tHe aNtoine FuQua stoRy- #bEiNspiRed

Antoine Fuqua- Actor, Producer, & Director- photo credit LA Times

Today i would like to share an interesting and inspiring story about someone i believe to be one of the most consistent, but underrated film directors in the world.

Meet Antoine Fuqua, a very talented but also very creative Director, Producer & Actor. You may not recognize him or even have heard his name before but i am certain you have seen his work. Training Day, The Replacement Killer(1998), Shooter (2007), King Arthur(2014), Brooklyn's Finest(2010), Olympus has fallen(2013) & recently The Equalizer  (2014)  are just some of the movies Antoine has directed in addition to directing music videos for Tony Braxton, Prince, Stevie Wonder (Find your love, 1995), Usher(Bedtime, ver. 2), Lil Wayne (Mirror, 2011), and wait for it Coolio (Ganster's paradise, 1995) yeah! He also has a few TV Commercials to his credit which include: Pirelli Tires (The Call, 2006), Reebok, Toyota, Armani.. I could go on and on but you see what i mean by 'underrated'

I found his story particularly inspiring, because like him, a lot of us started our chosen career paths with nothing. He used his 'lack' as fuel and motivation to make something out his his life. 

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the 19th of January 1966, He credits his big break and turning point to getting Shot at the age of 15-(Did i hear you say weird? keep reading..). Yes at 15 he got shot on the streets and he says that pushed him to stay away from the streets and engage in everyday activities like going to the movies and playing basketball. This probably set him on his artistic course.

Before long he landed a Basketball scholarship to study Electrical Engineering at the West Virginia University, He did not graduate- (Lesson: though a degree gives you some level of social standing and job market leverage, it doesn't determine all you can be in Life, because if you lack the strength to impose your terms on Life, then you deserve the terms Life imposes on you). 

His first major influence in directing was from Akira Kurosama, the director of 7th Samurai, shortly after he put his rent money into a short film called 'Exit' a story about a drug dealer and his illusions of Stigma and suicide. He sent it out to major record labels who didn't know what to make of it. Not long after that, he got a call from the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer who invited him to make a music video with Coolio, for a movie he was working on. He recalls being sent on coffee runs by people he was supposed to be meeting who mistook him for a production assistant and who didn't realize he was the director presumably because he was black. 

His fire comes from the believe that sometimes unfortunate things happen to people in Life, you have to take those experiences and use them as leverage to propel yourself to your dreams and not go backwards. Burn that bridge behind you so the only way for you is forward, Believe in yourself, Open up your mind to better ways of doing things.

Antoine Fuqua is married to Lela Rochon also an actor. He currently has an estimated net-worth of about $18,000,000. He says if he wasnt a film maker, he would be in some Government Military organization. He hates the 'black' label some media people attach to his personality or achievement. He feels that movie making should be about elevating the idea of what we are and who we are as people in the cinema, and that movies like 'Soul Plane' keep dragging us back down. 
..lol

What would you say has marked your turning point or biggest leverage in your career that has propelled you to an even greater path?  let me know in the comment box. thank you for reading along.

- @gozzim

sources: MyFirstBigBreak, Wikipedia, IMDB, bbc.co.uk

The Journey- very shitty *

The sour taste in my mouth as I write my first post of the year is definitely not as a result of the cherry fruit (agbalumo) I didn’t suck on. It is with all certainty the bouts of bad or almost terrible movies I have subjected myself to within the last 2 weeks. ‘Common don’t take life too seriously its just a freaking movie’- I hear you say- hell NO! it is more than a freaking movie to me…

It is about the only semblance of a social life I have these days. Its never about the money but the principle…lol (#wash). Someone please explain to me why I should be forcefully subjected to 94-120 mins of paid  torture at the cinema when I could easily sit in my house hit download and endure a terrible movie at my own convenience. I really love movies, I am also a collector of good ones. But as it turns out it may seem like 2012 is setting itself up to be a shitty year in movies. Case in point: ‘The Journey 2’.

