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CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien will host CNN Presents: Black in America, a series of investigative reports, beginning with a special devoted to the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death called “Eyewitness to Murder – The King Assassination,” April 3 at 9 p.m. Speaking by phone from New York in her unmistakably cheerful and warm voice, O’Brien described the perils of a journalist’s life (too much time in airports, too much Panda Express) and what America wants: “I have never once had a question where someone says, ‘Tell me more about Paris Hilton.’”

Continue reading Speakeasy.

(Photo © 2006 Lionsgate Films)

Of all the back-and-forthing over Tyler Perry in anticipation — and subsequent reviews — of Meet the Browns, arguably the most compelling criticism I’ve read so far of the Atlanta filmmaker appears courtesy of Andre C. Willis, an assistant professor of the philosophy of religion at Yale Divinity School, on the website The Root. In his thoughtful essay, Willis accuses Perry of succumbing too conveniently to what Willis calls the filmmaker’s black evangelical spirituality, offering too-simple solutions to secular problems …

To address entrenched social misery, lack of opportunity, economic inequality, poor schooling and housing discrimination, Perry’s work trumpets prayer. For more personal and familial struggles such as drug abuse, infidelity and child abuse, his work similarly prescribes redemption through a stronger, deeper and more committed Christian faith. Even his core audience is acutely aware that his work is creatively limited, and yet they are drawn to it because it presents them with a world that is highly recognizable—in language, tone and theme.

I might quibble with some of Willis’ conclusions about the importance of strong faith in someone’s lives, but not having seen Perry’s work, I wouldn’t want to get into uncharted waters. But it’s a great read, and is ripe for dialog.

Comedian Paula Poundstone’s idiosyncratic style of observational humor has earned her two Cable Ace Awards and a 1989 American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand-Up Comic. Comedy Central ranked her No. 88 among the 100 greatest stand-up comics of all time. She overcame a personal struggle with alcohol made public by a 2001 arrest on charges related to the care of her adopted children, but she is now clean and sober and riding on the success of her 2006 book, There Is Nothing In This Book That I Meant to Say. A frequent panelist on NPR’s “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” news-quiz show, Poundstone performs Friday, March 28, at 8 p.m. at the Ferst Center for the Arts (tickets $21.60-$37).

Continue reading Speakeasy.

“Why does the public expect entertainers to behave better than everybody else?” comedian CHRIS ROCK writes in his 1997 memoir, Rock This! “It’s ridiculous. … Of course, this is just for black entertainers. You don’t see anyone telling Jerry Seinfeld he’s a good role model. Because everyone expects whites to behave themselves. … Nowadays, you’ve got to be an entertainer and a leader. It’s too much.” Yet Rock could easily be called a leader; he places the black experience in compelling and hilarious context with brutal honesty and cutting wit. It’s a shame that the actor, writer, director and creator of the TV series “Everybody Hates Chris” isn’t even more successful. (He’s already been ranked the No. 5 stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central.) But the title of his tour, which rolls into the Fox Theatre Fri.-Sat., MARCH 21-22, says it all: No Apologies. $45.50-$75. 7:30 p.m. 660 Peachtree St. 404-817-8700. www.foxtheatre.org.

One of the most dynamic aspects of Rock’s work is his cutting political commentary, and one that crosses ideological boundaries. (”Republicans are fuckin’ idiots, Democrats are fuckin’ idiots … anyone that makes up their minds before they hear the issue is a fucking fool, OK?”)

Check out this hilarious but informative clip…

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns opens tomorrow, and as usual, the Atlanta movie mogul did not pre-screen the film for critics, so we can’t tell you anything about it. (That no-screening strategy seems to be working out pretty well for Perry, one must say.) In lieu of actually meeting the Browns, this week Creative Loafing devotes a cover story to the Tyler Perry phenomenon and why some people — our own Andisheh Nouraee in particular — just don’t “get” him. Nouraee and a panel of experts watched Why Did I Get Married?, Perry’s previous film, released about six months ago.

If you’re going to see Meet the Browns, or if you see it and want to check in afterwards, you might want to compare it to our Tyler Perry Primer from this time last year, which came out in advance of Daddy’s Little Girls, which wasn’t pre-screened, either. (That’s three films released within a year of each other, and doesn’t count Perry’s TV series, “House of Payne.”) The graph compares such constants from his films as money-grubbing villians, messages against premarital sex and buff shirtless guys. How will Meet the Browns measure up?

(Courtesy Emory University Photography)

Alice Walker, author, poet and Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple, comes to Emory University on Tuesday, March 25, to read from her large collection of works.

In December 2007, Walker placed her archive — journals, letters to and from editors, and early drafts of her work — at Emory University. Here’s what Rudolph Byrd, professor of American studies at Emory and founding member of the Alice Walker Literary Society, has to say about the collection:

A national treasure, the Walker archive contains more than 50 years of thinking and writing by Alice Walker, who is a canonical figure in American and African American letters…the papers give you a sense of the process for creating fiction, creating poetry.

