BlackStyleFile

Halle Berry and Idris Elba get nods for 2011 Golden Globe Awards

 

Hollywood's awards season is upon us and what better way to kick it off than with the Golden Globes, a fav amongst actors and their fans. BSF Faves, Halle Berry and Idris Elba lead the nominees which include regulars like Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and Johnny Depp. New comers include Colombian bombshell Sofia Vergara from Modern Family.

Halle Berry was nominated for Best Performance By an Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal as a stripper with multiple personalities. (I haven't seen the film but a little annoyed that she gotta be a sexpot to get nominated again. Lets hope that's the least important characteristic of hers in this role.) Still glad to see that she still got it after her Oscar win in 2002 for Monster's Ball.

Idris Elba was nominated for Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television for his role on Luther,  a  six-part, psychological crime thriller that aired on BBC America. Elba was also Associate Producer on the project.

The high glam/low key dinner and awards celebration which will be presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and broadcast nationwide live on NBC,  Sunday, January 16, 2011 from 5:00-8:00 (PST)/8:00-11:00 (EST) from the Beverly Hilton Hotel. 

For more the latest updates on the official website of the 68th Annual Golden Globes.

 

Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def and others celebrate peace and show pride in Sierra Leone

 

If you hear the name of the West African country of Sierra Leone and instantly think of Kanye's lyrics from 'Diamonds' , you are not alone. Images of child soldiers and the war torn country have been depicted in not only songs but in movies like Leonardo DiCaprio's "Blood Diamond" and books like A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. The struggles that they have had over the years are the only associations many in the international community have with the nation. The President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and ambassadors of the country are aware of this and they are on a mission to change this perception.

BSF was honored to be in attendance at the 50 Years Forward - Celebrating a New Sierra Leone event held November 21st, 2010 at an exclusive reception at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City. Famed Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning Actor Jeffrey Wright was introduced as the Sierra Leone "Peace by Piece" Ambassador and the premiere of the compelling documentary Sierra Leone: Road to Change, produced by M3 Films was screened at the theatre as well.

The intimate event, hosted by award-winning journalist and political commentator, Jeff Johnson, was sponsored by VeeV and included more than 100 international key influencers, such as Ambassadors to Sierra Leone and the UN, Mos Def, and Best-Selling AuthorIshmael Beah (A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier). There were also performances by Sierra Leone's most prolific Hip Hop group Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew and by R&B singer/songwriter Carolyn Malachi.

The highlight was hearing Wright recount stories and memories of his 14+ trips to the country. In a melodic love letter to the country he talked about about the food, the people, and the countryside and the reasons he keeps going back. It was his affinity and dedication to the country that led him to the Peace by Peace campaign.

Those in attendance and others have pledged to join Jeffrey Wright, to serve as host committee members on behalf of the "Peace by Piece" campaign and to spread Sierra Leone's good news to at least 50 people in honor of their "50 for 50" campaign and to help attract long-term investors and sponsorship for the momentous occasion. The theme of the celebration is "50 Years Forward - Celebrating a New Sierra Leone." April 27, 2011, will mark fifty years of independence from British rule.

For more information about Sierra Leone and its 50th anniversary celebrations, visit www.sierraleoneat50.gov.sl

 

'Precious' snags two statues as stars sizzle at Oscars

Mo 'Nique capped off her award season with one final win for Supporting Actress for her role in 'Precious'. But Gold statues weren't the only thing on Mo 'Nique's mind. So was actress Hattie McDaniel, the first African American woman to win the award. As reported by abcnews.com the actress stated:

"I'm wearing a royal blue dress because that is the color of dress Hattie McDaniel wore when she accepted her Oscar,"

 "I have a gardenia in my hair because that's what Hattie McDaniel had in her hair when she accepted her Oscar,"

McDaniel, who died in 1952, won the best supporting actress Oscar for her portrayal of the sassy servant Mammy in the 1939 film "Gone with the Wind."Mo 'Nique's tribute dresss was designed by Tadashi Shoji.

Joining her as a fellow Oscar winner was Geoffrey Fletcher, who became the first African American to win for best adapted screenplay for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

Other notable dresses and designers: Gabourey Sidibe - Marchesa, Zoe Saldana - Givenchy, Jennifer Lopez - Armani

BSF EVENT: HBO Black List Screening

Last night, HBO premiered its third installment in a three-part documentary series called The Black List Project at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. The Black List features intimate portrait-interviews with some of today's most accomplished and influential African Americans. The Project not only includes the film series but also a book with portraits taken by photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.  The interviews in the film were conducted by Elvis Mitchell.