Starring Dwayne Johnson, and a bunch of terrible actors, the movie is about the story of a young boy who goes on an adventure with his step dad to find his long lost grandfather who went  missing while in search of a mysterious island years ago after receiving a weak satellite transmission from him. Everything about this movie sucked, from the crappy sound effects (probably the cinema’s fault in all fairness), to the lame CGI effects, the costumes (precisely the weird pants worn by Vanessa Hudgens), the shallow details (like jelly fish that refused to sting or the peaceful great white sharks) and stupid dialogue. This movie has to be the shittiest movie I have seen in a long while. Some movies are not worth watching at the cinemas and the journey 2 directed by Brad Peyton should have been a straight to DVD release.

I will give this movie a miserable 1-G stamp. I must mention also that ‘the Descendants’ though generally a good movie isn’t also worth watching at the cinemas seemed to me more like a film for the family living room.

THOR (3D)- my review

THOR 3D directed by  Kenneth Branagh is indeed an extra ordinary blend of a good storyline, action scenes and breathtaking sound & special 3D effects. 

The movie which features Chris Hemsworth ( as thor), Natalie Portman (as Jane Foster), Anthony Hopkins (Odin the god) and Idris Elba (Heimdall the gate keeper) is indeed a good movie, Although through out the movie i couldn't help but notice the Hammer which  bears a striking resemblance to SANGO's staff a Yoruba god who coincidently is also the god of Thunder according to Yoruba mythology. 

THOR is a marvel comic adaptation which is based on the universal god of thunder depicted in the marvel comic series and it tells the tale of the banishment of THOR by his father who is a wise & peace loving king. It also tells an unclear and an unfinished love story between THOR and Jane. The movie which opened over the weekend has so far earned $66million at the box office.

This movie is worth the time and the little inconvenience of the 3D glasses and gets 4-G stamps from me.

Final destination2

This has to rank as my favorite horor(*well i think semi horor) movie of all time. I always had the impression that if you wanted a good story line in a movie, horors movies where the last place to turn. I dare say that the director of this movie has got a very twisted mind and a keen attention to details.

From the visually disturbing scenes, to the creative patterns by which each of the major casts where haunted by death,it is apparent that this is an amazing movie to watch.

The movie directed by David R. Ellis, stars Ali Larter and A.J Cook who both play individuals who cheated death by having premonitions through which they were able to save lives except that the survivors begin to die in mysterious ways after the said premonitions, which prompts them to stick together for survival

The downside to this movie for me was: after such an intense script I would have expected a more dramatic end. In conclusion this movie gets 7 G-stamps from me out of 10.

THE EXAM- undoubtedly my best movie of the year ****

"...its not about what he said you know?..its about what he didn't say..." 

***this would rank as my favorite line in this movie.

In the last 12months i have seen lots of spectacular movies, but none compares to this awesome movie i had the rare privilege to see last nite- THE EXAM.

This movie combines share genius and simplicity. In concept only the movie PHONE BOOTH comes even close.

The entire 1hr 34mins of this movie is set in one location - a room. 8 individuals after haven scaled preliminary tests are assembled in a room and given 80mins to write a final test. After several instructions from the invigilator the test commences only for the applicants to flip their sheets and discover blank pages. They must think out of the box to provide the required answer.

The movie stars Luke Mably, Colin Salmon, Jim Mistry among other fresh faces. The movie was written, directed and produced by Stuart Hazeldine.

Lame as it may sound, but this is the kind of movie you finish watching and feel so good about within and get all sorta positive ideas out of.

Its the 14th of December, and this is undoubtedly my movie of the year.

5 G-stars to this movie.

Bet Big, Win Big -=TAKERS=- the movie

...this is not the way we do things gentlemen, its too fast, its too rushed...-A.J #this has got to be one of my best lines from the movie.

at the start I was disappointed at the lack of precision of the 'operation'. Then as if that was'nt enough the slip ups of these so called TAKERS got worse.

But without doubt my best part of the movie has got to be the Chris Brown/ Cop chase scene. His acrobatic s where off the hook. It could pass for a good movie so i would give the movie 3 G-stars. The movie stars  Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip 'TI' Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, and Zoe Saldana

Its action packed and enjoyable especially at the cinemas.                                                

The Social Network (The facebook movie)

Ok so this right here is some good ish. I have waiited so long for this movie to finally be at the cinemas...from the reviews this has got to be awesome. Rotten Tomatoes a premium movie review site has give this movie a %100 rating. Thats something that doesnt happen often on there. Not even avatar got a 100% rate on that site. Enjoy the trailer. The movie opens to the Gneral public on the 1st of october, 2010.