The public reading takes place at 6 p.m. at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Auditorium, 1652 N. Decatur Road. But don’t bring your Alice Walker favorites, hoping for a John Hancock. There will not be a book signing following the event.

Tickets went on sale Monday, and cost $10 for the public and $5 for Emory faculty, students and staff. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Arts at Emory box office, by phone at 404-727-5050, or online at www.arts.emory.edu. An extra $3.50 will be charged for phone and Internet purchases.

(Photo courtesy Turner Classic Movies)

One of the more intriguing (and much-discussed) decisions under the new Turner Classic Movies’ management covered in my recent cover story was the recruiting of actress Rose McGowan to join Robert Osborne as the co-host of “The Essentials,” which seeks to educate viewers on some of the most classic of TCM’s classics. (The no-brainers, if you will.) If ever there were an indication that the reconfigured TCM management structure, led by Turner Entertainment Group President Steve Koonin, wanted to “young up” the viewership, it would be the hiring of the star of the recent Grindhouse double feature as well as oft-syndicated “Charmed” TV series.

McGowan reportedly wowed the TCM people with her preparation for her appearance on last November’s “Guest Programmer” series, as well as her enthusiasm for classic movies. Who knew? But before we get into the selection of McGowan to host, some back story to “The Essentials” …

“I think that when we launched this franchise several years ago, there was lots of internal discussion about which way to go,” says Charlie Tabesh, TCM’s senior VP for programming, who presented the key question as, “Do we give an academic perspective or introduce people to classic movies? We could show ‘The Essentials’ and have a more academic discussion, and we did that for several years.”

This meant recruiting veteran Hollywood director, sometime actor and general raconteur Sydney Pollack, my personal favorite, who offered a pitch-perfect blend of Film Appreciation 101, Hollywood history and an instinctive, accessible love of movies. He was followed by director and film scholar (and “Sopranos” co-star) Peter Bogdanovich, whose Texas-sized ego and talent for mimicry added up to its own peculiar charm. Then came the decision to bring in TCM host Robert Osborne to strengthen the TCM presence, and to add film critic/historian Molly Haskell, which was to kill two birds with one stone: add a second person to make the intros feel more like a conversation and to “balance the ticket,” so to speak, by having a woman. The problem is, Haskell only provided the latter; her reticence forced Osborne to carry the conversation, and she was far from passionate the few times she did engage in the banter. Actress and author Carrie Fisher (daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher) was up next, and while she met the challenge of getting a conversation going, she seemed a bit … what’s the word? … wacky?

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Print editions being what they are, my cover story on Robert Osborne and Turner Classic Movies felt woefully short even given the fact my editor was kind enough to let me go over the traditional word count.

But there was practically another cover story’s worth of information that could have been crammed into the piece, so here’s a laundry list of some of the items:

• Robert Osborne’s Oscar book. Every five years, Osborne, who also is a longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, updates an impressive coffee-table book on his favorite subject. In 2003, Abbeville Press published 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, and it’s a mammoth endeavor. Over its 416 pages, the book serves up loads of black-and-white and color images, Osborne’s overview of a year’s highlights, nominees and winners, and extended comments from participants. When I asked him in January if he was concerned about how the (now-settled) writers’ strike might affect this year’s Oscar ceremony, Osborne seemed more excited than concerned. Not only would the drama serve as great fodder for his upcoming update for the book (due out this September), he saw it as an opportunity to revamp the ceremonies.

“What would be really wonderful is if the 80th year is like the first year, and there’s a banquet, no television and they just presented the awards,” Osborne said. “Wouldn’t that be a wonderful full circle?” (Shameless Oscar plug: CL film critics Felicia Feaster, Curt Holman and I will be live-blogging during the awards ceremonies this Sunday, Feb. 24, starting at 8 p.m. Please join in the fun.)

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At some point on Tuesday afternoon I noticed that I had some JPGs on one of my computer files of posters of Batman: The Dark Knight, for a blog post I meant to write that anticipated the movie in general, and Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in particular. When director Christopher Nolan (who previously helmed Batman Begins) cast Ledger as “the clown prince of crime,” it was a surprising, almost baffling choice, even given Ledger’s well-earned Best Actor Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain (pictured). Jack Nicholson even dissed the casting choice. The film’s trailer, however, gave hints of a bold, frightening take on the comic-book villain that would, once again, change the way people thought of Ledger as an actor. People were excited.

One of the tragedies of Ledger’s fatal overdose Jan. 22 was that it claimed his life at what seemed like the eve of both artistically respectable and commercially viable movie stardom. The Australian actor seemed to be on the verge of becoming another Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman, the kind of performer who can strike a balance between Hollywood blockbusters and more creatively rewarding, prestigious fare.

I don’t know if Ledger completed filming his role in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, his second collaboration (after The Brothers Grimm) with Terry Gilliam. It could well be that Batman: The Dark Knight will be his swan song, which may cast a pall over that film’s superheroics when it opens in the summer. Given the Joker’s trademark, ghastly white clown makeup (which seems to have a goth quality in the new film), Ledger’s last work may uncomfortably look like his own ghost. Here’s that trailer: