#Aisha Hinds icons

[iconsfilm]

911 behind the scenes icons | like or reblog if you save

#911 icons #911 on abc #911 #eddie diaz #evan buck buckley #evan buckley #evan buckley icons #olive stark #olivier stark icons #ryan guzman #ryan guzman icons #aisha hinds #aisha hinds icons #henrietta wilson #howie han #kenneth choi #kenneth choi icons #bobby nash icons #bobby nash #peter krause #angela bassett icons #angela bassett #athena grant #may grant #corrine massing #jennifer love hewitt #maddie buckley

[buckttommy]

nah because i wanna shout out aisha hinds for a minute because she really is THE glue of the 9-1-1 cast. i mean there is not a single person on that set that does not submit to her millions of photos and videos ! happily ! even mr no social media choi !! she's like ! day or night we are memorializing this moment in time forevermore because we will never be as we are right now !! iconic !!! she has them all so WHIPPED, it is absolutely ludicrous and amazing to see. her power is unmatched

#her and kat graham would have been insane in a show together #cause kat had the tvd boys on lock too #jack.txt #tv: 911 #aisha hinds

[911bts]

Thank you for those podcasts! I listened to that first one after you posted earlier and i feel like I've learned so much about oliver and the show from that alone. Super eye opening (also kinda sad how he thinks about himself lol I want to give him a big hug). I hope he does more - do you know if peter, aisha, kenny and ryan have done any?

You can find them below the cut!

Peter Krause:

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard - LIVE: Peter Krause

Armchair Expert Live from Detroit at the Fox Theatre. June 21st, 2019.

Spotify - Apple Music

Off Camera with Sam Jones - 147. Peter Krause

Peter joins Off Camera to discuss discovering acting, why playing a character who is too familiar is terrifying, how the baritone horn became the source of his teenage rebellion, and what it's like to be a hero to funeral directors nationwide.

Not on Spotify or Apple Music, but can be found here which also shows other apps that have it.

Aisha Hinds:

Trials to Triumphs - How Aisha Hinds Is Putting Her Pieces Back Together

Ashley chats with close friend and critically acclaimed actress Aisha Hinds about her path to replenishment. Aisha has appeared in a number of hit series including 9-1-1, True Blood and The Shield. She made her mark with a powerful performance in Underground playing icon Harriett Tubman. In this vulnerable conversation, Aisha reflects on how her parents’ divorce left her feeling fractured as a young girl and led to her “pursuit of wholeness.” Aisha discusses how her church family stepped in during a trying time in her youth and helped her get back on the right track. She also reveals how she’s paid that restoration forward with her nephew. Aisha celebrates her “destiny advocates” in the industry who challenged her to dream bigger and pursue iconic roles that have forever shaped the trajectory of her career.

Spotify - Apple Music

Keeping It Reel - 365: Ava DuVernay & Aisha Hinds

This week on the BIG show, Black Reel Award-winning director and producer Ava DuVernay returns to discuss her explosive new Netflix miniseries, When They See Us. Also, one of the most versatile actors in the business, Aisha Hinds will discuss sharing the screen with Godzilla. The promising career of actor Jason Mitchell has hit the skids, we'll discuss the allegations and his future prospects. 

Spotify - Apple Music

Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson - Aisha Hinds

Are you watching 9-1-1 on FOX? Did you see True Blood, NCIS, Shots Fired, Wet Hot American Summer, Under the Dome or Underground? If so, you know Aisha. But you don't know what a profound human being she is! Don't worry, you will after this conversation with Kara. The actress goes deep about ups and downs, people who touched her life (namely Laurence Fishburne, Ava DuVernay and Sarah Paulson) and VERY UNUSUAL habits. She cries (a few times!), laughs (hysterically!) and shares her BIGGEST secret.

Spotify - Apple Music

Behind Her Faith Podcast - 1.04: Aisha Hinds

This is a follow-up to Aisha's episode of Behind Her Faith.

Spotify - The episode of BHF is available for rent on amazon or you can get a 7-day free trial on ALLBLK

Kenneth Choi:

Behind Greatness (Inspired North) - 66. Kenneth Choi

Ken joins us from LA where he lives, works and breathes his life’s passion. Having grown up in a conservative immigrant family environment in Chicago, Ken felt that he wanted to explore more and differently than what was expected of him. Being very shy and emotionally-tuned, young Ken also understood that he needed to break out of his environment. But, as he explains, he spiralled downwards for several years into his early adulthood. It took a certain self-realization to have him turn it around. And boy, did he. We discuss with him many of life’s lessons that he’s learned along the way and how he weaves them into his work: having empathy for others and leading with compassion, the belief in making happen what you want, the confidence in your own creative self, the courage in leaving everything behind to focus on exploration.

Spotify - Apple Music

Ryan Guzman:

UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra - Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, actor Ryan Guzman, and co-host TJ De Santis

(Ryan joins at 1:08:00)

Actor and MMA practitioner Ryan Guzman closes the show by explaining why he has decided to train and compete in an amateur MMA bout despite having a successful acting career, explaining his pick for the main event of UFC 262, and reflecting on how his history as a fighter has impacted his acting and modeling career.

Spotify

#i haven't listened to peter or kenny's but i plan to!! #podcast #anon #answered #kenneth choi #peter krause #aisha hinds #ryan guzman

[baseicondumps]

1,876 base icons (100x100) of Aisha Hinds in season one of 911 have been added to my hollow-art account and can be downloaded in bulk from mega.nz. They may be edited as you wish and credit is not necessary, but a like or reblog would be appreciated!

#aisha hinds #aisha hinds icons #aisha hinds rp icons #base icons #rp resource blog #female

[beautifulfaces-icons-and-gifs]

Aisha Hinds on 9-1-1 Season 1

as Hen on 9-1-1 [S01|E01]

Information on beautifulfaces

Like or reblog.

#Aisha Hinds #icons: Aisha Hinds #Aisha Hinds icons #Aisha Hinds as hen #Aisha Hinds on 9 1 1 #Aisha Hinds 9 1 1 #9 1 1 #9 1 1 season 1 #9 1 1 season 1 episode 1 #9 1 1 s1 e1 #icons

[mellaithwen]

Oliver I love you but of course Miley Cyrus is known more as Hannah Montana (acting) than as a singer mate 😂

#obvs she’s both I know BUT HANNAH IS ICONIC???? #😂😂😂 #911 cast #Oliver stark #Aisha hinds #Peter Krause #jihane mrad

[bisexualbuckleyy]

911 season 4 be like COVID works hard but aisha hinds’s eyebrows work harder

#nobody does it like aisha hinds #her expressions are pure gold even with the mask #i mean all of them have iconic expressions aisha’s are just the best #911 #911 fox #hen wilson #aisha hinds

[one-eighteen]

we stan a fashion icon

#aisha hinds #911 cast #911onfox #henrietta wilson #shes so fricken gorgeous i cant even #do you know how hard it was to only pick 10 #so many iconic outfits tbh #i love her sm

[packscreenszx]

ɪᴄᴏɴs：9-1-1  ♡ ғᴀᴠ/ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢ ₊˚✧

#icons #icons with psd #with psd #twitter icons #maddie 9-1-1 #maddie 9-1-1 icons #Jennifer Love Hewitt #Jennifer Love Hewitt icons #athena 9-1-1 icons #athena 9-1-1 #Angela Bassett #Angela Bassett icons #henrietta 9-1-1 #henrietta 9-1-1 icons #9-1-1 #9-1-1 icons #Aisha Jamila Hinds #Aisha Jamila Hinds icons #tv show #actress

[aprilrph]

aisha hinds base icons.

under the cut is #124 base icons (100px) of aisha hinds from her role as henrietta wilson in 911, eps 1x01-1x05.  nothing has been done to them other than resizing and cropping.  you are more than welcome to edit,  add psds,  borders,  etc. as that is their intended purpose.  no need to credit me unless someone explicitly asks but please like/reblog if you find this to be useful!  the download can be found here.

if you like what i do,  consider buying me a coffee!

#aisha hinds #aisha hinds base icons #rph #icons #mine

[princessfbi]

They gif you reblogged of buck climbing the crane in the second gif you can see the subtel fear in his face when he thought he might have seen the sniper like olivers acting is just *chefs kiss*🤌🏼

The acting for everyone on this show is just SO strong! The fact that Oliver Stark is untrained and yet puts so much thought and intention into his acting is just phenomenal. The chemistry he and Jennifer Love Hewitt have is maybe one of the greatest things about this show and I would argue is maybe one of the best/luckiest casting choices Hollywood has ever made. The depth they have in scenes together is just so palpable. And we are so lucky to have someone like JLH who has been in this business long enough to want to take risks like saying she wants to be Chimney's girlfriend (because they even talk about it on the show about how Chimney isn't your typical leading man even though Kenny Choi is a goddamn snack!) Also how dare Kenny Choi not only be hysterical, hot, but then also give me heart palpations the moment he starts crying because I cannot! He's so good! And you can tell how much he and JLH love the Madney storyline. Everyone just knows their characters so intimately it's insane. And it's so natural! Like I don't think people realize how natural of a talent Ryan Guzman has. You don't get an agent and then a big budget film like Step Up just because you have a very pretty face. Even in some weaker parts of the writing you can see how much he understands Eddie on an emotional level.

That's not even talking about Aisha Hinds' fucking range. I mean Aisha's range is just.... endless. It's endless! The way you can just feel her emotions through the screen. When she's unabashedly joyful or when she's reining in her anger. And then there's Peter Krause who controls the intention of the scenes he's in like he's Poseidon himself and making the waves. The subtlest shifts of his calmness as Bobby to comedy to the grief that he always carries is just... UGH. And the way he connects to everyone so seamlessly!

Then I mean... Angela Bassett. Like that's it. Angela Bassett. She's. An. Icon. And. People. Will. Remember. Her. Name. For. Forever!

Everyone just gets their characters so well on this show and it kills me every time because you can see just how organic the chemistry is while also seeing and appreciating the choices that were made because they love them just as much as we do!

#ask #answered #anon #Oliver Stark #Jennifer Love Hewitt #Kenneth Choi #Ryan Guzman #Aisha Hinds #Peter Krause #Angela Bassett #911 on fox #acting talk #I love them

[brittapcrrys]

Fcs you would like to see more resources made for?

Indigenous / First Nations australians !

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers !

Jessica Mauboy

Miranda Tapsell

Rob Collins

Aaron Pedersen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack Charles (a gif maker may be releasing some in the future!)

Nakkiah Lui

Leah Purcell

Meyne Wyatt

Ursula Yovich

Jada Alberts

Tasma Walton

Steven Oliver

Wayne Blair

Ngaire Pigram

Aaron L. McGrath

Troy Cassar-Daley

Briggs

Christine Anu

Aaron Fa'aoso

Casey Donovan

Elaine Crombie

Elizabeth Wymarra

Bjorn Stewart

Madeleine Madden (specifically from Mystery Road S1 because idt she has anything from that yet? but im tired and could be wrong!!)

Lisa Flanagan

Shari Sebbens

Deborah Mailman in more of her vast number of screen roles

but then also

gifs for Yvette Nicole Brown RETRACTED: supported J*hnny D*pp

gifs for Danny Pudi

anything for Magda Szubanski!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RETRACTED: I learned abt a skit from the 90s (?) where she performed in bl*ckface

Howard Charles

Ser Anzoategui

Lolly Adefope

Dule Hill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mawaan Rizwan

Naomie Harris

Aisha Hinds

Pearl Mackie

Jane Fonda

Tara Moss (the ex-model turned author, speaker, host, advocate and activist) might be a tricky one to pull much recent-ish content for but i would love lvoe love, like, 12-24 gif icons of her to use as a mascot or something

and soooo many more, always, except right now bc of course when i ask for fc-related prompts so i can get my ideas down, my brain erases everything that’s been buzzing around in there aimlessly for god knows how long

#im not an rph YET so im not giving birth years or specific ethnic backgrounds where available im just naming themdfjghd #Anonymous #answered.

[crazybagelbitch]

anyway remember the day people were mad at me because i said aisha hinds wasn't a covid denier (she isn't) to people falsely calling her one and then someone sent maddie "why aren't you defending your tumblr bestie" as an anon in her inbox. truly an iconic day.

#point being i do not care

[tasksweekly]

[TASK 178: GRENADA]

There’s a masterlist below compiled of over 230+ Grenadian faceclaims categorised by gender with their occupation and ethnicity denoted if there was a reliable source. If you want an extra challenge use random.org to pick a random number! Of course everything listed below are just suggestions and you can pick whichever faceclaim or whichever project you desire.

Any questions can be sent here and all tutorials have been linked below the cut for ease of access! REMEMBER to tag your resources with #TASKSWEEKLY and we will reblog them onto the main! This task can be tagged with whatever you want but if you want us to see it please be sure that our tag is the first five tags, @ mention us or send us a messaging linking us to your post!

THE TASK - scroll down for FC’s!

STEP 1: Decide on a FC you wish to create resources for! You can always do more than one but who are you starting with? There are links to masterlists you can use in order to find them and if you want help, just send us a message and we can pick one for you at random!

STEP 2: Pick what you want to create! You can obviously do more than one thing, but what do you want to start off with? Screencaps, RP icons, GIF packs, masterlists, PNG’s, fancasts, alternative FC’s - LITERALLY anything you desire!

STEP 3: Look back on tasks that we have created previously for tutorials on the thing you are creating unless you have whatever it is you are doing mastered - then of course feel free to just get on and do it. :)

STEP 4: Upload and tag with #TASKSWEEKLY! If you didn’t use your own screencaps/images make sure to credit where you got them from as we will not reblog packs which do not credit caps or original gifs from the original maker.

THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR THIS TASK -  examples are linked!

Stumped for ideas? Maybe make a masterlist or graphic of your favourite faceclaims. A masterlist of names. Plot ideas or screencaps from a music video preformed by an artist. Masterlist of quotes and lyrics that can be used for starters, thread titles or tags. Guides on culture and customs.

Screencaps

RP icons [of all sizes]

Gif Pack [maybe gif icons if you wish]

PNG packs

Manips

Dash Icons

Character Aesthetics

PSD’s

XCF’s

Graphic Templates - can be chara header, promo, border or background PSD’s!

FC Masterlists - underused, with resources, without resources!

FC Help - could be related, family templates, alternatives.

Written Guides.

and whatever else you can think of / make!

MASTERLIST!

F:

Viktor Lazlo (1960) Grenadian / Martiniquan - singer.

Juliet Roberts (1962) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Sommore (1966) Grenadian, Trinidadian, Vincentian, Barbadian - comedian and actress. 

Nia Long (1970) Grenadian, Trinidadian, Vincentian, Barbadian - actress. 

Aisha Hinds (1975) Grenadian, African-American - actress. 

Jemeni / Joanne Gairy (1976) Afro-Grenadian - actress, singer, radio host, and writer. 

Destra Garcia (1978) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - singer.

Estelle / Estelle Fanta Swaray (1980) Afro-Grenadian / Senegalese - singer.

Fay-Ann Lyons (1980) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - soca recording artist and songwriter.

Ms. Dynamite / Niomi McLean-Daley (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Barbadian / Irish, Scottish, English, German - singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer. 

Amanda Seales (1981) Afro-Grenadian - comedian, actress, DJ, recording artist, VJ and author.

Shystie / Chanel Cali (1983) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian - actress and rapper-songwriter.

Kendra Westwood (1984) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - actress. 

Sydelle Noel (1985) Afro-Grenadian - actress. 

Tanisha Thomas (1985) Afro-Grenadian - reality television personality.

Nina Toussaint-White (1985) Afro-Grenadian / English - actress.

Annaliese Dayes (1986) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Saint Lucian, Afro-Barbadian, Afro-Vincentian / Afro-Jamaican - model, television personality, and presenter.

Vivian Burkhardt (1986) Afro-Grenadian / German - model and Miss Grenada 2007.

Sonika / Sonika Keturah Jermina Mckie (1988) Afro-Grenadian - singer. 

Rhonda J. Lowe (1987) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Sichelle / Sichelle Mcmeo Aksum (1988) Afro-Grenadian / Norwegian - singer.

Jourdan Dunn (1990) 7/8 Afro-Grenadian, 1/16 Afro-Jamaican, 1/16 Syrian - model.

Tammy Baldeo (1990) Afro-Grenadian - singer. 

Naomi Ackie (1992) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Kaia Kater (1993) Afro-Grenadian / Unknown - singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo player.

Yvette Noel-Schure (?) Afro-Grenadian - instagrammer. 

Riann Steele (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Tamara Ivey (?) Afro-Grenadian - host.

Aria Mary Francis (?) Afro-Grenadian - model. 

Sharlene Whyte (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress.

Leonie Haynes-Moses (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian, Afro-Jamaican - actress.

Eveina Lindsay (?) Afro-Grenadian - model.

Lorna Gee / Lorna Gayle (?) Afro-Grenadian - actress and singer.

Marina (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: guadagnoli).

Ziipporvh (?) Afro-Grenadian - instagrammer.

Adanna Dill (?) Afro-Grenadian - blogger.

Kered Clement (?) Afro-Grenadian - blogger.

Janel Sealy Smith (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - hair stylist and instagrammer. 

Samantha Francis Charles (?) Afro-Grenadian - model and Miss Grenada 2016 (instagram: awesambeauty).

