Kwesi Boakye - Film

Kwesi Boakye - Film

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

Kwesi Boakye

     Kwesi Boakye is one of tinsel town’s most talked about young actors. He holds his own next to veteran actor Michael Ealy ("Think like a Man") in the lead role of the compelling drama“Unconditional”. Boakye's recent big screen credits include playing the lovable sick baby brother“Manny”, in Tyler Perry's #1 box office hit "I Can Do Bad All By Myself". He has guest starred in numerous major TV shows including playing "P-Diddy's" son on the hit TV series "Hawaii Five-O" to critical acclaim.  Boakye is a series regular cast on TNT'S “Men of a Certain Age” and is the voice of “Darwin”, the lead character in the Cartoon Network’s new award winning hit animated series
"The Amazing World Of Gumball" .

      "UNCONDITIONAL" is now playing in theaters nationwide.       


      When asked to describe his role in the film, Boakye explains, "Well my character “Macon”  basically hustles and makes deals to survive, just like most of the young boys who are fatherless or parentless in the under resourced community where he lives. On the outside “Macon” wants to be perceived as cool and tough by his peers but deep inside he is crying out for love. ”Papa” Joe’s (Michael Ealy) tireless love and caring for “Macon” , created an unbreakable bond, between the man he sees as the only father he will ever have." 

Kwesi Boakye

      Being a film making veteran at such a young age, what experiences did Boakye take away from this project? He lights up, "The experience was great! Everyone on set was so helpful and nice. I had never been to Nashville so that was really cool. I loved the set at the farmhouse, just so much land, horses,cows and waterfalls. I had so much fun, I almost forgot I was filming, it just felt like a vacation really with a new family."

© 2012 Rych McCain Media/Syndication tm 
(You DID Hear It From Me!) 
 E-Mail: feedbackrych@sbcglobal.net 

 

Ceelo Green - Music

Ceelo Green - Music

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

CEELO'S MAGIC MOMENT

     Elektra recording artist CeeLo Green has announced early details of his eagerly awaited holiday album, “CEELO’S MAGIC MOMENT.”  The album – which features the Grammy Award-winning superstar performing a collection of holiday classics – arrives everywhere on October 30th. 

    CeeLo has invited a star-studded guest list to his holiday extravaganza (see attached track listing), including the one and only Disney’s The Muppets, who join Green on an original song soon to become a holiday classic, “All I Need Is Love.”  CeeLo and The Muppets will also appear in the track’s companion music video.  “CEELO’S MAGIC MOMENT” gathers a captivating array of seasonal staples, all newly reworked and re-energized in Green’s incomparable and inventive style.  The visionary singer/writer/rapper/producer puts his distinctive stamp on such holiday favorites as “White Christmas,” “Silent Night,” and “Run Rudolph Run.”  “CEELO’S MAGIC MOMENT” also sees Green joining his The Voice co-star, GRAMMY Award winner Christina Aguilera for the seasonal favorite “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Additionally, CeeLo will share the mic with the legendary Rod Stewart for an unforgettable rendition of the R&B standard, “Merry Christmas, Baby.”  Other guests on the album include acclaimed a capella group Straight No Chaser who join Green on “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” The album was executive produced by Green who collaborated with producer Adam Anders, known for his work on Fox’s Glee.

     Rod Stewart and Disney’s The Muppets will also join the all-star lineup, each performing one song with Green, for “CeeLo and Friends,” which will be held in the Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on October 10th. CeeLo will perform songs from “CEELO’S MAGIC MOMENT” with the newly-added entertainers, as well as past artists from NBC’s The Voice. Doors will open at 7pm and the show will begin at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com. The one-time concert will be filmed and will premiere November 26th on The Warner Sound (www.youtube.com/TheWarnerSound), Warner Music Group’s original YouTube channel. 

   In other news, CeeLo has contributed his distinctive talent to yet another great American tradition as Green’s “I Love Football” is the official “fanchise” for the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football coverage, with each week’s game beginning with videos uploaded by fans performing the song.  Green can of course also be seen on the third season of NBC’s smash singing competition, The Voice.  In addition, he was among the star-studded cast lighting up the big screen in one of this summer’s most popular films, Sparkle.

