BuzzSugar

Notorious: A Star Is Born Playing a Tragic Figure

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:30:41 -0800

Notorious is a biopic based on the life and times of music legend Christopher Wallace, a.k.a Notorious B.I.G., who was tragically killed in his early 20s in a drive-by shooting. It comes extremely close to telling an interesting story about the measure of a man and the price of fame - close, but no cigar.

That said, there is a silver lining and that's the discovery of an artist named Jamal Woolard (also known as Gravy) who plays the title role. This relative unknown (in the acting community, he's a hip hop artist), who had zero acting experience before this production, delivers the kind of charismatic, slam-dunk performance only someone with a natural gift can deliver. His is a nuanced performance that manages to bring to earth the larger-than-life persona of Biggie with eerie accuracy. Physically, we rarely see an actor like this on the big screen and it's refreshing. Woolard uses his sympathetic eyes and giant body to convey the rapper's ability to draw people to him, despite how exasperating he could be.

Unfortunately, Woolard is the bright spot in this cookie-cutter biopic, which too often veers into sentimental and blandly conventional territory. To see the rest of my thoughts on why this is a bit disappointing, read more.

First let's talk about the cloying sentimentality. As I watched this movie, I found myself getting lost in the fun of it - the nostalgia, the music, etc. - only to be jolted out of those good feelings by lines like, "You can't change the world until you change yourself." And they don't just say that line once, but multiple times. It's a hollow, after-school special-type cliche and doesn't ring true at all.

The movie is also awfully conventional. It is literally a play-by-play account of the rap star's life and falls short of giving the audience an interesting look at the guy. Instead it's a shallow tribute reel that shows the crappy stuff Biggie was guilty of (ditches his mom when she has cancer, is a deadbeat dad, sells crack to a pregnant lady, etc.) without any real consequence. In fact, he's completely redeemed in the easiest, most absurdly convenient endings I've ever witnessed. The movie even glosses over the East Coast/West Coast rivalry and chalks the whole episode up to Tupac's paranoia. There's hardly a moment in the film that isn't overly simplistic.

The rest of the cast does a commendable job portraying the notorious figures that surrounded B.I.G. throughout his life including Naturi Naughton as the pint-sized, naughty girl Kim and Derek Luke as Sean "Puffy" Combs (though I think if the real Puffy weren't involved with this movie we would have seen a much more interesting character onscreen).

The movie is at its best, though, when it gives its audience a little credit and instead of telling us through clunky dialogue what made Biggie so dynamic, it shows us. One of the best scenes comes when a just-signed Chris Wallace has to win over a rowdy college crowd and does so with his nihilistic anthem, "Party and Bullsh*t." It's a smart, visceral moment in the movie that helps you forgive the man his sins and feel thankful he graced us with his talent during the short time he was alive.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight Films

Buzz News Roundup, 4/28

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:30:01 -0700

Lori Loughlin is set to play the mother in the CW's 90210 spinoff, TV Guide reports.
And, says Variety, The CW officially wants Hilary Duff on board to play Loughlin's daughter.
NME has the scoop on a new free music streaming website for Sony/BMG artists.
Angela Bassett will check into ER to play a doctor in the drama's final season, Zap2it reports.
Brothers & Sisters and Ugly Betty were repeat winners at the GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend, the Associated Press reports.
Paste reports that the next issue of McSweeney's DVD magazine Wholphin will feature a short film starring Paul Rudd and Zooey Deschanel and written by Michael Chabon.
The Coen Bros. film Burn After Reading will open the Venice Film Festival in August before premiering in the U.S. on Sept. 12, writes the Hollywood Reporter.

Source

Brooklyn Rapper Chosen to Play Notorious B.I.G. in Biopic

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:30:37 -0800

Last summer I posted about the interesting way filmmakers were casting the Notorious B.I.G. biopic: via Internet submissions. Apparently the folks behind the project felt that Hollywood lacked good choices for the role, and opened up auditions to the world wide web in the hopes of finding someone more authentic than a big-name star. At first I thought this might be more of a publicity stunt than a sincere search for the right fit to portray Biggie, but through this process they actually appear to have found their man.

The film's producers and Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace conducted an exhaustive search auditioning thousands of men before finally choosing Brooklyn rapper Jamal 'Gravy' Woolard for the role. Wallace is thrilled with the results, and recently stated:

Finding B.I.G. was a task in itself, and I'm honored that so many young men came out to audition for the role . . . However, it was Jamal's charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile that won my heart. He is a talented and charismatic actor, and I am excited that he will bring Christopher's character to the big screen.

Set for release in January 2009, the movie will also star Angela Bassett as Biggie's mother, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Though there seems to be a lot of care involved in doing justice to Biggie's life story, there have been early reports of weaknesses in the script. Let's hope some strong direction and a newcomer's fresh energy will make this a film to remember.

What do you think of this project?

Source

The Results Are In: Recast "The Cosby Show"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:09:43 -0800

Just when I think I've come up with a really tough Recast, you guys manage to wow me once again. I really thought last week's "The Cosby Show" challenge would be hard, since the series was on for eight seasons and had a large cast ranging from grade-school to middle-age.

But again, there were so many great entries I had trouble choosing a winner. I loved Happygirlhehe's choice of Bernie Mac to play Dr. Huxtable with Dee Dee Davis (Baby Girl on "The Bernie Mac Show") as Rudy. I was also tempted by Pinkrabbit's Wayne Brady pick for Cliff. But the best overall cast list came from Chancleta, so congrats to her for winning this week's challenge! To see her picks and a "new" cast photo, read more

Chancleta's "Cosby Show" Cast:
Dr. Cliff Huxtable - Denzel Washington
Clair Huxtable - Angela Bassett
Sondra - Ashanti
Denise - Zoe Kravitz (daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz)
Theo - Nick Cannon
Vanessa - Keke Palmer
Rudy - China Anne McClain (Daddy’s Little Girls)