Sophie Gabrielle (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: sophie.gabrielle_).

Ms BitterSweet (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Ghanian - model and poet (instagram: shespeaksbittersweet).

Natalie Evans (?) Grenadian - actress.

Thamara $ongbird St.Bernard (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Tamantha-Chole (?) Afro-Grenadian  - singer and model. 

Valene Nedd (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Nashanda Charles (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Laura Lisa (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

F - Athletes:

Joan Alexander-Serrano (1961) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Debbie-Ann Lewis (1969) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Neisha Bernard-Thomas (1981) Afro-Grenadian - middle-distance runner. 

Hazel-Ann Regis (1981) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter.

Kishara George (1983) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter.

Sherry Fletcher (1986) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Afy Fletcher (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Phylicia George (1987) Afro-Grenadian - track and field athlete and a bobsledder.

Perri Shakes-Drayton (1988) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter and hurdler.

Janelle Redhead (1989) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Akeira Peters (1993) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Candesha Scott (1997) Afro-Grenadian - javelin thrower. 

Meleni Rodney (1998) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Yazmeen Jamieson (1998) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican  - footballer.

Amanda Crawford (1999) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Halle Hazzard (1999) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Kenisha Pascal (?) Afro-Grenadian - middle and long distance runner.

Janice Francis (?) Afro-Grenadian - karateka.

M:

Allister Bain (1935) Afro-Grenadian - actor and playwright. 

Mighty Sparrow / Slinger Francisco (1935) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Alex Pascall (1937) Afro-Grenadian - musician, radio host, composer, and educator.

George Harris (1949) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Barbadian - actor.

Billy Ocean (1950) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - singer. 

Richardo Keens-Douglas (1953) Afro-Grenadian - actor and storyteller.

Superblue / Austin Lyons (1956) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] - calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.

Eamonn Walker (1962) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Trinidadian - actor.

Ajamu (1963) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Andy Abraham (1964) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Charles Andrew Payne (1966) Afro-Grenadian - actor, comedian, motivational speaker, and writer.

Kwame Kwei-Armah (1967) Afro-Grenadian [including Ghanaian] - actor, singer, radio host, and playwright.

Mark Monero (1968) Afro-Grenadian - actor and musician.

Finley Jeffrey (1969) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Steve McQueen (1969) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - director, producer, screenwriter, and video artist.

DJ Spoony / Johnathan Joseph (1970) Afro-Grenadian, Ghanaian - DJ, radio host, and producer.

Tallpree / Wilt Cambridge(1973) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Machel Montano (1974) Trinidadian [Afro-Grenadian] -  soca singer, actor, record producer and songwriter.

Noel Clarke (1975) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian, Afro-Vincentian, Akan Ghanian - actor.

Solitair / Sheldon Pitt (1975) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Hugh Maynard (1975) Afro-Grenadian - actor and singer.

Wyatt Cenac (1976) Afro-Grenadian, French / African-American - comedian, actor, producer, and writer.

Casey Benjamin (1978) Afro-Grenadian - saxophonist, vocoderist, keyboardist, producer and songwriter.

Craig David (1981) Afro-Grenadian / Polish Jewish, English - singer and rapper.

Brandon Jay McLaren (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian - actor. 

Akala / Kingslee James McLean Daley (1983) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Jamaican, Afro-Barbadian / Irish, Scottish, English, German - rapper and poet.

Otis / Kelvin Celestine (1983) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Sandman (1983) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Ghetts / Justin Clarke (1984) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - rapper.

Mr. Killa (1984) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

Hollice Mapp / Mr.Killa (1984) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Never Yet Contested / Joshua Solomon Jeremiah Jordan (1987) Afro-Grenadian, Guyanese - rapper.

Kevin Olusola (1988) Afro-Grenadian / Nigerian - musician, beatboxer, cellist, rapper, record producer, singer, and songwriter.

Marcus Collins (1988) Afro-Grenadian - singer-songwriter.

DJ Puffy / Andre Parris (1991) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Barbadian - DJ.

Akheim Allen (1992) Afro-Grenadian - rapper.

Joivan Wade (1993) Afro-Grenadian - actor.

Sparkie B (1994) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Jabari Manwa (1995) Afro-Grenadian - rapper and producer.

Kirk Knight (1995) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Antiguan - record producer, rapper and member of Pro Era.

Dane Baptiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - actor, comedian, and writer.

GAIKA / Gaika Tavares (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - rapper-songwriter and singer.

Roland Gilbert (?) Afro-Grenadian - DJ and photographer (instagram: rcgmediavision).

King Kayak (?) Afro-Grenadian - dancer (instagram: imkingkayak). 

Happy Boy (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer (instagram: happyboy_the_artiste).

Tedi (?) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - singer (instagram: tedismoove).

Antwan (?) Afro-Grenadian - model (instagram: kingtwan5).

Vemedy (?) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Guyanese - singer (instagram: vemedymusic).

Dollarman (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer and musician. 

Mike Shaft (?) Afro-Grenadian - radio host.

David Emmanuel (?) Afro-Grenadian - musician. 

Jeverson Ramirez (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Boyzie (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Lavaman / Marcus James (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Brother B (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Kellon Ogiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Kelson Ogiste (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Shortpree / Finber Andrews (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Smokey / Arthur Stephen (?) Afro-Grenadian - musician.

Beast / Raymond Matthew (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Inspector / Elimus Gillbert (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Berbice (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Donnell Best (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Josh Berkeley (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Coxilus Naptaly (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

African Teller (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

A#keem (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

Mr. Grenada / Corkit / Alwyn Christopher Harriman (?) Afro-Grenadian - singer.

M - Athletes:

Bruce Man-Son-Hing (1964) Grenadian [Chinese] - tennis player. 

Mark Felix (1966) Afro-Grenadian - strongman competitor.

Otis Roberts (1968) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Junior Murray (1968) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Rawl Lewis (1974) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Desmond Noel (1974) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Anthony Modeste (1975) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Ricky Charles (1975) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Patrick Modeste (1976) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Alleyne Francique (1976) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Etan Thomas (1978) Afro-Grenadian - basketball player.

Gareth Raynor (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Randy Lewis (1978) Afro-Grenadian - triple jumper. 

Shalrie Joseph (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Jason Roberts (1978) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Tony Bedeau (1979) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Dwane Lee (1979) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Delroy Facey (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Cassim Langaigne (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Alvin Bubb (1980) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Camilus Alexander (1981) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer.

Byron Bubb (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Leon Johnson (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Andre Winner (1981) Afro-Grenadian / British - mixed martial artist.

Craig Rocastle (1981) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Shaun Wright-Phillips (1981) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Devon Smith (1981) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer.

Ashley Sestanovich (1981) Afro-Grenadian / Croatian - footballer.

Jason James (1982) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Kithson Bain (1982) Afro-Grenadian - footballer. 

Rolande Moses (1983) Afro-Grenadian - boxer and weightlifter. 

Alleyne Lett (1983) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Jermaine Beckford (1983) Afro-Grenadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Akim Williams (1984) Afro-Grenadian - bodybuilder.

Lewis Hamilton (1985) Afro-Grenadian / English, distant Jersey and Guernsey Channel Islander - race car driver.

Bradley Wright-Phillips (1985) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Trinidadian / Afro-Jamaican - footballer.

Ryan Atkins (1985) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player.

Kennedy Hinkson (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Marcus Julien (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

James DeGale (1986) Afro-Grenadian / English - boxer.

Cameron Jerome (1986) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Nelon Pascal (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Darius Charles (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Andre Fletcher (1987) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Kwasi Paul (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Tyrone Sterling (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jaime Peters (1987) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ricky Modeste (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kurt Felix (1988) Afro-Grenadian - javelin thrower.

Jermaine McGlashan (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Bradley Bubb (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jermaine McGillvary (1988) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player.

Anthony Straker (1988) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Leroy Cudjoe (1988) Afro-Grenadian / English - footballer.

Rondell Bartholomew (1990) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Esau Simpson (1990) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Davier Walcott (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jason Belfon (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Elliott Charles (1990) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Omar Beckles (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Jonathan Joseph (1991) Carriacouan Grenadian - rugby player.

Antonio German (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Nathaniel Clyne (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Rimmel Daniel (1991) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kellon Alexis (1992) Afro-Grenadian - thrower.

Bralon Taplin (1992) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Nicolas Hamilton (1992) Afro-Grenadian / English, distant Jersey and Guernsey Channel Islander - race car driver.

Oliver Norburn (1992) 1/4 Afro-Grenadian, 3/4 English - footballer.

Kirani James (1992) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Reuben Noble-Lazarus (1993) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Payton Hazzard (1993) Afro-Grenadian - sprinter. 

Tarik Phillip (1993) Afro-Grenadian / English - basketball player. 

Aaron Pierre (1993) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Lindon Victor (1993) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Myles Hippolyte (1994) Afro-Grenadian, Afro-Saint Lucian, English - footballer.

Preston McSween (1995) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Jamal Charles (1995) Afro-Grenadian - rugby player. 

Alexander McQueen (1995) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Shavon John-Brown (1995) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ethan Francois-Ravalier (1996) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

A. J. Paterson (1996) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Anderson Peters (1997) Afro-Grenadian - decathlete.

Hamza Choudhury (1997) Afro-Grenadian / Sylheti Bangladeshi - footballer.

Corey Ollivierre (1997) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Saydrel Lewis (1997) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Roland Cato (1997) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Kairo Mitchell (1997) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Oreoluwa Cherebin (1997) Afro-Grenadian - swimmer. 

Josh Boateng (1997) Afro-Grenadian - discus and shot put.

Shandon Baptiste (1998) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Ro-Shaun Williams (1998) Afro-Grenadian / English - footballer.

Emmanuel Stewart (1999) Afro-Grenadian - cricketer. 

Ricky German (1999) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Kraig Noel-McLeod (1999) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Bernard Wilson (?) Afro-Grenadian - boxer. 

Marcus Douglas (?) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Danny Facey (?) Afro-Grenadian - footballer.

Problematic:

Dave Chappelle (1973) African-American [including Ivorian], ¼ Afro-Grenadian - stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer - Transphobic and victim-blaming statements.

Ronda Rousey (1987) English, 1/4 Trinidadian and Grenadian [including African, Spanish, and English], 1/16th Polish, as well as German, Scottish, distant Dutch - professional wrestler, actress, author - Transphobic statements.

#grenadian fc #poc fc #rph #fc list #underused fc #task: 178 #task: grenada

[grigori77]

Summer 2019′s Movies - My Top Ten Favourite Films (Part 2)

The Top Ten:

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You WILL NOT find It Chapter 2 here, but that does not mean it isn’t awesome.  I saw it AFTER I had sompleted this but while it was still editing.,  Technically it’s part of the Autumn/Winter period anyway, opening as it did in September.  Undoubtedly look out for it at the end of the year when I post my Top 30 for the year.

10.  CAPTIVE STATE – WAY back in 2011, Rupert Wyatt followed up his impressive directorial debut The Escapist with an even more astounding show helming sci-fi franchise reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I knew here was a talent it was definitely gonna be worth my while to watch in future.  Then the years ticked by and he spectacularly failed to follow it up, and I began to think he might become one of those frustrating auteur talents that explode onto the scene, wow us with their wares and then just STOP, like Donnie Darko’s Ryan Kelly or Blade’s Stephen Norrington.  I was just about to give up hope when Wyatt returned with this dark and troubling skewed take on the alien invasion trope, but now, perversely, this film’s failing fortunes make me think his career might just take a swan dive after all, and as far as I’m concerned, on the evidence of the final film, that would be a crying shame.  Instead of telling the story of how the Earth falls to the conquering might of invading alien forces, Captive State concentrates on what happens after, focusing on a humanity stagnating under the thumb of an all-powerful occupying force, the collaborating police force that maintains discipline on the populace through tagging and intrusive surveillance, and the deep cover resistance movement that’s built up in the eight years since “The Legislators” took over.  The main narrative focus of the story is Gabriel Drummond (Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders), a downtrodden Chicago youth working a menial job but dreaming of getting out with his pregnant girlfriend, who discovers a tentative connection to the underground resistance when his brother Rafe (White Boy Rick’s Jonathan Majors), whom he previously thought was dead, re-enters his life with a desperate request.  Unfortunately Gabriel has also come to the attention of local cop Will Mulligan (John Goodman), who’s looking to use this connection to finally penetrate the “dangerous terrorist element” his office has been working for years to eradicate.  This is about as far from the classical invasion action territory of films like Independence Day, Skyline or even Signs as you can get, playing out much more like a World War 2 occupation thriller, and this is, in my opinion, one of its great strengths – there’s a palpable, knife-edged tension throughout, Wyatt cranking up the suspense as each new plot development ups the stakes for all involved, and when that tension does eventually break it does so in suitably explosive style, leading to some taut and harrowing set-pieces, while the director and his co-writer Erica Beeney pull off some impressive twists and skilful rug-pulls that consistently surprise.  Indeed, this is one of the most skilfully written pieces of science fiction I’ve come across for a good while, brimming with big ideas and asking some suitably challenging questions throughout, before finally paying off our patience with a suitably powerful climax.  It’s also extremely well-performed by a uniformly impressive ensemble cast – Goodman offers a performance of cool subtlety that proves the equal to much of his showier work on hits like 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Big Lebowski, while Sanders and Majors are both exceptional in what should have been major breakthrough roles that really built on their already impressive debuts, and there’s quality support from the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Vera Farmiga, Alan Ruck, Kevin Dunn and Madeline Brewer.  This is DEFINITELY one of the most robust and challenging pieces of scif-fi cinema I’ve seen this decade, and it certainly does deserve a lot more attention and appreciation than it’s received – it essentially bombed on its long-delayed release and suffered from painfully mixed, sometimes quite negative reviews, and I genuinely don’t understand either.  This is an EXCELLENT film, and it’s a strong indicator of just what a great talent Rupert Wyatt is – I just have to hope this hasn’t ruined his chances for the future, because I couldn’t bear seeing him pull an undeserved vanishing act like so many others …

9.  GODZILLA: KING OF MONSTERS – back in 2014, rising star director Gareth Edwards (already one-to-watch thanks to the sleeper hit success of his debut Monsters) proved he wasn’t going to be a one-hit-wonder when he aced his first major studio gig, reinventing Japanese superstar property Godzilla for western audiences and EFFORTLESSLY wiping out the appalling stigma of Roland Emmerich’s underwhelming previous attempt (needless to say he was then a no-brainer to helm the first Star Wars spinoff movie, Rogue One, but that’s another, even more awesome story). Suffice to say, the Big G’s name was good in western cinema again, and Legendary Pictures swiftly put their planned Monsterverse franchise into action, building on this solid foundation with a similarly stylish “prequel” in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, with a showdown between the two screen icons intended further down the line.  The next major hurdle, however, was this super-important follow-up, intended to get all the gears turning – if THIS ONE flunked, the Monsterverse would take a massive nosedive.  Did it pull it off?  Not quite … turns out this one’s not looking likely to scrape even on its massive investment, never mind make a profit, but that sure ain’t for lack of trying. Sure, the plot’s a bit of a far-fetched muddle and, as with its predecessor, the human characters are drawn in broad strokes and somewhat lacking in real spark, but the spectacle’s still there in spades and besides, the REAL selling point of these movies has always been their more gigantic characters.  Godzilla’s just as much of a colossal badass as he was in the first film, still a skyscraper-high bruiser with a moody mean streak and some suitably apocalyptic bad breath, but ultimately just the kind of monumental reptile you want on your side in a cataclysmic scrap, and he’s sure got his work cut out for him with one serious collection of similarly massive monsters crawling out of the woodwork (or, in this case, compromised secure black sites controlled by covert Titan management organisation Monarch) – they’re a colourful bunch, from returning nasty Muto to newcomers Rodan and, particularly memorable, the beautiful but deadly Mothra, and most of them are heeding the call of the film’s TRUE scene stealer, triple-headed rival alpha Titan King Ghidorah, who is in every way a genuinely viable nemesis for the Big G himself.  Needless to say, the BIG stars are presented without compromise throughout, as gargantuan and terrifying as their reputations make them out to be, and whenever they’re on screen it just lights up, the visual effects budget working overtime and all the money’s up there on the screen, while the property damage quota shoots through the roof in suitably pulse-racing style … and yet again, the human story does kind of get buried in the fallout.  Not that they’re a completely unmemorable lot – it’s great to see Ken Watanabe return as elegantly noble Monarch honcho Dr Ishiro Serazawa, along with his assistant Dr Vivienne Graham (another winning turn from Sally Hawkins), and the rest of Monarch gets much stronger representation this time round as we’re introduced to a crew that includes Bradley Whitford, Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) and Aisha Hinds, while there’s a typically classy bad guy turn from Charles Dance as Alan Jonah, the amoral ex-soldier leading an eco-terrorist group who (for baffling reasons) want to awaken all the Titans at once so they can fight for supremacy.  The main narrative focus, however, is on the fractured family unit of former Monarch specialist Dr Mark Russell (Super 8’s Kyle Chandler) and his fellow scientist wife Emma and daughter Madison (Vera Farmiga and Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown), who have both been kidnapped by Jonah, a story that’s contrived and clumsily written, shot through with plot-holes when the twists aren’t painfully telegraphed ahead of time, and Brown barely gets ANYTHING to do other than be scared or stubborn, but they still give it their all and, since they’re all great actors, they largely win out against the writing.  This certainly isn’t the best movie released this year, definitely leaning more towards the guilty pleasure category, but there’s more than enough good here to outweigh the bad, so this is definitely one of those wonderful movies where you get PLENTY out of it if you just sit back and GO WITH IT.  It’s certainly got a strong director and co-writer in Michael Dougherty, who cut his teeth working for Bryan Singer on X2 and Superman Returns (which was similarly flawed, but still enjoyable in its own right) before making his big break behind the camera on Krampus, and for all its clunkiness it wins you over with its big-wow factor, can-do attitude and industrial-sized bucket-loads of heart and emotional heft, as well as a particularly cracking score from Bear McCreary, one of the most deservedly well respected composers working on both the big and small screens today, so in spite of the flaws this still deserves to be counted as a pretty rousing success.  Thankfully Godzilla Vs. King Kong is still greenlit and scheduled to arrive next spring, so there’s still life in the old lizards yet – long live the King indeed.

