Keeping It 100

Last year this time I COULD NOT WAIT to get up to go vote. This WAS the most important election of my lifetime and I was excited. I must also say that it was something I still did not think would happen.

I’m optimistic about most things, but when it came to America electing a black president I felt like a Public Enemy song “Can’t Truss It”. I thought “they” would find him in bed with a dead hooker and a live boy or something. The history of this country just couldn’t be ignored and I just didn’t want to get my “hopes up”.

I got up early, voted and went to work. After work I had somewhere to go and when I got home the election results were too early to clarify a winner. I went to sleep with the election results on. When I woke up I decided to record it. My DVR says I started recording November 4, 2008 9:57 PM (NBC coverage). It wasn’t until 11pm that they announced the news that Barack Obama was elected 44th President of the United States :-D. After that it was no sleep until THE MAN came on to give his acceptance speech. In the meantime John McCain gave one of the most eloquent concession speeches I ever heard. Major props to him for that.

By my DVR “the next first family of the United States” came out in Grant Park in Chicago (pictured above) at 11:56 PM. Even though I wasn’t there I could feel the energy! Riveted to the screen would be a major understatement. I stayed up and recorded more coverage about an hour after his speech and then I finally got a few hours of sleep before work. I also received several text messages that night and the next morning.

November 5th 2008 was no walk in the park at work because I was so sleepy (what I called a “non alcoholic election night hangover”), but so proud. “Proud” too is an understatement. One word cannot capture what I felt that night and to this day.

And now, a word from the man himself.

*You can read more about what I did last year on November 4, 2008 in 100 Minutes

Our Newest Film-"Making History"

After casting Kesha Afrika Oliver in The Part and having a chance to talk to her I decided to film an “interview” with her to maybe put on The Part DVD. I found her experiences at Colonial Williamsburg to use her words “interesting”.

Kesha Afrika Oliver in Making History

I really had no intention of committing to another film when I hadn’t even completed the first film. I had to film her interviews after rehearsals and shooting of The Part. The footage was so engrossing I decided to make a short documentary from the interviews. Making a documentary (if done right) is a long process. It’s not just an “interview”. You have to add additional footage (video and photos) and possibly even more interviews. So I decided to undertake this task because I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

So now a documentary that started as an interview, that was only for “special features” for a DVD, is now being shown as a film by itself. Somehow a copy of Making History got out and now it will be shown at the end of October. Ok I know how it got out, but it isn’t really relevant to this story LOL. It seems as though the people at Docs in Progress found Making History equally interesting.

I, Writer & Director Dankwa Brooks, will be there and I’m trying to get Kesha Afrika Oliver to attend as well to answer questions. You can read our Press Release about Making History here and stay tuned to this blog for future information.

Making History will screen Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson.

You can read more about The Part at our blog devoted to the making of the film Part Blog Part News

Making History-Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

‘Nother Brother Entertainment is “Making History”

Baltimore, Maryland-September 30, 2009 - The newest film by Dankwa Brooks, Making History, is a documentary about the effort to include African-American educational programs at Colonial Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg, a venerable historical landmark and a living history museum, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg is an assemblage of restored architecture, populated with historical re-enactors. These performers, or as they are called "interpreters" , illustrate and enlighten audiences about life in 16th - 17th century America through their attire, language and customs as they would have in colonial times.

Actor Kesha Afrika Oliver (pictured left) talks about her unique experiences as an African-American interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg.

‘Nother Brother Entertainment, LLC is an independent film production company in Baltimore, Maryland formed by multi-award winning writer and filmmaker Dankwa Brooks.

For screeners or to arrange an interview with Dankwa Brooks or Kesha Afrika Oliver, please contact Dankwa Brooks at 443-296-2424 or by email at Dankwa@NotherBrother.com

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Ron Waters...at it again [VIDEO]

Check out the trailer from my friend Danny Green's film.