Among those in attendance were Oscar nominee Lee Daniels, Rev. Al Sharpton, LaTanya Richardson, Faye Wattellton, Majora Carter, and Dr. Michael Lomax.

During the profile of fashion model Beverly Johnson, she discusses how the industry made a big deal about her being the first black model to land the cover of Vogue when at the time she'd already graced the covers of magazines like Glamour numerous times.

She said it infuriated her that it had taken so long for a black model to be accepted by Vogue, but it angered her even more when the media referred to her as the top black model. As she pointed out - she was THE top model at the time - black or white.

Johnson says she overcame the struggles and the challenges of the fashion industry, and life in general  by not giving up and simply putting "one foot in front of the other."

Other profiles revealed in Vol 3 include John Legend, Hill Harper, Lee Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg, Debra Lee and Dr. Michael Lomax.

For a closer look into the lives of fashion contributors Patrick Robinson of the Gap, and Sean 'Diddy' Combs visit -The Back List Project.

The half hour show will air nationwide on HBO February 8th at 8:30pm.

Trailer

HBO's 'The Black List: Volume Three' to air on Feb. 8

HBO will air 'The Black List: Volume Three' on Feb. 8 to celebrate Black History Month.

The Black List:Volume Three - the latest installation of HBO's critically acclaimed Black List documentaries presents an all new set of dramatic portraits featuring some of today's most fascinating and influential African Americans, who share their stories and insights into the struggles triumphs and joys of black life in the U.S.

The film is a collaboration between celebrated portrait photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who direct a, and award-winning journalist Elvis Mitchell, who interviews such notables as fashion model Beverley Johnson, as well as Lee Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Debra Lee, and Hill Harper.

For more information visit HBO.com

Dirie's 'Desert Flower' gives Kebede her lead debut

 
Liya Kebede has been tapped to portray supermodel Waris Dirie with the starring role in the independent film, Desert Flower. An adaptation Dirie’s bestselling autobiography, the story recounts Dirie’s rise from childhood in the Somali desert to the catwalks of the international fashion business.

Waris Dirie was born in 1965 into a nomad family living in the region of Gallcaio, in the Somali desert near the border to Ethiopia. At the tender age of five, she underwent the inhuman procedure of genital mutilation. This horrible tradition is still practiced worldwide today, both by Muslems and Christians. According to estimations of the United Nations, more than 8 000 girls become victims of this cruel crime every day.

At the age of 13 Waris fled from a forced marriage to a man, who could have been her grandfather in age. After an adventurous escape she arrived in London and worked there as a housemaid and at McDonald’s. She was discovered by the British top photographer Terence Donovan as a model at the age of 18 and became an international celebrity.

She was given a part as a James Bond girl in the movie ‘The Living Daylight’, side by side with Timothy Dalton.The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, appointed her as UN Special Ambassador for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. She travelled the world for the UN, participated in conferences, met with presidents, Nobel Prize winners and movie stars and collects enormous funds for the UN.

1997 Waris Dirie’s biography ‘Desert Flower’ was published in New York. The book became an international bestseller (in Germany, for example, the book stayed in the Top Ten list of best-selling books published in the magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ for a total of 120 weeks). The book appeared in more than 50 licensed editions and became number 1 of the best-seller lists in many countries. Till today, there were 11 million copies sold worldwide.

Visit the movie website and learn more about the foundation to fight FGM,

 

Lee Daniels director of 'Precious' talks Vogue and Vivienne Westwood

Lee Daniels and Monique

In an honest and eye opening interview with the NY Times, director/producer Lee Daniels dishes on everything from how to hustle in Hollywood to his own sexuality. No topics were off limits including his prejudices, previous drug use, heart attack scare, not to mention Obama and his "sexy" wife Michelle. At a screening gala for his latest project 'Precious', he even greeted the audience with “I’m a little homo, I’m a little Euro and I’m a little ghetto.” The crowd cheered.

“ ‘Precious’ is so not P.C. What I learned from doing the film is that even though I am black, I’m prejudiced. I’m prejudiced against people who are darker than me. When I was young, I went to a church where the lighter-skinned you were, the closer you sat to the altar. Anybody that’s heavy like Precious — I thought they were dirty and not very smart. Making this movie changed my heart. I’ll never look at a fat girl walking down the street the same way again.”

