"Beyond the Lights" is a sleeper hit!

Gugu Mbatha-Raw gives an award winning performance in Gina Prince-Bythewood's stylized and entertaining music-biz romance.

Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball”) crafted a well structured screenplay giving her lead Gugu Mbatha-Raw all the ammunition she required to deliver a fierce performance as an explosive, burgeoning pop star.  Opposite her is the very fine actor Nate Parker who plays an earnest cop who saves her from suicide.

On the surface “Beyond the Lights” is about the underbelly of the contemporary music-industry but it's hiding a gritty love story that shows the insanity of being in love which is magnified when the  dizzying heights of stardom and wealth are added.

The legend begins in the late 1990s, as a shy British school girl, Noni (India Jean-Jacques) belts out a cappella rendition of Nina Simone’s “Blackbird” at a talent competition clearly blowing away the competition. Nonetheless, subtle racism rears it's ugly head and she's given the clearly, under deserving second place trophy which is quickly smashed by her sassy, financially challenged mom (Minnie Driver), who plants the seeds of raw ambition into her gifted daughters head, “Do you wanna be a runner-up, or do you want to be a winner?”

The story then reves into present day, and the sexy and adult Noni (Mbatha-Raw) has fashioned herself into an international music sensation with all of the gear expected of such a Beyonce-meets-Rihanna hybrid.

Her body is her calling card and it's shone off with outfits that would make strippers blush.

Noni is in the verge of stardom being part of several hits along side her controversial,rapper boyfriend, Kid Culprit (Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker). The hype machine is in full throttle despite the fact that her debut album has yet to drop,  The world watches as she slinks (seen but not heard) through a hotel to her penthouse suite after an awards show.

She has it all but once out of sight, Noni heads straight to the hotel balcony and hoists herself onto the railing. Enter Kaz (Nate Parker), the emphatic young LAPD officer assigned to guard her room.  He saves her and the two lock eyes only for a moment, torn apart by the armies of handlers assigned to damage control.  To wit, Kaz is cleverly bribed into towing the official line at a subsequent press conference, insisting that Noni "simply slipped."

Perhaps these sequences feel a tad melodramatic but it sets up the more interesting layers of the love story and it's a credit to the strong writing.

Kaz, is being groomed to make a run for local political office by his father (Danny Glover). Yet, he can't stop thinking about Noni and works out excuses to work his way back into her dizzying orbit.

Noni, under strict PR guidance buries her depression and brush with death as strongly advised by her mother, now serving as her "take no prisoners" business manager.  Needless to say, she doesn't appreciate officer Kaz.

Nothing speeds up romance faster than parental disapproval and in an adolescent flurry, the two ditch her battalion of escorts, opting for a stolen, first date, at a drive-through fried chicken spot.

Kaz and Noni are destined to be together despite the obstacles which include a paparazzi-stalked witch hunt.

“Beyond the Lights” works and it's shot beautifully. It's easy to forgive,and forget, some of the heavy handed posturing.

To it's credit, the pic tackles a number of tough issues with rather admirable directness: the entertainment industry’s willingness to disregard mental health, the blatant hyper-sexualization of female musicians and the unending pursuit of money.

The tender moments make this film worth the ticket price.  Women, the world over, will understand the feelings behind Noni, removing her hair extensions and scrubbing off her makeup aka the layers of her mask.  The result is empowering even more so,than the stunningly staged seduction, of a blindfolded Kaz, on a private jet while Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” plays.  It's steamy but not gratuitous.

To the lead, Mbatha-Raw is superb.  Driver matches her thus delivering a believable mother-daughter dynamic.  Parker is sturdy.

The behind-the-scene team were well chosen including R&B hitmaker Terius “The-Dream” Nash who composes a handful of porno-chic pop songs for Mbatha-Raw to sing.

Opening November 14 this Relativity film release.

This “Empire” is being built on a Cookie!

Let’s face it and take a bow, the world knows that NYC is hip and that Harlem is hipper, and much, much cooler than another other borough (#humblebrag). History supports that fact with multiple trends that have sprung from the blood, sweat, tears and riotous bursts of mirth that began in this historic section of the city.

To represent that uber chic, uptown reputation, I took the “A” train and accepted the invitation to rub elbows with Hollywood royalty.

As if on cue, Academy award nominee Taraji P. Henson made her entrance into the Cosby Hotel and into pop culture moving on the strength of creating the character ‘Cookie’ in Lee Daniels and Danny Strong‘s new drama series, “Empire” which is on Fox’s 2015 lineup.

On the surface it’s about the head of a music empire Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) a former street thug turned iconic hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment — making him the king of hip-hop. It’s also about his three sons and his intelligent and strong ex wife and their battle for his lucrative kingdom. 

Cookie is that incarnated ex-wife of Lyon. Weeks away from a major IPO, she’s released from prison seven years early after spending nearly two decades behind bars. And Cookie wants what’s belongs to her — a piece of the empire.