THE TENANT™ WINS BEST FILM AT THE MID ATLANTIC BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

The movie 'The TENANT™' is fast on the rise as it wins yet another award at The Mid Atlantic Black Film Festival.

'The Tenant' movie was selected amongst many as the official closing film at The Mid Atlantic Black Film Festival, an annual juried film festival that showcases the work and talent of independent film makers.

This remarkable and well put together movie has gained major buzz in the United States, UK, Canada and Nigeria.

'The Tenant' has also been selected as the Opening Movie for this years Canadian Black Film Festival.

The movie is scheduled to screen in three days, on Sept. 25th at Eng 103, George Vari Building, Ryerson University at 6:30pm prompt.

For more information please visit www.cbff.ca

The mulitple award winning movie is also set to premiere in Lagos later on this year. Information regarding the premiere will be made available via print media and various online portals.

For more information regarding The Tenant Movie please email prafrica@bobbytaylor.ca

"Are you the Landlord or Tenant of your life?"
- Broken Manacles.



----------------------

Obinna (Lucky Ejim), an African refugee in Canada, faces deportation in 30 days. When all hope seems lost, a chance confrontation with Timothy, his terminally ill landlord, provides him an opportunity to remain in the country. Timothy who is a former immigration officer makes him a deal; he will intervene in his pending deportation if Obinna finds his estranged daughter Nicole and convinces her to see him one last time before he dies. With the clock ticking, Obinna fights to save his dreams, in the course of which he stumbles on a discovery that will shake the very foundations of his beliefs.

::Nigerians in Hollywood::Raz Adoti | season2

Sometime in May 2008, I started a series of posts on this blog called 'Nigerians in Hollywood', for some reason there was a long pause after sophie Okenedo's review. We also reviewed Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje , popularly known as 'Eko' from the lost series. Season two opens with a review of another huge talent Raz Adoti.


Born in England to Nigerian parents, Razaaq Adoti (a.k.a. Raz) is the second eldest of five children. After graduating high school, Raz's first intention was to work behind the scenes as a cameraman, but he fell in love with the stage instead. At the age of 17, after his first year in college, Adoti landed his first job in theater.

Before graduating, Adoti was cast as Nathan Detroit in the National Youth and Music Theatre Company's (NYMT) production of Guys and Dolls. The tour took Adoti to Japan, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and numerous other places across Europe. Additionally in 1991, he secured a part in NYMT's production of the opera Aesop, which won a Fringe First Award

In 1992 he was accepted to train at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama (former students of the academy include Sir Laurence Olivier, Dame Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave). At CSSD, Adoti earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in acting. Upon graduation, he was signed by one of London's most reputable talent agencies and his professional career was truly under way.

Within a year of leaving drama school Adoti's dream of performing on stage came true. In 1997, he was cast in a major supporting role in Steven Spielberg's new epic, Amistad. He was humbled to be a part of the distinguished cast assembled to chronicle a very important chapter in American history. The ensemble included: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey. After completing Amistad, he returned to London with newfound determination. He worked on various television and film projects.

In 2001, Hollywood came calling again and this time, Adoti was given the chance to work with another Oscar®-winning director, Ridley Scott. Adoti played the main antagonist in Scott's Black Hawk Down, Yousuf Dahir Mo'alim. Since then he has gone on to co-star in director Paul
Anderson's Resident Evil: Apocalypse, opposite Milla Jovovich.

Adoti's past television credits include Sky One's award-winning television drama Dream Team, BBC's BAFTA award-winning miniseries Holding On, ITV's award-winning television drama, Soldier Soldier and Channel 4's controversial miniseries Men Only. Raz last vistited Nigeria in 2008 and comes home regularly. He says he feels a strong connection to his roots.

Next week we would also be taking a trip to the world of Chiwetel Ejiofor. Another Nigerian born, screen genius. I bet they all make us proud some how.