1997_09 The Daily Collegian September 1997

              September 10.1997
Life & Style
Color on the
Big Screen
Hood's in Harlem
•***i
Review by Jeffery McGee
Uhuru Na Umoja
The most anticipated gangster film of the summer is fi¬
nally here. Hoodlum, starring Laurence Fishburnc as "Bumpy
Johnson", Tim Roth as "Butch Schulrz" and Andy Garcia as
"Lucky Luciano", is a thrilling talc about the illegal gambling
business during the Great Depression in Harlem, New York..
Johnson finds himself in the midst of a vicious turf war
when he takes charge of the gambling ring from the "Queen
Lady", played by Cicely Tyson, who has been head operator
of the numbers racket for several years.
Everyone from crooked cops to lifetime criminals-arc look¬
ing to get a piece of this underground gambling system.
Johnson's job is to make sure this doesn't happen.
Featuring an outstanding supporting role by the beautiful
Vanncssa Williams, Hoodlum will intrigue you right from the
opening scene.
Hoodlum also has a soundtrack featuring some of New
Yorks's finest.hip-hop artists, such as Mobb Deep. Big Noyd,
and Rakim, is rated "R" and currently showing at local the¬
aters.
Where the true Players at?
•••*
Review by Jeffery McGee
Uhuru Na Umoja
Def Jam's How to be a Player is a hilarious comedy star¬
ring Bill Bellamy, the host of MTV Jam's. How to be a Player
lightly touches on the differences between the female and male
species, particulary when it comes to relationships.
Bellamy plays Dray Jackson, a major player who has sev¬
eral different girlfriends who don't know about each other.
Bellamy runs into a little trouble when his younger sister in¬
vites all of his women to a party that he and his friends will be
attending that evening. Of course, a true player wouldn't be
bothered by this, or would he?
Howjo be a Player features co-stars Bcrnic Mac, Natalie
Dcssclle, Max Julicn and Lark Vborhics from "Saved By the
Bell".
The film also has a soundtrack on the Def Jam label which
Bitter Battle Over Shakur Estate
■With the release
of rapper's final
film lawsuits pile.
Black World News Today
Being dead hasn't seemed
to interfere with Tupac
Shakur's career.  In fact now
that he's out of the way it can
roll right along. Another film
starring Tupac is set for
release within the month. In
the to be released film Tupac
plays a cop along side co- star
Jim Bclushi who kill a suspect
then try to find someone to
blame for the killing.
On the downside, Tupac
Shakur's natural  father,
William M. Garland, turns up
demanding half of Shakur's
estate. Afcni Shakur. Tupac's
mother, maintained she was
not sure who the father was.
But the "now" resourceful
Garland, had himself DNA'd
and guess what - it's a match.
Which is no real revelation
because Tupac looks exactly
like him.
Afcni maintained he gave
her about $20 bucks all told
for the raising of Tupac, so
how docs he come off de¬
manding half. But according
to Los Angeles law, if Tupac
died without a will, half goes
to the father. It is being
appealed.
An Arkansas court already
cut int,o Afeni Shakur inherit-    '
ancc to the tunc of $16 million
to a woman who was shot at
the Tupac Shakur concert.
Death  Row Records also
claims Tupac's estate owe
them $7 million. Afcni coun¬
tered that Death Row Records
cheated Tupac out of millions
and he died broke. Sugc
Knight, now in jail is being
counter sued by Afeni Shakur
who claims Tupac had to sign
away his future record earn¬
ings to Death Row as a
condition of Knight posting
his extraordinarily high bail in
the sexual assault case. v
Afcni also maintains Death
Row charged fraudulent
expenses to Tupac's account
including a $120,000 house
that Death Row attorney
David Kcnncr lived in that
had nothing to do with Tupac.
The late Tupac Shakur
Then there is the nuisance
suit from C. Dclorcs Tucker,
an ami gangsta rap advocate
that claims her married sex
life was permanently damaged
by Tupac Shakur's lyrics.
Tupac's attorney,  Richard
Fischbcin who administers the
Shakur estate says of all the
suits, the Tucker suit annoys
him most and he can't wait to
get her into court.
Nevertheless, Tupac's death
has generated sales of his
records and film to the tunc of
nearly $50 million.
BBC Documentary Causes "Roots" Row
Ef Online News
It looks like overly PC
American television is
giving the cold shoulder
to a BBC-produced Roots
documentary for fear that  it will
create unwanted racial upheaval.
American networks arc
reportedly boycotting the
program because it alleges Alex
Haley lied about his family
history in his bcst.sclling Roots
for dramatic effect.
Unnamed U.S. broadcast
executives told the Times of
London they feared the docu¬
mentary could cause racial
tension, especially in parts of the
country where Haley is most
revered, such as the Deep South
|    and urban centers (Network
flacks denied knowing anything
about the documentary when
called for comment Monday).
Regardless, African-American
:    scholars familiar with the Haley
j   controversy support the pur-
j   ported boycott. "Boycotts arc
affective tools when there's good
evidence of unfairness," said
Pamela Porter, director for the
Center of Plack Cultural Affairs jt
the University of Southern
California. "Roots was one of the
first media representations that
dealt with African-American issues.
It would not be taken well if [the
BBC documentary] were aired
because of the enormous icon   .
established by Haley."
First airing in 11>76. Roots
follows the true story of Haley's
family heritage dating back six
generations to a West African
named Kunta Kinte who was
captured by slave traders and
transported to America to work on
a plantation.
The success of Roots secured
Haley—who died in 1992 at age
70—some 200 literary prizes and
became an American cultural
phenomenon.
It was this popularity that
prompted many people to cross¬
check Haley's sources and trace
his research. "Virtually every fact in
the closing critical pages of Roots is
false." author Philip N'obilc told
the Times. "Nobody would have
challenged this book if it had
been classified as fiction, but
Haley defrauded the very people
he claimed he was champion-
■ng."
However. Itibari Zulu,
librarian at the Center for
African- American Studies at
University of California, Los
Angeles, said that despite factual
errors he felt inspired, not
defrauded by Haley. "He may
have made a lot ol mistakes in
general but-he had the right
idea, he was on the right track,"
Zulu said.
But Zulu also contended that
unless the documentary has a
vindictive or hidden agenda, it
should not be censored from the
American public.
Brits will get a first glimpse of
the program next week when it
runs as part of the Bookworm
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