Frankly, Ms. Henson steals the show which isn’t easy because it’s packed with “A plus” grade talent who, like Henson, tear down the halls with their performances.

The invite only event just confirmed what the executives knew when they ordered a full season (13)—it’s a hit! And that hit is, in large part because of the “take no prisoner” character Cookie.

"The prince of darkness is a gentleman! Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.”― William Shakespeare, King Lear.

Loosely “Empire” is inspired by the tragic trajectory of King Lear, in Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”  Lyons power is fleeting because of a terminal illness — time is running out to find the new head of the empire.

His eldest son (Trai Byers) is the CFO of the empire, and should make him the natural successor but Lyon doesn’t feel his sons’ charm.

Jamal (Jussie Smollett) is a soulful singer who chaffs under his fathers’ shame that he’s gay.

The youngest and most impulsive son Hakeem (Bryshere Gray) is a flat out spoiled.  A “fame brat” who has some talent, but little discipline and no respect for hard work.

Then comes Lyon’s fierce ex-wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). As she wants what’s rightfully belongs to her — a piece of the empire.

This is just the beginning, I think, of a successful turn for Henson on television.

When uber publicist, Anna Fuson, asked me my impressions (a standard formality for marketing) I didn’t blink nor did I hesitate with my answer:”When I grow up, I want to be Cooke. Now Fox has given me a reason to give my Netflix a break.  The “Empire” begins and it’s got a Cookie for a Queen.”

"Lee (Daniels) knows how to handle me," confessed Taraji P. Henson who plays the hauntingly beautiful, resourceful and complex ex-wife. "I’m a hand full and coming from the world of theatre, I can create very big, very broad performances.  Lee, you see, he knows how to pull me back in. To settle me down. To get the best from me, the best from all of us.  That’s something!  That’s really something, right?"

"That is something," I shared. "In my opinion that’s how you build an empire."

"Crouching Banks, Hidden Money"

Director of “That Film About Money" — James Schamus

“We The Economy" is an ambitious undertaking but you would expect nothing less from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Morgan Spurlock’s Cinelan. The partnering with other award-winning directors (including Adrian Grenier, Catherine Hardwicke, James Schamus, Adam McKay and Joe Berlinger) have produced 20 short films that drive awareness and, hopefully, a better understanding of the U.S. economy.

This short film series includes animation, comedy, nonfiction and scripted films, and cameos from Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Judah Friedlander,

All 20 films—which launched last week—are free and available to view across multiple platforms (online, VOD, broadcast, mobile, theatrical, etc.).

I experienced a strong connection to two shorts under “That Film About Money” by James Schamus.  

Mr. Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter (“The Ice Storm”) and producer (“Brokeback Mountain”), and former CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included “Milk,” “The Pianist,” and the “The Dallas Buyers Club.”

Here is a fun fact, I’m such a fan of James Schamus that if—by magical intrigue—he could mange to steal all the gooey chocolate goodness in the world, not even sharing one with the “tiniest of tot” he would still remain on my  ”favorite” artist list. That’s how much I like James Schamus and I’m awfully fond of chocolate!

Recently, I had a 1:1 with Schamus to discuss “That Film About Money” which he directed. The objective of the shorts is to make the audience think about a dollar bill and how that “buck” works (or doesn’t work) inside the banking system and how it moves inside your life.

Here is what James Schamus had to share about banks, spirituality and filmmaker Justin Simien. 

myNewYorkeye: Why did you make these two short?

James Schamus: Money. They offered me “money” to make a film about money.  All 20 shorts are free.

myNewYorkeye: Sounds too simple. Please, elaborate.

James Schamus: I have a conflicted relationship both with the topic of the ‘economy’ and with the premise of the series as a whole. Indeed, the concept of the ‘economy,” even its constitution as an object of scientific study, as a thing, is relatively recent, and to me smells of an ideological maneuver wherein we replace what are essentially political relations with a mystifying body of social science ‘knowledge’ to be managed and manipulated by financial/political elites.

myNewYorkeye: Ouch, I did ask. So, what’s did you most people know about money?

James Schamus: It tuned out that some of the most sophisticated and connected people, out there, probably don’t know what a bank really is. So, it’s my job, in five minutes, to just freak you out every time you walk past a bank, for the rest of your life.  

myNewYorkeye: At five, I tried to purchased chocolate with my well earned Monopoly money.  The shop keeper tried to explain why my “paper” wasn’t the same as the U.S. “paper currency.”  In good humor, he showed me the words “in God we trust” as his final explanation to why only “that paper” only could be traded for goods. I didn’t buy it.

James Schamus: Now you know, all these years later that you were actually right and my movies tell you the reasons for that. The main purpose of a bank is to get rid of your money. The most profitable banks are the emptiest.

myNewYorkeye: Snap. A dollar ain’t a dollar.