Dainiels also discusses what that led him to direct and produce films like The Woodsman, Shadowboxer, and Monster's Ball. Academy Award winner Hellen Mirren, who stared in the Shadowboxer (which Daniels says was loosely based on his own life) - said the following about her time on the set:

“It was an anarchic shoot,” Mirren recalled enthusiastically. “Lee was learning on the set. He loved the designer Vivienne Westwood, and he told me, ‘You’re going to wear Vivienne Westwood!’ I said, ‘Why would a contract killer living in Philly wear Vivienne Westwood?’ But the why was irrelevant.”

But even his love of Westwood couldn't get him and Andre Leon Talley to see eye to eye:

When Daniels wanted a fantasy sequence to be a Vogue photo shoot starring Precious and the magazine's editor at large, André Leon Talley, Talley looked at a clip of Sidibe from the movie and declined.

Wow. It looks like Precious and girls that look like her can't even dream about being in a publication like Vogue - not even in a Hollywood dream sequence.

For the rest of the article visit www.nytimes.com.

Paula Patton and Gabourey Sidibe

Behind the Scenes: June and Jigga

Stylist June Ambrose leaks behind- the-scenes peeks of the Rocawear 10th Anniversary commercial directed by Brooklyn's own Spike Lee and featuring who else - but Jay Z.

Jay is also currently casting for his "Run This Town" video which features Rhianna and Kanye West. Apparently the single featured up and comer Drake - but he was dropped for the aforementioned.

The single will be on The Blueprint 3, which arrives in stores on September 11.

Gap Fall 08 features Chanel Iman, Nate Parker

Chanel Iman/Ford Models for GAP photographed by Mikael Jansson

Nate Parker for GAP photographed by Mikael Jansson

Gap Inc has picked model of the moment- Chanel Iman and actor Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, The Secret Life of the Bees) among others to showcase the first full collection by Gap head designer Patrick Robinson.  The new line features classic pieces redesigned with a modern look at an affordable price.

Based on the concept, “Create Your Own GAP,” the campaign is about mixing and matching these classic pieces to create an outfit that best represent you. Each celebrity featured in the campaign brought their own individual style to the clothes. A handwritten fill-in-the-black tagline from each celebrity will accompany their photographs to offer an even deeper look into the personality and emotion of the image.

The tagline for Iman: Name Your Own Destiny

The tagline for Parker: Free up Your Own Imagination

The campaign officially launches August 15th.

Gerren Taylor featured in Indie film - "America the Beautiful"

First Independent Pictures has picked up all US rights except DVD to Darryl Roberts' look at our image-obsessed society, "America the Beautiful."

According to Hollywood Reporter, the documentary, which features interviews with Jessica Simpson, Anthony Kiedis, Eve Ensler and others, will have a YWCA-sponsored marketing campaign featuring current Miss America Kirsten Haglund. The eating disorder activist will make promotional appearances for the film shortly before its Aug. 6 New York run and national rollout.

Roberts, who also narrated and produced the docu, follows teenage model Gerren Taylor as he examines the beauty industry and entertainment media's impact on our views about body image and plastic surgery. "Beautiful" won best docu at the Chicago International Film Festival and had a recent theatrical run in the city before the acquisition deal.

Taylor, who has graced the runways of designers such as Tracy Reese, Catherine Malandrino, DKNY, B. Michaels, Betsey Johnson, Carlos Miele, Esteban Cortezar, Heatherette, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Nicole Miller, Richard Tyler, Shawn, and Tommy Hilfiger can also be seen in the 2nd season of Baldwin Hills which airs on BET, Tuesday nights at 10pm.

Nicknamed "Baby Naomi" at the age 12 because of her face and her trademark walk she had just as many supporters as she did critics regarding her place in the fashion world. While many felt she was too young for the runway she stunned many by landing a highly coveted spot in a Marc Jacobs print campaign. She was even featured on an episode of Oprah's World's Most Talented Kids show.

However two years later she found herself labeled obese" by the fashion industry at age 14 — as a 6-foot size 4. She was measured in London with 96-centimeter (37.8 inches) hips and told she had to be 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) or under to model in Paris. At the time she was a size 4 and weighed 130lbs.

"When I first got into the business I was 12. I didn't know anything about what was happening … anorexia, bulimia and all that stuff," Gerren told the LA times last year. "I have my own mind, but it's hard not to fall into that trap and be one of them … [but] I just said, 'It's not worth my life.' " adding, "If you're a celebrity they will fit anything for you. Beyoncé is a big, beautiful woman. She's curved. If she says [to a designer], 'I want to do your show,' they will find somebody to fit her."