8.  DARK PHOENIX – wow, this really has been a summer for mistreated sequels, hasn’t it? There’s a seriously stinky cloud of controversy surrounding what is now, in light of recent developments between Disney and Twentieth Century Fox, all but QUARANTEED to be the last true Singer-era X-Men movie, a film which saw two mooted release dates (first November 2018 then this February, before finally limping onto screens with very little fanfare in June, almost as if Fox wanted to bury it.  Certainly rumours of its compromise were rife, particularly regarding supposed rushed reshoots because of clashing similarities with Marvel’s major tent-pole release Captain Marvel (and given the all-conquering nature of the MCU there was no way they were having that, was there?), so like many I was expecting a clunky mess, maybe even a true stinker to rival X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  In truth, while it’s not perfect, the end result is nothing like the turd we all feared – the final film is, in fact, largely a success, worthy of favourable comparison with its stronger predecessors.  It certainly makes much needed amends for the disappointing mismanagement of the source comics’ legendary Dark Phoenix saga in 2006’s decidedly compromised original X-Men trilogy capper The Last Stand, treating the story with the due reverence and respect it deserves as well as serving as a suitably powerful send-off for more than one beloved key character.  Following the “rebooted” path of the post-Days of Future Past timeline, it’s now 1992, and after the world-changing events of Apocalypse the X-Men have now become a respected superhero team with legions of fans and their own personal line to the White House, while mutants at large have now mostly become accepted by the regular humans around them.  Then a hastily planned mission into space takes a turn for the worst and Jean Grey (Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner) winds up absorbing an immensely powerful, thoroughly inexplicable cosmic force that makes her go powers haywire while also knocking loose repressed childhood traumas Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) would rather had stayed buried, sending her on a dangerous spiral out of control which leads to a destructive confrontation and the inadvertent death of a teammate. Needless to the situation soon becomes desperate as Jean goes on the run and the world starts to turn against them all once again … all in all, then, it’s business as usual for the cast and crew of one of Fox’s flagship franchises, and it SHOULD have gone off without a hitch. When Bryan Singer opted not to return this time around (instead setting his sights on Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody), key series writer Simon Kinberg stepped into the breach for his directorial debut, and it turns out he’s got a real talent for it, giving us just the kind of robust, pacy, thrilling action-packed epic his compatriot would have delivered, filled with the same thumping great set-pieces (the final act’s stirring, protracted train battle is the unequivocal highlight here), well-observed character beats and emotional resonance we’ve come to expect from the series as a whole (then again, he does know these movies back to frond having at least co-written his fair share). The cast, similarly, are all on top form – McAvoy and Michael Fassbender (as fan favourite Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto) know their roles so well now they can do this stuff in their sleep, but we still get to see them explore interesting new facets of their characters (particularly McAvoy, who gets to reveal an intriguing dark side to the Professor we’ve only ever seen hinted at before now), while Turner finally gets to really breathe in a role which felt a little stiff and underexplored in her series debut in Apocalypse (she EASILY forges the requisite connective tissue to Famke Janssen’s more mature and assured take in the earlier films); conversely Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) and Evan Peters (Quicksilver) get somewhat short shrift but nonetheless do A LOT with what little they have, and at least Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult still get to do plenty of dramatic heavy lifting as the last of Xavier’s original class, Raven (Mystique) and Hank McCoy (Beast); the only real weak link in the cast is the villain, Vuk, a shape-shifting alien whose quest to seize the power Jean’s appropriated is murkily defined at best, but at least Jessica Chastain manages to invest her with enough icy menace to keep things from getting boring.  All in all, then, this is very much a case of business as usual, Kinberg and co keeping the action thundering along at a suitably cracking pace throughout (powered by a typically epic score from Hans Zimmer), and the film only really comes off the rails in its final moments, when that aforementioned train finally comes off its tracks and the reported reshoots must surely kick in – as a result this is, to me, most reminiscent of previous X-flick The Wolverine, which was a rousing success for the majority of its runtime, only coming apart in its finale thanks to that bloody ridiculous robot samurai. The climax is, therefore, a disappointment, too clunky and sudden and overly neat in its denouement (and we really could have done with a proper examination of the larger social impact of these events), but it’s little enough that it doesn’t spoil what came before … which just makes the film’s mismanagement and resulting failure, as well as its subsequent treatment from critics and fans alike, all the more frustrating. This film deserved much better, but ultimately looks set to be disowned and glossed over by most of the fanbase as the property as a whole goes through the inevitable overhaul now that Disney/Marvel owns Fox and plans to bring the X-Men and their fellow mutants into the MCU fold.  I feel genuinely sorry for the one remaining X-film, The New Mutants, which is surely destined for spectacular failure after its similarly shoddy round of reschedules finally comes to an end next summer …

7.  FAST COLOR – intriguingly, the most INTERESTING superhero movie I’ve encountered so far this year is NOT a major franchise property, or even a comic book adapted to the screen at all, but a wholly original indie which snuck in very much under the radar on its release but is surely destined for cult greatness in the future, not least due to some much-deserved critical acclaim.  Set in an unspecified future where it hasn’t rained for years, a homeless vagabond named Ruth (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is making her aimless way across a desolate American Midwest, tormented by violent seizures which cause strange localised earthquakes, and hunted by Bill (Argo’s Christopher Denham), a rogue scientist who wants to capture her so he can study her abilities.  Ultimately she’s left with no other recourse than to run home, sheltering with her mother Bo (Middle of Nowhere and Orange is the New Black’s Lorraine Toussaint), and her young daughter Lila (The Passage’s Saniyya Sidney), both of whom also have weird and wondrous powers of their own.  As the estranged family reconnect, Ruth finally learns to control her powers as she’s forced to confront her own troubled past, but as Bill closes in it looks like their idyll might be short-lived … this might only be the second feature of writer-director Julie Hart (who cut her teeth penning well-regarded indie western The Keeping Room before making her own debut helming South By Southwest Film Festival hit Miss Stevens), but it’s a blinding statement of intent for the future, a deceptively understated thing of beauty that eschews classic superhero cinema conventions of big spectacle and rousing action in favour of a quiet, introspective character-driven story where the unveiling and exploration of Ruth and her kin’s abilities are secondary to the examination of how their familial dynamics work (or often DON’T), while Hart and cinematographer Michael Fimognari (probably best known for his frequent work for Mike Flanagan, including forthcoming Stephen King horror Doctor Sleep) bring a ruined but bleakly beautiful future to life through inventively understated production design and sweeping, dramatic vistas largely devoid of visual effects.  Subtlety is the watchword, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t fireworks here, it’s just that they’re generally performance-based – awards-darling Mbatha-Raw (Belle) gives a raw, heartfelt performance, painting Rith in vivid shades of grey, while Toussaint is restrained but powerfully memorable and Sidney builds on her already memorable work to deliver what might be her best turn to date, and there are strong supporting turns from Denham (who makes his nominal villain surprisingly sympathetic) and Hollywood great David Strathairn as gentle small town sheriff Ellis.  Leisurely paced and understated it may be, but this is still an incendiary piece of work, sure to become a breakout sleeper hit for a filmmaking talent from whom I expect GREAT THINGS in the future, and since the story’s been picked up for expansion into a TV series with Hart at in charge that looks like a no-brainer.  And it most assuredly IS a bona fide superhero movie, despite appearances to the contrary …

