James Earl Jones On Overcoming Obstacles

"I feel no flattery when people speak of my voice. I'm simply grateful that I found a way to work around my impairment. Once a stutterer, always a stutterer. If I get any credit for the way I sound, I accept it in the name of those of us who are impaired."

                                                                                     - James Earl Jones, 1993

From Playbill.com

A Tribe Called Quest - Electronic Relaxation (1993)

Midnight Marauders, which was released on November 9th, 1993, is still a classic 20 years later.

The Program 20 Years Later

This is probably one of the most underrated sports films of the last 20-25 years. I loved it when I first saw it 10 years ago and it continues to be one of my favorites.

"The Program" is a film about a fictional college football team and the challenges and obstacles they must overcome during the course of a season. That's really just the icing on the cake however. Over the course of the film we get a view to varying degrees of the men who makeup the squad. There's the alcoholic quarterback. The freshman running-back trying to supplant the senior in the starting lineup. The fierce linebacker who trash talks the opponent to psych himself up during the game before it eventually costs him. And finally, there's the coach played by James Caan who is fighting to keep it all together.

Was 1993 A Banner Year for Black Cinema?

There was an interesting article posted last month on The Grio that looked at the year 1993 and the amount of 'black' films that were released during those 12 months. Could there be another renaissance coming 20 years later?

When we talk about films starring, directed, or produced by people of color being released in theaters, it usually revolves around the dearth of such films. This is in large part due to a lack of financing many filmmakers of color simply don't have access to. Although in recent years that has changed a bit with crowdfunding, it is still a rather large hurdle to overcome.

What makes 1993 so unique was the plethora of 'black' films that hit the screen that year. It was as if someone parted the seas and gave these films passage to the big screen instead of taking the all to common straight to video route.

There were biographies like "What's Love Got To Do With It," starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner. There were comedies such as "Cool Runnings" and "Sister Act 2," which starred Whoopi Goldberg. And then there were the inner-city dramas like "Menace II Society," and "Poetic Justice," starring Janet Jackson and the late Tupac Shakur.

Many look at the early 90s and 1993 in particular as a time when 'black' films had a higher chance of getting major distribution deals then at any point before or since. Do you agree? Here's the original article.

Looking Back 20 Years Later at "Just Another Girl on the I.R.T."

Last month I had the opportunity to catch a screening of the profound and powerful film "Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.," marking the film's 20th anniversary. Even now, 20 years later, the film's themes remain as strong as ever as it continues to educate, inspire, and enlighten.