There is EXPLICIT LANGUAGE so be warned...and ENJOY :-)


Related link-
Check out some of Ron Water's stand up in my previous post:
Ron Waters at The Mint

Michael Jackson Memories

I remember the first time I worked with Michael Jackson. I was at Towson University in the Directing for Film class and our instructor said that one lucky student director would get a chance…ok I can’t keep that up any longer. I’m just kidding. Don’t you hate when people make up crap like that?

Seriously when Michael Jackson died I thought it was some rumor. I had somewhere to go that night and by the time I left CNN hadn’t even confirmed anything more than he had cardiac arrest and was in the hospital. When it was finally confirmed I couldn’t think of my favorite Michael Jackson song. Thriller was my favorite album (isn’t it everyone’s?), but I couldn’t think of just one track that I could call my favorite. Truthfully some of my favorite tracks weren’t even singles (Human Nature and Lady in my Life)

Several days later I finally remembered what my favorite track was and it wasn’t even from Thriller. Man in the Mirror is my favorite Michael Jackson song (from the album Bad). In retrospect Bad is a great album, but like other great Michael Jackson albums it has been totally eclipsed by Thriller.

Despite my joke (ill conceived joke? perhaps) at the beginning many of us never met Michael Jackson or were even lucky enough to see him perform live. Most of our memories are tied to seeing him on television.

I don’t think I know anyone in my neighborhood that wasn’t watching Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (May 1983) and the “event” that made the special go down in television history. The Jackson 5 reunion and eventual Michael Jackson performance was the highlight of the special. As much as his death has been the talk of the town (world), so too was this performance. Later that same year I had my favorite Michael Jackson memory…and it’s the truth this time.

As a child of the inner city we never had MTV, truthfully that inner city, Baltimore City didn’t even have cable capabilities (Baltimoreans from the 80’s will remember that). We had to get our music video fix on late night shows like Friday Night Videos and Pump It Up! (which came on like 3 o’clock in the morning, but that’s another blog).

It was December 1983 and I don’t know why my grandmother was up that late, (about 12 o’clock) but she was and for the only time I could remember we watched Friday Night Videos together. That night my favorite and perhaps the greatest music video ever came on…Thriller. In retrospect Thriller isn’t even a great song (my opinion), but the video was…ground breaking! I loved the story, I loved the make-up and of course the dancing. Pop, locking zombies? I mean come on who did that back then…ever? The dream ending was also PERFECT. We were both completely transfixed and thought it was FANTASTIC! The Thriller video was also the talk of the town (world) and especially school that next week.

That was 20 something years ago and a music video isn’t so much an event anymore since you can catch one anytime on the Internet or even buy and download it.

There will never be an artist like Michael Jackson. One who could create a music video that could mesmerize a 60 something woman and a teenage boy at the same time. I can’t think of another artist in my lifetime that could accomplish the same feat and become the talk of the town…make that the world.

Sun Days

For those who don't know I was in

now "The Baltimore Sun" on more than one occassion. The Baltimore Sun is the largest general circulation daily newspaper in the state of Maryland.

I was featured in the paper every time I won a local writing contest.

The Scripps Broadcasting drama competition, which lasted from 1982 to 2002, in a partnership with Arena Players (The nation's longest continously running African American community theater.), was a writing competition for African-Americans living in the state of Maryland. The First Place winner received $1,000 and his or her entry filmed and shown on WMAR, Scripps' ABC affiliate in Baltimore, during Black History month.

I won that contest three times, each time appearing in The Sun, and also making me the ONLY three time winner in the contest's 20 year history. Now I have finally posted all three articles on the 'Nother Brother website as part of our new "Press page". I'm hoping to add more press and more pages, but for now you can read the "history":-)

Go to our Press page here

Ron Waters at The Mint [VIDEO]

Hey check this cat out. He's a friend of friend, a Richard Pryor, Bernie Mac type of comedian so there is EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. He's catching on, and he's going to continue to catch on. Check him out below and pass him along.