6.  ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD – since his explosion onto the scene twenty-seven years ago with his runaway smash debut Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most important filmmakers of his generation, a true master of the cinematic art form who consistently delivers moving picture masterpieces that thrill, entertain, challenge and amuse audiences worldwide … at least those who can stomach his love of unswerving violence, naughty talk and morally bankrupt antiheroes and despicably brutal villains who are often little more than a shade different from one another.  Time has moved on, though, and while he’s undoubtedly been one of the biggest influences on the way cinema has changed over the past quarter century, there are times now that it’s starting to feel like the scene is moving on in favour of younger, fresher blood with their own ideas.   I think Tarantino can sense this himself, because he recently made a powerful statement – after he’s made his tenth film, he plans to retire.  Given that OUATIH is his NINTH film, that deadline is already looming, and we unashamed FANS of his films are understandably aghast over this turn of events.  Thankfully he remains as uncompromisingly awesome a writer-director as ever, delivering another gold standard five-star flick which is also most definitely his most PERSONAL work to date, quite simply down to the fact that it’s a film ABOUT film. Sure, it has a plot (of sorts, anyway), revolving around the slow decline of the career of former TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo Dicaprio), who languishes in increasing anonymity in Hollywood circa 1969 as his former western hero image is being slowly eroded by an increasingly hacky workload guest-starring on various syndicated shows as a succession of punching-bag heavies for the hero to wale on, while his only real friend is his one-time stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a former WW2 hero with a decidedly tarnished reputation of his own; meanwhile new neighbours have moved in next door to further distract him – hot-as-shit young director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha), riding high on the success of Rosemary’s Baby, and his new wife Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). Certainly this all drives the film, along with real-life events that involving one of the darkest crimes in modern American history, but a lot of the time the plot is largely coincidental – Quentin uses it as a springboard to wax lyrical about his very favourite subject and pay loving (if sometimes irreverently satirical) tribute to the very business he’s been indulging in with such great success since 1992.  Sure, it’s also about “Helter Skelter” and the long shadow cast by Charles Manson and his band of murderous misfits, but these are largely incidental, as we’re treated to long, entertaining interludes as we follow Rick on a shoot as the bad guy in the pilot for the Lancer TV series, visit the notorious Spahn Ranch with Cliff as he’s unwittingly drawn into the lion’s den of the deadly Manson Family, join Robbie’s Tate as she watches “herself” in The Wrecking Crew, and enjoy a brilliant montage in which we follow Rick’s adventures in Spaghetti westerns (and Eurospy cinema) after he’s offered a chance to change his flagging fortunes, before the film finally builds to a seemingly inevitable, fateful conclusion that Tarantino then, in sneakily OTT Inglourious Basterds style, mischievously turns on its head with a devilish game of “What If”.  The results are a thoroughly engrossing and endlessly entertaining romp through the seedier side of Hollywood and a brilliant warts-and-all examination of the craft’s inner workings that, interestingly, reveals as much about the Business today as it does about how it was way back into Golden Age the film portrays, all while delivering bucket-loads of QT’s trademark cool, swagger, idiosyncratic genius and to-die-for dialogue and character-work, and, of course, a typically exceptional all-star cast firing on all cylinders.  Dicaprio and Pitt are both spectacular (Brad is endearingly taciturn, playing it wonderfully close to the vest throughout, while Leo is simply ON FIRE, delivering a mercurial performance EASILY on a par with his work on Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street – could this be good enough to snag him a second Oscar?), while Robbie consistently endears us to Tate as she EFFORTLESSLY brings the fallen star back to life, and there’s an incredible string of amazing supporting turns from established talent and up-and-comers alike, from Kurt Russell, Al Pacino and a very spiky Bruce Dern to Mike Moh (in a FLAWLESS take on Bruce Lee), Margaret Qualley, Austin Butler and in particular Julia Butters as precocious child star Trudi Fraser.  Packed with winning references, homages, pastiches and ingenious little in-jokes, handled with UTMOST respect for the true life subjects at all times and shot all the way through with his characteristic flair and quirky, deliciously dark sense of humour, this is cinema very much of the Old School, and EVERY INCH a Tarantino flick.  With only one more film to go the implied end of his career seems much too close, but if he delivers one more like this he’ll leave behind a legacy that ANY filmmaker would be proud of.

5.  CRAWL – summer 2019’s runner-up horror offering marks a rousing return to form for a genre talent who’s FINALLY delivered on the impressive promise of his early work – Alexandre Aja made a startling debut with Switchblade Romance, which led to his big break helming the cracking remake of slasher stalwart The Hills Have Eyes, but then he went SPECTACULARLY off the rails when he made the truly abysmal Piranha 3D, which I wholeheartedly regard as one of THE VERY WORST FILMS EVER MADE IN ALL OF HISTORY.  He took a big step back in the right direction with the admittedly flawed but ultimately enjoyable and evocative Horns (based on the novel by Stephen King’s son Joe Hill), but it’s with this stripped back, super-tight man-against-nature survival horror that the Aja of old has TRULY returned to us.  IN SPADES.  Seriously, I personally think this is his best film to date – there’s no fat on it at all, going from a simple set-up STRAIGHT into a precision-crafted exercise in sustained tension that relentlessly grips right up to the end credits. The film is largely just a two-hander – Maze Runner star Kaya Scodelario plays Haley Keller, a Florida college student and star swimmer who ventures into the heart of a Category 5 hurricane to make sure her estranged father, Dave (Saving Private Ryan’s Barry Pepper), is okay after he drops off the grid.  Finding their old family home in a state of disrepair and slowly flooding, she does a last minute check of the crawl-space underneath, only to discover her father badly wounded and a couple of hungry alligators stalking the dark, cramped, claustrophobic confines.  With the flood waters rising and communications cut off, Haley and Dave must use every reserve of strength, ingenuity and survival instinct to keep each other alive in the face of increasingly daunting odds … even with a premise this simple, there was plenty of potential for this to become an overblown, clunky mess in the wrong hands (a la Snakes On a Plane), so it’s a genuinely great thing that Aja really is back at the height of his powers, milking every fraught and suspenseful set-piece to its last drop of exquisite piano-wire tension and putting his actors through hell without a reprieve in sight.  Thankfully it’s not JUST about scares and atmosphere, though – there’s a genuinely strong family drama at the heart of the story that helps us invest in these two, Scodelario delivering a phenomenally complex performance as she peels back Haley’s layers, from stubborn pedant, through vulnerable child of divorce, to ironclad born survivor, while reconnecting with her emotionally raw, repentantly open father, played with genuine naked intensity in a career best turn from Pepper.  Their chemistry is INCREDIBLY strong, making every scene a joy even as it works your nerves and tugs on your heartstrings, and as a result you DESPERATELY want to see them make it out in one piece.  Not that Aja makes it easy for them – the gators are an impressively palpable threat, proper scary beasties even if they are largely (admittedly impressively executed) digital effects, while the storm is almost a third character in itself, becoming as much of an elemental nemesis as its scaly co-stars.  Blessedly brief (just 87 minutes!) and with every second wrung out for maximum impact, this is survival horror at its most brutally, simplistically effective, a deliciously vicious, primal chill-ride that thoroughly rewards from start to finish.  Welcome back, Mr Aja.  We’ve missed you.

4.  BRIGHTBURN – torpedoing Crawl right out of the water is this refreshing, revisionist superhero movie that takes one of the most classic mythologies in the genre and turns it on its head with TERRIFYING results. The basic premise is an absolute blinder – what if, when he crashed in small-town America as a baby, Superman had turned out to be a bad seed?  Unsurprising, then, that it came from James Gunn, who here produces a screenplay by his brother and cousin Brian and Mark (best known for penning the likes of Journey 2: the Mysterious Island, but nobody’s perfect) and the directorial big break of his old mate David Yarovesky (whose only previous feature is obscure sci-fi horror The Hive) – Gunn is, of course, an old pro at taking classic comic book tropes and creating something completely new with them, having previously done so with HUGE success on cult indie black comedy Super and, in particular, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and his fingerprints are ALL OVER this one too.  The Hunger Games’ Elizabeth Banks (who starred in Gunn’s own directorial debut Slither) and David Denman (The Office) are Tori and Kyle Breyer, a farming couple living in Brightburn, Kansas, who are trying for a baby when a mysterious pod falls from the sky onto their land, containing an infant boy.  As you’d expect, they adopt him, determined to keep his origin a secret, and for the first twelve of his life all seems perfectly fine – Brandon’s growing up into an intelligent, artistic child who loves his family.  Then his powers manifest and he starts to change – not just physically (he’s impervious to harm, incredibly strong, has laser eyes and the ability to disrupt electronic devices … oh, and he can fly, too), but also in personality, as he becomes cold, distant, even cruel as he begins to demonstrate some seriously sociopathic tendencies.  As his parents begin to fear what he’s becoming, things begin to spiral out of control and people start to disappear or turn up brutally murdered, and it becomes clear that Brandon might actually be something out of a nightmare … needless to say this is superhero cinema as full-on horror, Brandon’s proclivities leading to some proper nasty moments once he really starts to cut loose, and there’s no mistaking this future super for one of the good guys – he pulverises bones, shatters faces and melts skulls with nary a twitch, just the tiniest hint of a smile.  It’s an astonishing performance from newcomer Jackson A. Dunn, who perfectly captures the nuanced subtleties as Brandon goes from happy child to lethal psychopath, clearly demonstrating that he’s gonna be an incredible talent in future; the two grown leads, meanwhile, are both excellent, Denman growing increasingly haunted and exasperated as he tries to prove his own son is a wrong ‘un, while Banks has rarely been better, perfectly embodying a mother desperately clinging to the idea that her son is innocent no matter how compelling the evidence becomes, and there’s quality support from Breaking Bad’s Matt Jones and Search Party’s Meredith Hagner as Brandon’s aunt and uncle, Noah and Meredith, and Becky Wahlstrom the mother of one of his school-friends, who seems to see him for what he is right from the start.  Dark, suspenseful and genuinely nasty, this is definitely not your typical superhero movie, often playing like Kick-Ass’ even more twisted cousin, and there are times when it displays some of the same edgy, black-hearted sense of humour, too.  In other words, it’s all very James Gunn.  It’s one sweet piece of work, everyone involved showing real skill and devotion, and Yarovesky in particular proves he’ll definitely be one-to-watch in the future.  There are already plans for a potential sequel, and given where this particular little superhero universe seems to be heading I think it could be something pretty special, so fair to say I can’t wait.