 “CEELO’S MAGIC MOMENT” follows Green’s breakthrough 2010 solo album, “THE LADY KILLER.”  Truly a worldwide phenomenon, the album is celebrated by a pair of Grammy Award-winning hit singles in the #1 smash, “Fool For You (Feat. Melanie Fiona)” and the epochal, 5 million-selling sensation, “F**k You.” 

   © 2012 Rych McCain Media/Syndication tm 
(You DID Hear It From Me!)
 E-Mail: feedbackrych@sbcglobal.net 

Jake Gyllenhaal & Michael Pena - Movie

Jake Gyllenhaal & Michael Pena - Movie

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

Jake Gyllenhaal 

and 

Michael Pena

Plays Cops As Real As It Gets!

Photos Courtesy of Open Road Films

(L)  Jake Gyllenhaal  (R) Michael Pena 

     Most of your cop drama movies involve super cops who can shoot, fight and finagle their way out of anything no matter how impossible the situation or how dangerous the foe. David Ayer who wrote the script for “Training Day” which won the “Best Leading Actor” Oscar® for Denzel Washington has now pinned another cop drama that he not only wrote but also directed and produced. “End Of Watch” is a cop drama that is as real as it gets. 

L  Gyllenhaal           R  Pena 

     Ayer let’s the theater viewer get a personal take on two LAPD officers by showing their family life and what the wives of cops go through, showing how they act at the station and on the job. This movie takes the viewer riding along on patrol giving the feel of what its like wearing a badge and dealing with the mean streets on the real.

     Oscar® nominated (“Brokeback Mountain), Jake Gyllenhaal plays officer Brian Taylor and is teamed up with Michael Pena who plays officer Mike Zavala.

Anna Kindrick (Brian's girlfriend Janet)

      

  Officer Taylor has a fiancé named Janet played by Anna Kendrick

America Ferrera (Mike's wife Orozco)

  while officer Zavala is married with a family and his wife is Orozco played by America Ferrera. 

     Even though this movie is dead serious, there is natural comedy laced throughout the conversations and interaction between the two partners. Pena explains, “What’s really hard to do, which I’m super proud of, is what we did was like, make comedy out of life and that’s the hardest kind of comedy to do. A lot of the time it was us fighting like ‘why did you do that man’ and the comedy comes out of there. The comedy also comes out of two guys that are brothers who can get mad at each other and be really honest and when there’s a lot of honesty I think it’s an awesome kind of comedy.”

      As with every role that specifically involves a job or position that is very familiar to the viewers, role research is conducted so the actors come off believable. The two partners actually went out on patrol with the real LAPD. Gyllenhaal recalls one incident while on patrol. “We were on a ride-along and they took us down an alley way. Then they stopped and took out their guns. We were following them then all of a sudden we heard this pop, pop, pop, like there was some sort of gunfire. They had thrown fire crackers and Mike and I were like Ahhhh! Ahhhh, Ahhhh.”

   Gyllenhaal grew up in LA but he says making this film made him fall back in love with the city. He especially learned a lot about the Latino culture. He breaks it down, “When it came down to hanging out in the neighborhood and being amongst the people; like 95% of the community there is incredible. Like the families I’d see, the people I interacted with, the food that was there. Everything there made me fall back in love with LA. I was born here and reared in a completely different part of Los Angeles. There is that one scene that Dave wrote that was very beautiful where his partner Mike says his grandmother said if you can live without her then forget her but if you can’t then man-up and marry her.” This was discussed in the patrol car when officer Taylor was debating about marrying his girlfriend.

     Gyllenhaal continued, “What I could see being around Latino culture, being around Dave (the film’s writer/director) and his family and all of his friends; that was something I took away from that experience and that sense of loyalty, I could go on and on. It changed my life.” How did making this movie change either actor’s perspective on the job of being a cop? Pena responds, ”They are actually trying to preserve a lot of the good parts the neighborhood. What makes the news is news. For every one thing that you see that is messed up, corrupt, or whatever you want to say, there’s a thousand actions that you don’t acknowledge, that they don’t see and they don’t get the news. When we were on these ride-a-longs, we saw these guys do a lot of good stuff.”

   © 2012 Rych McCain Media/Syndication tm

 (You DID Hear It From Me!)  

E-Mail: feedbackrych@sbcglobal.net