David Sanborn, the six time Grammy-winning alto saxophonist who played at Woodstock, composed music for the Lethal Weapon movies, played in the SNL and Late Night with David Letterman bands and worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to David Bowie, died Sunday afternoon, May 12th, after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications. He Was 78.
Sanborn’s music is often described “smooth jazz,” but he reportedly rejected that characterization, and one can see why. His lively, iconic sax solo on Bowie’s “Young Americans” is anything but. Sanborn preferred the idea that he “put the saxophone back into rock ’n’ roll.”
Indeed, he worked with a virtual who’s who of rock and R&b legends, including James Brown, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Elton John, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, the Eagles,...
Sanborn’s music is often described “smooth jazz,” but he reportedly rejected that characterization, and one can see why. His lively, iconic sax solo on Bowie’s “Young Americans” is anything but. Sanborn preferred the idea that he “put the saxophone back into rock ’n’ roll.”
Indeed, he worked with a virtual who’s who of rock and R&b legends, including James Brown, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Elton John, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, the Eagles,...
- 5/13/2024
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Ten-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony and his longtime business partner Asani Swann have launched Creative7, a multi-platform content company that will develop and produce original, premium content spanning documentaries, scripted television, feature film, animation, podcasts, and more.
Their goal is to champion the narratives and voices of the underserved and they are partnering with Will Packer, Plan B Entertainment on a limited narrative series, Hock Films, Shaun Redick and Yvette Yates on Jersey 4, based on a racial profiling case, and more.
The company has quietly produced and is currently producing a number of previously-announced projects as well, including “Blood Brothers”, a limited series in partnership with A+E Studios, Executive Producer Charles Murray, and Narrative Film Group that examines the friendship between two of the most dynamic and iconic figures in history: Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X; “Un Sueño Real”, a recently launched docuseries with HBO España, Exile Content Studio, and...
Their goal is to champion the narratives and voices of the underserved and they are partnering with Will Packer, Plan B Entertainment on a limited narrative series, Hock Films, Shaun Redick and Yvette Yates on Jersey 4, based on a racial profiling case, and more.
The company has quietly produced and is currently producing a number of previously-announced projects as well, including “Blood Brothers”, a limited series in partnership with A+E Studios, Executive Producer Charles Murray, and Narrative Film Group that examines the friendship between two of the most dynamic and iconic figures in history: Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X; “Un Sueño Real”, a recently launched docuseries with HBO España, Exile Content Studio, and...
- 4/6/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Growing up, movies and television were one of Carmelo Anthony’s favorite escapes. The NBA superstar was inspired by the strong characters on TV shows such as “Martin,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and Spike Lee’s classic movie “Do the Right Thing.”
While the 36-year-old has found immense success on the basketball court, currently as the star power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, he’s always had a passion to create content. Now he’s putting himself in a position to, quite literally, call the shots, by launching a production company that aims to champion inclusive narratives and voices that have gone unheard for too long.
“Storytelling brings people together, and it can serve as a vehicle for propelling larger societal conversations and understanding,” Anthony says. “We are interested in all types of stories that have the power to serve as catalysts for the change we wish to see in the world.
While the 36-year-old has found immense success on the basketball court, currently as the star power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, he’s always had a passion to create content. Now he’s putting himself in a position to, quite literally, call the shots, by launching a production company that aims to champion inclusive narratives and voices that have gone unheard for too long.
“Storytelling brings people together, and it can serve as a vehicle for propelling larger societal conversations and understanding,” Anthony says. “We are interested in all types of stories that have the power to serve as catalysts for the change we wish to see in the world.
- 4/6/2021
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister
- Variety Film + TV
Jazz is a web. Because of the genre’s inherently collaborative, often mix-and-match nature, singling out a supporting player we like on a given record might lead us to dozens of other sessions featuring that same artist in various contexts. Or we might pick up a certain current in the music that crops up elsewhere, unifying albums that seemed to have little else in common. In 2020, when connection of any kind was scarce, these sorts of musical hyperlinks seemed all the more precious, a way to map and marvel at...
- 12/15/2020
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney, 59, died on Tuesday at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey from coronavirus (Covid-19) complications. Roney took lessons from jazz legends Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and was the protégé of the late Miles Davis. In 1979 and 1980, Roney won the DownBeat Award for Best Jazz Musician […]
The post Jazz Trumpeter Wallace Roney Dies At 59 From Coronavirus appeared first on uInterview.
The post Jazz Trumpeter Wallace Roney Dies At 59 From Coronavirus appeared first on uInterview.
- 4/4/2020
- by Paloma Thoen
- Uinterview
When the coughing jags began on March 16th, Larry Campbell first attributed it to the early onset of pollen. The guitarist, Grammy-winning producer of three Levon Helm albums and respected backup player for Helm and Bob Dylan was back home in Woodstock, New York after a few days in New York City. Then came a fever that spiked over 100 degrees, and three days later, the 65-year-old musician was tested for the coronavirus. The results came back positive a few days later.
Covid-19 is impacting everywhere, including the music community. It...
Covid-19 is impacting everywhere, including the music community. It...
- 4/2/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Company launched North American sales in Tiff on South African Oscar submission Knuckle City.
Morris Ruskin and Jordan Walker-Pearlman’s new Los Angeles-based production and management company MoJo Global Arts has unveiled a slate of three projects featuring a Latinx comedy, a Jazz documentary, and an epic TV project about Harlem.
MoJo has come on board as producer’s rep on acquisition title Chateau Vato, a completed Latinx comedy starring Paul Rodriguez. Tom Musca, whose screenplay credits include Stand And Deliver and Tortilla Soup, wrote, directed and produced the film about a gardener who moves into an abandoned mansion with...
Morris Ruskin and Jordan Walker-Pearlman’s new Los Angeles-based production and management company MoJo Global Arts has unveiled a slate of three projects featuring a Latinx comedy, a Jazz documentary, and an epic TV project about Harlem.
MoJo has come on board as producer’s rep on acquisition title Chateau Vato, a completed Latinx comedy starring Paul Rodriguez. Tom Musca, whose screenplay credits include Stand And Deliver and Tortilla Soup, wrote, directed and produced the film about a gardener who moves into an abandoned mansion with...
- 9/16/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Joining such memorable events as Ornette’s week at Lincoln Center in 1997 and the celebration in his honor at Celebrate Brooklyn which was the last time he played in public and which is now documented in an incredible box set alongside the memorial held for him at Riverside Church and Wynton's own celebration of Ornette at Lincoln Center will be Ornette Coleman: Tomorrow is the Question, July 11–16 as part of their yearly indoor festival. There will be a four-part series honoring Ornette's work as a composer, innovator, and performer.
The evenings include a screening of Naked Lunch with live accompaniment by such giants as Ravi Coltrane, Henry Threadgill, Charente Moffatt, and Denard Coleman. Coleman will also be part of a Prime Time Reunion that will honor guitarist Bern Nix who sadly recently passed away and who had been a long time member of the original band. This night the members will include Joshua Redman,...
The evenings include a screening of Naked Lunch with live accompaniment by such giants as Ravi Coltrane, Henry Threadgill, Charente Moffatt, and Denard Coleman. Coleman will also be part of a Prime Time Reunion that will honor guitarist Bern Nix who sadly recently passed away and who had been a long time member of the original band. This night the members will include Joshua Redman,...
- 6/28/2017
- by steve dalachinsky
- www.culturecatch.com
As promised, John Mayer is back in the studio with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan. The John Mayer Trio reunited for their first televised performance in five years, in a Late Night With Seth Meyers episode that aired Thursday. Story: John Mayer Receives UCLA Head and Neck Surgery Department Honors After Meyers interviewed Lena Dunham on the late night talk show, the blues rock trio jammed on Jj Cale's "After Midnight" -- which was appropriate in light of the Saturday Night Live alum's new time slot -- with jazz legends Chick Corea, Manolo Madrena and Wallace Roney. Mayer also confirmed on Twitter that Corea
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- 2/28/2014
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Speaking with the press last month, new "Late Night" host Seth Meyers admitted he wasn't as plugged into the music scene as his predecessor Jimmy Fallon was. Not to worry: He's hired a bandleader with plenty of music -- and comedy -- cred.
Meyers' former "Saturday Night Live" co-star Fred Armisen will be the leader of The 8G Band, named for the studio where "Late Night with Seth Meyers" will tape. Meyers tweeted a picture of the band Monday (Feb. 10):
Here's the first photo of the new @LateNightSeth band! #8GBand pic.twitter.com/jR07bDIZXQ
-- Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 10, 2014
The 8G Band features, from left, guitarist Seth Jabour, drummer Kimberly Thompson, keyboardist Eli Janney and bass player Syd Butler. Jabour and Butler are members of the band Les Savy Fav, which had Armisen as a drummer for several tracks on the band's album "Let's Stay Friends." Janney is...
Meyers' former "Saturday Night Live" co-star Fred Armisen will be the leader of The 8G Band, named for the studio where "Late Night with Seth Meyers" will tape. Meyers tweeted a picture of the band Monday (Feb. 10):
Here's the first photo of the new @LateNightSeth band! #8GBand pic.twitter.com/jR07bDIZXQ
-- Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 10, 2014
The 8G Band features, from left, guitarist Seth Jabour, drummer Kimberly Thompson, keyboardist Eli Janney and bass player Syd Butler. Jabour and Butler are members of the band Les Savy Fav, which had Armisen as a drummer for several tracks on the band's album "Let's Stay Friends." Janney is...
- 2/10/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Birdland Jazz Club has announced their zesty line-up of impressive talent for the month of December 2013. Featuring Michael Feinstein, Stacey Kent, Jazz Stories with Eddie Gomez, Kenny Barron, Al Foster, Wallace Roney, Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Cabaret, Cheyenne Jackson, Donna McKechnie, Frank Wildhorn amp Friends with Jeremy Jordan, Laura Osnes, Jane Monheit and more, A Swinging Birdland Christmas, Native Soul, Victoria Shaw, Natalie Toro, Shoshana Bush, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more...
- 11/15/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Visit
Visiting one lone theater (Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood for one noon show daily) in a bid for awards consideration, writer-producer-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman's "The Visit" is already a winner and a triumphant first release from New York-based Urbanworld Films. Destined, hopefully, to reach more moviegoers at a later date, the low-budget drama about a fractured black family earned a Special Recognition from the National Board of Review as well as several kudos from festivals and NAACP Image Awards nominations for supporting actors Billy Dee Williams and Marla Gibbs.
Hill Harper ("Loving Jezebel", CBS' "City of Angels") heads a great cast in this absorbing, moving adaptation of Kosmond Russell's play. Based on Russell's relationship with his brother in an Ohio prison, "The Visit" is structured around the emotionally charged encounters between incarcerated Alex Harper) and his family members who reluctantly come to see him. Walker-Pearlman, in his feature screenwriting debut, adapts the material with nary a false step.
The film opens with Alex's successful older brother Tony (Obba Babatunde) visiting the prison for the first time in 10 months. Sentenced to 25 years for a rape he claims he didn't commit, Alex is deeply hurt by his family's abandoning him to his fate. He also has AIDS, and fears he will die in prison. It has been five years since Alex saw his parents, and he reaches out to Tony for help.
Admitting to the prison psychiatrist (Phylicia Rashad) that he's made mistakes in the past but maintaining his innocence, Alex gets his wish when his parents come for a short, poignant reunion. But while his sympathetic mother (Gibbs) listens to him and reasserts her unconditional love, Alex's father (Williams) has long ago made up his mind that his younger son deserves his punishment. This first encounter with his father ends on a depressing note as they have a joyless group photo taken to remember the occasion.
After this visit and others during the course of the film, Alex has fantasy dreams of a better life where love, understanding and happiness outshine the drab, dangerous prison environment. There are several flashbacks, including young Alex's disappointment when Tony departs for college. Beaten down and desperate but not equating himself anymore with the "guys" who brought him down into the "dirt," Alex is calm and cooperative when he comes before a parole board in one of the film's most astonishing and beautifully executed sequences.
Talia Shire, David Clennon, Glynn Turman, Efrain Figueroa and Amy Stiller play the parole board members, who argue before even seeing Alex when they discover his medical condition. This peek into the process of official redemption provides a complex counterpoint to the struggle Alex has with his domineering, incredibly stubborn father, who cannot forgive his son for the character flaws he inherited and not becoming a "real man."
Another visitor, Alex's childhood friend Felicia Rae Dawn Chong), shows him how a kindred soul can overcome unthinkably grim life events. An ex-drug addict like Alex, Felicia killed her abusive father but has successfully returned to lead a good life. During the nine months the film covers, Alex achieves a spiritual reawakening that resurrects his frayed soul even as he physically weakens and his freedom is denied.
Filmed mostly at the decommissioned Lincoln Heights jail in Los Angeles, "The Visit" has a conservative yet forceful style that brings out the best in all of the performers. Harper is superb, and Williams delivers one of the best supporting performances of the year. Gibbs, Chong, Babatunde and Rashad likewise display all their considerable talents in one of the most important and satisfying films of the year.
THE VISIT
Urbanworld Films
Screenwriter-producer-director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Based on the play by: Kosmond Russell
Executive producers: Vicky Pike, Morris Ruskin, Stacy Spikes
Director of photography: John Ndiaga Demps
Production designer: John Larena
Editors: Alison Learned, Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Costume designer: Carlos Rosario
Music: Michael Bearden, Stefan Dickerson,
Ramsey Lewis, Wallace Roney, Stanley A. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alex: Hill Harper
Tony: Obba Babatunde
Henry Waters: Billy Dee Williams
Lois Waters: Marla Gibbs
Felicia McDonald: Rae Dawn Chong
Dr. Coles: Phylicia Rashad
Marilyn Coffey: Talia Shire
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Hill Harper ("Loving Jezebel", CBS' "City of Angels") heads a great cast in this absorbing, moving adaptation of Kosmond Russell's play. Based on Russell's relationship with his brother in an Ohio prison, "The Visit" is structured around the emotionally charged encounters between incarcerated Alex Harper) and his family members who reluctantly come to see him. Walker-Pearlman, in his feature screenwriting debut, adapts the material with nary a false step.
The film opens with Alex's successful older brother Tony (Obba Babatunde) visiting the prison for the first time in 10 months. Sentenced to 25 years for a rape he claims he didn't commit, Alex is deeply hurt by his family's abandoning him to his fate. He also has AIDS, and fears he will die in prison. It has been five years since Alex saw his parents, and he reaches out to Tony for help.
Admitting to the prison psychiatrist (Phylicia Rashad) that he's made mistakes in the past but maintaining his innocence, Alex gets his wish when his parents come for a short, poignant reunion. But while his sympathetic mother (Gibbs) listens to him and reasserts her unconditional love, Alex's father (Williams) has long ago made up his mind that his younger son deserves his punishment. This first encounter with his father ends on a depressing note as they have a joyless group photo taken to remember the occasion.
After this visit and others during the course of the film, Alex has fantasy dreams of a better life where love, understanding and happiness outshine the drab, dangerous prison environment. There are several flashbacks, including young Alex's disappointment when Tony departs for college. Beaten down and desperate but not equating himself anymore with the "guys" who brought him down into the "dirt," Alex is calm and cooperative when he comes before a parole board in one of the film's most astonishing and beautifully executed sequences.
Talia Shire, David Clennon, Glynn Turman, Efrain Figueroa and Amy Stiller play the parole board members, who argue before even seeing Alex when they discover his medical condition. This peek into the process of official redemption provides a complex counterpoint to the struggle Alex has with his domineering, incredibly stubborn father, who cannot forgive his son for the character flaws he inherited and not becoming a "real man."
Another visitor, Alex's childhood friend Felicia Rae Dawn Chong), shows him how a kindred soul can overcome unthinkably grim life events. An ex-drug addict like Alex, Felicia killed her abusive father but has successfully returned to lead a good life. During the nine months the film covers, Alex achieves a spiritual reawakening that resurrects his frayed soul even as he physically weakens and his freedom is denied.
Filmed mostly at the decommissioned Lincoln Heights jail in Los Angeles, "The Visit" has a conservative yet forceful style that brings out the best in all of the performers. Harper is superb, and Williams delivers one of the best supporting performances of the year. Gibbs, Chong, Babatunde and Rashad likewise display all their considerable talents in one of the most important and satisfying films of the year.
THE VISIT
Urbanworld Films
Screenwriter-producer-director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Based on the play by: Kosmond Russell
Executive producers: Vicky Pike, Morris Ruskin, Stacy Spikes
Director of photography: John Ndiaga Demps
Production designer: John Larena
Editors: Alison Learned, Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Costume designer: Carlos Rosario
Music: Michael Bearden, Stefan Dickerson,
Ramsey Lewis, Wallace Roney, Stanley A. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alex: Hill Harper
Tony: Obba Babatunde
Henry Waters: Billy Dee Williams
Lois Waters: Marla Gibbs
Felicia McDonald: Rae Dawn Chong
Dr. Coles: Phylicia Rashad
Marilyn Coffey: Talia Shire
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/8/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Visit
Visiting one lone theater (Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood for one noon show daily) in a bid for awards consideration, writer-producer-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman's "The Visit" is already a winner and a triumphant first release from New York-based Urbanworld Films. Destined, hopefully, to reach more moviegoers at a later date, the low-budget drama about a fractured black family earned a Special Recognition from the National Board of Review as well as several kudos from festivals and NAACP Image Awards nominations for supporting actors Billy Dee Williams and Marla Gibbs.
Hill Harper ("Loving Jezebel", CBS' "City of Angels") heads a great cast in this absorbing, moving adaptation of Kosmond Russell's play. Based on Russell's relationship with his brother in an Ohio prison, "The Visit" is structured around the emotionally charged encounters between incarcerated Alex Harper) and his family members who reluctantly come to see him. Walker-Pearlman, in his feature screenwriting debut, adapts the material with nary a false step.
The film opens with Alex's successful older brother Tony (Obba Babatunde) visiting the prison for the first time in 10 months. Sentenced to 25 years for a rape he claims he didn't commit, Alex is deeply hurt by his family's abandoning him to his fate. He also has AIDS, and fears he will die in prison. It has been five years since Alex saw his parents, and he reaches out to Tony for help.
Admitting to the prison psychiatrist (Phylicia Rashad) that he's made mistakes in the past but maintaining his innocence, Alex gets his wish when his parents come for a short, poignant reunion. But while his sympathetic mother (Gibbs) listens to him and reasserts her unconditional love, Alex's father (Williams) has long ago made up his mind that his younger son deserves his punishment. This first encounter with his father ends on a depressing note as they have a joyless group photo taken to remember the occasion.
After this visit and others during the course of the film, Alex has fantasy dreams of a better life where love, understanding and happiness outshine the drab, dangerous prison environment. There are several flashbacks, including young Alex's disappointment when Tony departs for college. Beaten down and desperate but not equating himself anymore with the "guys" who brought him down into the "dirt," Alex is calm and cooperative when he comes before a parole board in one of the film's most astonishing and beautifully executed sequences.
Talia Shire, David Clennon, Glynn Turman, Efrain Figueroa and Amy Stiller play the parole board members, who argue before even seeing Alex when they discover his medical condition. This peek into the process of official redemption provides a complex counterpoint to the struggle Alex has with his domineering, incredibly stubborn father, who cannot forgive his son for the character flaws he inherited and not becoming a "real man."
Another visitor, Alex's childhood friend Felicia Rae Dawn Chong), shows him how a kindred soul can overcome unthinkably grim life events. An ex-drug addict like Alex, Felicia killed her abusive father but has successfully returned to lead a good life. During the nine months the film covers, Alex achieves a spiritual reawakening that resurrects his frayed soul even as he physically weakens and his freedom is denied.
Filmed mostly at the decommissioned Lincoln Heights jail in Los Angeles, "The Visit" has a conservative yet forceful style that brings out the best in all of the performers. Harper is superb, and Williams delivers one of the best supporting performances of the year. Gibbs, Chong, Babatunde and Rashad likewise display all their considerable talents in one of the most important and satisfying films of the year.
THE VISIT
Urbanworld Films
Screenwriter-producer-director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Based on the play by: Kosmond Russell
Executive producers: Vicky Pike, Morris Ruskin, Stacy Spikes
Director of photography: John Ndiaga Demps
Production designer: John Larena
Editors: Alison Learned, Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Costume designer: Carlos Rosario
Music: Michael Bearden, Stefan Dickerson,
Ramsey Lewis, Wallace Roney, Stanley A. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alex: Hill Harper
Tony: Obba Babatunde
Henry Waters: Billy Dee Williams
Lois Waters: Marla Gibbs
Felicia McDonald: Rae Dawn Chong
Dr. Coles: Phylicia Rashad
Marilyn Coffey: Talia Shire
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Hill Harper ("Loving Jezebel", CBS' "City of Angels") heads a great cast in this absorbing, moving adaptation of Kosmond Russell's play. Based on Russell's relationship with his brother in an Ohio prison, "The Visit" is structured around the emotionally charged encounters between incarcerated Alex Harper) and his family members who reluctantly come to see him. Walker-Pearlman, in his feature screenwriting debut, adapts the material with nary a false step.
The film opens with Alex's successful older brother Tony (Obba Babatunde) visiting the prison for the first time in 10 months. Sentenced to 25 years for a rape he claims he didn't commit, Alex is deeply hurt by his family's abandoning him to his fate. He also has AIDS, and fears he will die in prison. It has been five years since Alex saw his parents, and he reaches out to Tony for help.
Admitting to the prison psychiatrist (Phylicia Rashad) that he's made mistakes in the past but maintaining his innocence, Alex gets his wish when his parents come for a short, poignant reunion. But while his sympathetic mother (Gibbs) listens to him and reasserts her unconditional love, Alex's father (Williams) has long ago made up his mind that his younger son deserves his punishment. This first encounter with his father ends on a depressing note as they have a joyless group photo taken to remember the occasion.
After this visit and others during the course of the film, Alex has fantasy dreams of a better life where love, understanding and happiness outshine the drab, dangerous prison environment. There are several flashbacks, including young Alex's disappointment when Tony departs for college. Beaten down and desperate but not equating himself anymore with the "guys" who brought him down into the "dirt," Alex is calm and cooperative when he comes before a parole board in one of the film's most astonishing and beautifully executed sequences.
Talia Shire, David Clennon, Glynn Turman, Efrain Figueroa and Amy Stiller play the parole board members, who argue before even seeing Alex when they discover his medical condition. This peek into the process of official redemption provides a complex counterpoint to the struggle Alex has with his domineering, incredibly stubborn father, who cannot forgive his son for the character flaws he inherited and not becoming a "real man."
Another visitor, Alex's childhood friend Felicia Rae Dawn Chong), shows him how a kindred soul can overcome unthinkably grim life events. An ex-drug addict like Alex, Felicia killed her abusive father but has successfully returned to lead a good life. During the nine months the film covers, Alex achieves a spiritual reawakening that resurrects his frayed soul even as he physically weakens and his freedom is denied.
Filmed mostly at the decommissioned Lincoln Heights jail in Los Angeles, "The Visit" has a conservative yet forceful style that brings out the best in all of the performers. Harper is superb, and Williams delivers one of the best supporting performances of the year. Gibbs, Chong, Babatunde and Rashad likewise display all their considerable talents in one of the most important and satisfying films of the year.
THE VISIT
Urbanworld Films
Screenwriter-producer-director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Based on the play by: Kosmond Russell
Executive producers: Vicky Pike, Morris Ruskin, Stacy Spikes
Director of photography: John Ndiaga Demps
Production designer: John Larena
Editors: Alison Learned, Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Costume designer: Carlos Rosario
Music: Michael Bearden, Stefan Dickerson,
Ramsey Lewis, Wallace Roney, Stanley A. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alex: Hill Harper
Tony: Obba Babatunde
Henry Waters: Billy Dee Williams
Lois Waters: Marla Gibbs
Felicia McDonald: Rae Dawn Chong
Dr. Coles: Phylicia Rashad
Marilyn Coffey: Talia Shire
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/18/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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