3.  FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS HOBBS & SHAW – it’s official, this summer’s most OTT movie is THE MOST FUN I’ve had at the cinema so far this year, a genuinely batshit crazy, pure bonkers rollercoaster ride of a film I just couldn’t get enough of, truly the perfect sum of all its baffling parts.  The Fast & Furious franchise has always revelled in its extremes, as subtle as a brick and very much playing to the blockbuster, popcorn movie crowd right from the start, but it wasn’t until Fate of the Furious (yup, ridiculous title, says it all) that it really started to play to the inherent ridiculousness of its overall setup, paving the way for this first crack at a new spin-off series for the post Vin Diesel years.  Needless to say this one has fully embraced the sheer ludicrousness, and director David Leitch is the perfect choice to shepherd it into the future, having previously mastered OTT action through John Wick and Atomic Blonde before helming manic screwball comedy Deadpool 2, which certainly is the strongest comparison point here – Hobbs & Shaw is every bit as loud, violent, chaotic and thoroughly irreverent, definitely playing up the inherent comic potential at the core of the material as he cranks up the humour. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham take centre stage now as, respectively, DSS agent Luke Hobbs and former SAS black operative Deckard Shaw, the ultimate action movie odd couple once again forced to work together to foil the bad guy and save the world from a potentially cataclysmic disaster.  Specifically Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a self-proclaimed “black superman” enhanced with cybernetic implants and genetic manipulation to turn him into the ultimate warrior, who plans to use a lethal designer supervirus to eradicate half of humanity (as supervillains tend to do), but there’s one small flaw in his plan – the virus has been stolen by Hattie Shaw (Mission: Impossible – Fallout’s Vanessa Kirby), a rogue MI6 agent who also happens to be Deckard’s sister.  Got all that?  Yup, the movie really is as mad as it sounds, but that’s very much part of the charm – there’s an enormous amount of fun to be had in just giving in and going along with the madness of it all, as Hobbs and the two Shaws bounce from one over-the-top, ludicrously destructive set-piece to the next, kicking plenty of arse along the way when they’re not jumping out of tall buildings or driving fast cars at ludicrous speeds in heavy traffic, and when they’re not doing that they’re bickering with enthusiasm, each exchange crackling with exquisite hate-hate chemistry and liberally laced with hilarious dialogue delivered with gleeful, fervent venom (turns out there’s few things so enjoyable a watching Johnson and Statham verbally rip each other a new one), and the two action cinema heavyweights have never been better than they are here, each bringing the very best performances of their respective careers out of each other as they vacillate, while Kirby holds her own with consummate skill that goes to show she’s got a bright future of her own.  As for Idris Elba, the one-time potential future Bond deserves to be remembered as one of the all-time great screen villains ever, investing Brixton with the perfect combination of arrogant swagger and lethal menace to steal every scene he’s in while simultaneously proving he can be just as big a badass in the action stakes; Leitch also scatters a selection of familiar faces from his previous movies throughout a solid supporting cast which also includes the likes of Fear the Walking Dead’s Cliff Curtis, From Dusk Till Dawn’s Eiza Gonzalez and Helen Mirren (who returns as Deckard and Hattie’s mum Queenie Shaw), while there’s more than one genuinely brilliant surprise cameo to enjoy.  As we’ve come to expect, the action sequences are MASSIVE, powered by nitrous oxide and high octane as property is demolished and vehicles are driven with reckless abandon when our protagonists aren’t engaged bruising, bone-crunching fights choreographed with all the flawless skill you’d expect from a director who used to be a professional stuntman, but this time round the biggest fun comes from the downtime, as the aforementioned banter becomes king.  It’s an interesting makeover for the franchise, going from heavyweight action stalwart to comedy gold, and it’s direction I hope they’ll maintain for the inevitable follow-up – barring Fast Five, this is the best Fast & Furious to date, and a strong indicator of how it should go to keep conquering multiplexes in future.  Sign me up for more, please.

2.  SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME – this summer’s been something of a decompression period for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many of us recovering from the sheer emotional DEVASTATION of the grand finale of Phase 3, Avengers: Endgame, so the main Blockbuster Season’s entry really needed to be light and breezy, a blessed relief after all that angst and loss, much like Ant-Man & the Wasp was last year as it followed Infinity War.  And it is, by and large – this is as light-hearted and irreverent as its predecessor, following much the same goofy teen comedy template as Homecoming, but there’s no denying that there’s a definite emotional through-line from Endgame that looms large here, a sense of loss the film fearlessly addresses right from the start, sometimes with a bittersweet sense of humour, sometimes straight.  But whichever path the narrative chooses, the film stays true to this underlying truth – there have been great and painful changes in this world, and we can’t go back to how it was before, no matter how hard we try, but then perhaps we shouldn’t.  This is certainly central to our young hero’s central arc – Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is in mourning, and not even the prospect of a trip around Europe with his newly returned classmates, together with the chance to finally get close to M.J. (Zendaya), maybe even start a relationship, can entirely distract him from the gaping hole in his life.  Still, he’s gonna give it his best shot, but it looks like fate has other plans for our erstwhile Spider-Man as superspy extraordinaire Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) comes calling, basically hijacking his vacation with an Avengers-level threat to deal with, aided by enigmatic inter-dimensional superhero Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has a personal stake in the mission, but as he’s drawn deeper into the fray Peter discovers that things may not be quite as they seem.  Of course, giving anything more away would of course dumps HEINOUS spoilers on the precious few who haven’t yet seen the film – suffice to say that the narrative drops a MAJOR sea-change twist at the midpoint that’s EVERY BIT as fiendish as the one Shane Black gave us in Iron Man 3 (although the more knowledgeable fans of the comics will likely see it coming), and also provides Peter with JUST the push he needs to get his priorities straight and just GET OVER IT once and for all.  Tom Holland again proves his character is the most endearing teenage geek in cinematic history, his spectacular super-powered abilities and winning underdog perseverance in the face of impossible odds still paradoxically tempered by the fact he’s as loveably hopeless as ever outside his suit; Mysterio himself, meanwhile, frequently steals the film out from under him, the strong bromance they develop certainly mirroring what Peter had with Tony Stark, and it’s a major credit to Gyllenhaal that he so perfectly captures the essential dualities of the character, investing Beck with a roguish but subtly self-deprecating charm that makes him EXTREMELY easy to like, but ultimately belying something much more complex hidden beneath it; it’s also nice to see so many beloved familiar faces returning, particularly the fantastically snarky and self-assured Zendaya, Jacob Batalon (once again pure comic gold as Peter’s adorably nerdy best friend Ned), Tony Revolori (as his self-important class rival Flash Thompson) and, of course, Marisa Tomei as beloved Aunt May, as well as Jackson and Cobie Smoulders as dynamite SHIELD duo Fury and his faithful lieutenant Maria Hill, and best of all Jon Favreau gets a MUCH bigger role this time round as Happy Hogan.  Altogether this is very much business as usual for the MCU, the well-oiled machine unsurprisingly turning out another near-perfect gem of a superhero flick that ticks all the required boxes, but a big part of the film’s success should be attributed to returning director Jon Watts, effectively building on the granite-strong foundations of Homecoming with the help of fellow alumni Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers on screenplay duty, for a picture that feels both comfortingly familiar and rewardingly fresh, delivering on all the required counts with thrilling action and eye candy spectacle, endearingly quirky character-based charm and a typically winning sense of humour, and plenty of understandably powerful emotional heft.  And, like always, there are plenty of fan-pleasing winks and nods and revelations, and the pre-requisite mid- and post-credit teasers too, both proving to be some proper game-changing corkers.  The future of the property may be in doubt, but this is still another winner from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but then was there really ever any doubt?

