animated film that brings together Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman.

It’s been earning solid box-office buzz, and with the family holidays season right on top of us, I recommend you place this first on your movie choice list. 

Ramsey’s movie has just enough genuine childhood wonder, stunning color, well placed jokes and high-tech theatrics to make it a delight. More to the point, it’s worth your holiday time and holiday money.

Here is the skinny: The aforementioned immortals, the Guardians, are about to gain a new, somewhat clueless member: Jack Frost (voiced by Chris Pine), a handsome, punkish kid who enjoys turning almost anything into ice and doesn’t really jive with the antiquated honor codes that the rest of the magical collective lives by.

A generation gap between immortals. OK. I buy it.

The Easter Bunny (voiced by the smooth Hugh Jackman with his melting Australian accent) doesn’t think much of young Jack. The Tooth Fairy and her baby teeth team of fairy workers have an instant crush. It’s not his wavy blonde hair or matinee idol good looks. It’s the shine of his perfectly flossed, pearly white teeth.

Cue the bad guy. He’s super bad—the one, the only Pitch Black, aka the bogeyman (voiced by U.K. export Jude Law). Black is the color and black is the mood that Pitch spreads. He wants to destroy all good childhood dreams and replace them with lingering nightmares and perpetual darkness.

Well, not on the Guardians’ watch. These Christmas-loving, Easter egg-hunting, money exchanging for a lost tooth Guardians are going to fight for the good of all children and, frankly, they need help, even if it’s “Jack Frost, nipping at your nose” help.

The story is based on a series of books written by children’s author William Joyce, and the screenplay written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire delivers strong characters that you actually care about along with a solid plot. 

Poor Jack, like most teenagers, has no idea who he is. The story opens with him testing his powers, but when he discovers he is invisible to the people around him, his word turns chilly indeed. No one believes in him. “Jack Frost nipping at your nose” and a few snow days to his credit is all most kids know.

No one wants to be ignored for eternity, so there’s a nice amount of pathos for us to care about Jack’s fate. A warm heart can feel his pain every time a kid passes through his spectral frame without noting his existence. 

Here, the skill of the screenwriter is evident. Part of Pitch’s plan to defeat all of the Guardians is fiendishly simple: Stop hope. Stop faith. Stop the children from believing in all of them, just like they do with Jack Frost.

This film has a lush villain; it’s one of the best things about the flick. He is scary in both intent and his look. Visually, Pitch is always shrouded in darkness and followed around by black clouds that suck the life force out of whatever they touch. The design team knows how to make raw fear artistic and interesting. It works. 

A solid story in place, the dazzling 3-D eye candy arrives in full DreamWorks Animation force. Under Ramsey’s direction, there are great performances. Santa Claus (voiced by Alec Baldwin with a Russian accent) has a sled that travels at warp speed. He also has funny, hard-working elves and Yeti honor guards. (Yes, that’s another name for Big Foot.)  The Sandman has skills and is not afraid of the big, bad bogeyman. Nice touch for such a small figure who never utters a single word.

This is a good-looking film. Under the visual guidance of Roger Deakins and Guillermo del Toro, who served as technical guides, you expect nothing less than stunning, and it delivers!

There is no disappointment in “Rise of the Guardians,” except maybe having to wait for the sequel and the reveal of the identity of “the man on the moon.” This is a hip take on a classic, and I’m casting my vote that in installment No. 2, we’ll discover the man in the moon is actually a shape-shifting woman. 

You can bet there will be a sequel—just ask the man in the moon!