James Schamus: In fact, I point out that the dollar bill[s] are these “magical objects” that are covered not only in the phrase “in God We Trust” but they have added a pyramid with the eyeball (which is Masonic imagery). It’s magical because you have to have belief. You have to have belief for them to work and if you stop believing in them then you stop trading them. It’s a sad state of affairs when probably the most spiritual content of our lives, on a daily basis, comes when you pass a dollar bill around telling each other (that) we trust in God.

myNewYorkeye: Thank you. Quick question, you have an exceptional eye for artistic talent. Who should we know and why?

James Schamus: Justin Simien. If you haven’t seen his film, “Dear White People,” run, don’t walk.  He hit it out the park!

For more on the film check out the official website: https://wetheeconomy.com/

"There are No Young Black Stars" so this director made, two!

A directors' love delivers a new, classic love story. Gina Prince-Bythewood is the screenwriter and director of "Beyond The Lights" a modern, compelling and utterly convincing modern love story starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw ("Belle") and Nate Parker ("The Secret Life of Bees").

The film opens November 14th and I'm on the strictest embargo not to share too much but, OMGosh, it's time to gush.  I'm making effort not to use every known cliche to attempt to express how well crafted this PG-13 gem is and how "root-to-foot" proud I am of Mrs. Prince-Bythewood. It's produced by Stephanie Allain, Ryan Kavanaugh, Amar'e Stoudemire and Reggie Rock Bythewood,

"Beyond The Lights"—which was the opening night film for the 2014 Urban World Festival and received a standing ovation—is the story of Noni, the music world's latest "rising like a bullet" superstar.  But the price of fame is staggering and the pressures of it have  Noni on the edge - until she meets Kaz Nicol, a young cop and aspiring politician who's been assigned to her detail.

The buzz surrounding the screening hit twitteedom like a four alarm storm alert—it's a hit!

I attended a private screening, with several executives from Essence communications, and our collective reaction turned us into "girlfriends" making spontaneous comments inspired by the spectacular performances and explosive chemistry between the leads. My hand on the Bible, I heard (at least three) my colleagues "exhale."

I'm on lip-lock until November but here is a tiny bit of my sit down with Gina Price-Bythewood.

myNewYorkeye: It's a hit. The screening audience went bananas.  The casting was perfect. Was it easy? I'm setting it up for ya, go!

Gina Prince-Bythewood: (laughing) Funny.  I was very touched by the audience reaction. The journey has been long and the need to find the perfect cast was a challenge. I learned an important thing in making 'Love and Basketball' I realized that you can fake a jump shot but you can't fake a close up, so I cast an actor. I did the same thing here.

myNewYorkeye: Gugu and Nate have the "it" factor.  How did you get that alchemy? Are you hiding "Breaking Bad" type chemistry skills?

Gina Prince-Bythewood: In the audition, Gugu went for "it," her chops are insane.  I saw the movie when she was auditioning and that's such an exciting thing to experience as a director.  I rushed home with her audition DVD , to show my husband Reggie, who is also the producer, and we were like 'OMG' are we seeing what we think were seeing?" 

myNewYorkeye: Then what happened ...?

Gina Prince-Bythewood: Then the work to get her approved began.  She wasn't known and the studio (I was at Fox at the time) kept saying "no" because she wasn't a "star."  As a director, when you find that right  person you fight for them. I decided to do a live reading for the studio executives and called Nate to come in (as a favor) to read with Gugu. I had an interior motive. I wanted to get him in and show him off.

myNewYorkeye: You rock! Is that how you pulled off such clever casting?

Gina Prince-Bythewood: No ( laughing) the journey continues. The chemistry was "right there" but ultimately Sony was like "she's not a star and were not going to make this movie."

myNewYorkeye: You are a veteran Hollywood player. I'm confident that you didn't take it personally. 

Gina Prince-Bythewood: Your right. It wasn't right for them. So, Reggie and I put in our own money into making an 8  minute presentation and Gugu wore "the music video outfit" that she wears in the film.  That's when I knew that she trusted me as a director and was willing "to go" there.

myNewYorkeye: The costume leaves "just a Smidge" to the imagination.

Gina Prince-Bythewood: She gives a very bold performance. We went back to the studios and it's crazy because they loved it and loved Gugu, loved the script but they said "but, she's not a star" and there are no young black men that are stars.'

So close but I kept getting no's. I needed that one yes.  Finally BET saw the presentation, read the script and they invested a couple million dollars.  We then went to Relativity, the very first studio that didn't question Gugu. They said: 'we see that's she's a star. Whomever you want to cast opposite as the male lead, go for it.'"

myNewYorkeye: Your script is "tight as f$&@."

Gina Prince-Bythewood:  (laughing deep and long)

Can you write that? Please?

myNewYorkeye: Done!