1.  JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 – needless to say, those who know me should be in no doubt why THIS is at the top of my list for summer 2019 – this has EVERYTHING I love in movies and more. Keanu Reeves is back in the very best role he’s ever played, unstoppable, unbeatable, un-killable hitman John Wick, who, when we rejoin him mere moments after the end of 2017’s phenomenal Chapter 2, is in some SERIOUSLY deep shit, having been declared Incommunicado by the High Table (the all-powerful ruling elite who run this dark and deadly shadowy underworld) after circumstances forced him to gun down an enemy on the grounds of the New York Continental Hotel (the inviolable sanctuary safe-house for all denizens of the underworld), as his last remaining moments of peace tick away and he desperately tries to find somewhere safe to weather the initial storm.  Needless to say the opening act of the film is ONE LONG ACTION SEQUENCE as John careers through the rain-slick backstreets of New York, fighting off attackers left and right with his signature brutal efficiency and unerring skill, perfectly setting up what’s to come – namely a head-spinning, exhausting parade of spectacular set pieces that each put EVERY OTHER offering in any other film this year to shame.  Returning director Chad Stahelski again proves that he’s one of the very best helmsmen around for this kind of stuff, delivering FAR beyond the call on every count as he creates a third entry to a series that continues to go from strength to strength, while Keanu once again demonstrates what a phenomenal screen action GOD he is, gliding through each scenario with poise, precision and just the right balance of brooding charm and so-very-done-with-this-shit intensity and a thoroughly enviable athletic physicality that really does put him on the same genre footing as Tom Cruise.  As with the first two chapters, what plot there is is largely an afterthought, a facility to fuel the endless wave of stylish, wince-inducing, thoroughly exhilarating violent bloodshed, as John cuts another bloody swathe through the underworld searching for a way to remove the lethal bounty from his head while an Adjudicator from the High Table (Orange Is the New Black’s Asia Kate Dillon) arrives in New York to settle affairs with Winston (Ian McShane), the manager of the New York Continental, and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) for helping John create this mess in the first place.  McShane and Fishburne are both HUGE entertainment in their fantastically nuanced large-than-life roles, effortlessly stealing each of their scenes, while the ever-brilliant Lance Reddick also makes a welcome return as Winston’s faithful right-hand Charon, the concierge of the Continental, who finally gets to show off his own hardcore action chops when trouble arrives at their doorstep, and there are plenty of franchise newcomers who make strong impressions here – Dillon is the epitome of icy imperiousness, perfectly capturing the haughty superiority you’d expect from a direct representative of the High Table, Halle Berry gets a frustratingly rare opportunity to show just how seriously badass she can be as former assassin Sofia, the manager of the Casablanca branch of the Continental and one of John’s only remaining allies, Game of Thrones’ Jerome Flynn is smarmy and entitled as her boss Berrada, and Anjelica Houston is typically classy as the Director, the ruthless head of New York’s Ruska Roma (John’s former “alma mater”, basically). The one that REALLY sticks in the memory, though, is Mark Dacascos, finally returning to the big time after frustrating years languishing in lurid straight-to-video action dreck and lowbrow TV hosting duties thanks to a BLISTERING turn as Zero, a truly brilliant semi-comic creation who routinely runs away with the film – he’s the Japanese master ninja the Adjudicator tasks with dispensing her will, a thoroughly lethal killer who may well be as skilled as our hero, but his deadliness is amusingly tempered by the fact that he’s also a total nerd who HERO WORSHIPS John Wick, adorably geeking out whenever their paths cross.  Their long-gestating showdown provides a suitably magnificent climax to the action, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the meantime, as former stuntman Stahelski and co keep things interestingly fluid as they constantly change up the dynamics and add new elements, from John using kicking horses in a stable and knives torn out of display cases in a weaponry museum to dispatch foes on the fly, through Sofia’s use of attack dogs to make the Moroccan portion particularly nasty and a SPECTACULAR high octane sequence in which John fights katana-wielding assailants on speeding motorcycles, to the film’s UNDISPUTABLE highlight, an astounding fight in which John takes on Zero’s disciples (including two of the most impressive guys from The Raid movies, Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian) in (and through) an expansive chamber made up entirely of glass walls and floors.  Altogether then, this is business as usual for a franchise that’s consistently set the bar for the genre as a whole, an intensely bruising, blissfully blood-drenched epic that cranks its action up to eleven, shot with delicious neon-drenched flair and glossy graphic novel visual excess, a consistently inspired exercise in fascinating world-building that genuinely makes you want to live among its deadly denizens (even though you probably wouldn’t live very long).  The denouement sets things up for an inevitable sequel, and I’m not at all surprised – right from the first film I knew the concept had some serious legs, and it’s just too good to quit yet. Which is just how I like it …

#movies 2019 #captive state #godzilla king of the monsters #dark phoenix #fast color #once upon a time in hollywood #crawl #crawl movie #brightburn #hobbs and shaw #spider man far from home #John Wick Chapter 3 #awesome sauce

[thechanelmuse]

Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo defended herself against a commenter who criticized her for snagging the part of Harriet Tubman in an upcoming biopic of the African-American icon.

It was announced this week that Erivo would play the title role in Harriet, a film that explores Tubman’s escape from slavery and her drive to free many slaves through the Underground Railroad.

But a commenter on Instagram criticized the decision to pick Erivo, who is British, over an African-American actress. Erivo shared the critique in her Instagram stories:

“Why do you Brits come to the U.S. and take roles that should be reserved for African-Americans?” the commenter said. “How would you feel [if] we went to your country and snagged all the acting roles? Why can’t you people create your own movies and roles in the U.K.? We paved the way for ourselves here, and you people come and take [shots] we worked hard for….”

Erivo responded directly, stating that she “worked very hard” for a “role I neither took nor was simply given.”

“Actors are free to go where they please for their work, but I dare you to do that fully as a Black woman in the U.K. If I see it, I applaud it,” she wrote. “What was for someone else was never mine in the first place. Please believe that I have turned down roles I know I have no business playing. This role is not one of them….”

She continued in another story post: “If you met me in the street and hadn’t heard me speak, would you know I was British, or would you simply see a Black woman?”

Last year, actor Samuel L. Jackson accused Black British actors of taking roles from their African-American colleagues after Daniel Kaluuya’s star turn in Get Out.

“They don’t cost as much,” he said. “Unless you’re an unknown brother that they’re finding somewhere. They think they’re better trained, for some reason, than we are because they’re classically trained. I don’t know what the love affair is with all that. It’s all good.”

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She completely deflected from the question. Just say you wanna be the youngest EGOT title holder and a period piece set in America pertaining to Black Americans and slavery is your best bet at getting largely noticed and completing it (even though Halle Berry is the only Black woman to win Best Actress in a Leading Role). Be honest. 

It shouldn’t be misunderstood as to why Black Americans exhibit territorial behavior in a country that our ancestors were considered property upon being kidnapped/handed over; beaten; abused; separated from loved ones countless times (ex: auctions); disparaged; mentally shackled; stripped of everything during the centuries of American chattel slavery; subjected to violence (ex: lynchings, police brutality), racial segregation (ex: Jim Crow), and racial discrimination (ex: mass incarceration); downgraded as culture-less people by others who took/take aspects of our culture for their own monetary gain. 

Now we have to share roles on historical Black American figures or Black American experiences that should be reserved for us in a country we had to survive and etch our opportunities in only for it to be given to others to benefit from. One shouldn’t be perplexed by this. The criticism is valid.

I’m not opposed to non-AA Black people, in general, portraying Black American roles when it makes sense and the shit ain’t forced or disrespectful. For example, I’m not about to act like Aisha Hinds, who was born and raised in Brooklyn to Grenadian parents, didn’t do an unbelievable portrayal as Harriet Tubman in the series, Underground, which she should've won a slew of awards for.

But defensive explanations to secure a job/monetary gain simply or dismissing the history and its people because you’re of the same race or outright disrespectful shit like Zoe Saldana donning blackface and wearing a prosthetic nose with a “So what” attitude for her portrayal as Nina Simone, makes me side eye hard and push back. It’s all about respect.

None of this would be an issue possibly if it wasn’t for the whole draining (Brit) Africans vs African Americans debate, superiority vs inferiority complex, or if Africans, too, weren’t as territorial over their figures or experiences while readily eager to play others: 

Selma came out in 2014 and Concussion came out in 2015.

#cynthia erivo #harriet tubman #black brits #black americans #this shit is like never-ending smh