Black History Month

BLACK HISTORY MONTH begins this week and a slew of TV programs, DVD releases, and many other events are being planned to celebrate the month. Coming out on Tuesday (Feb.1) is the DVD of the Oscar nominated film, RAY, which stars Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Sharon Warren, and many others. A special edition of MALCOLM X, which stars Denzel Washington, is also being released next week.  

Premiering on HBO on February 12 at 8 p.m. is LACKAWANNA BLUES. Based on the acclaimed autobiographical one-man show by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and co-executive produced by the Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry. This warm and vibrant drama is an inspiring story of coming of age, of a mother/son love that transcends biological ties, and of an extraordinary woman who built a community and circumvented segregation in her own determined way. Like a good blues song, the film strikes notes that are painful but beautiful, ones that remain alive to both the heartbreaks and joys of life. Written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and making his film debut as a director, George C. Wolfe, the film stars S. Epatha Merkerson, Marcus Carl Franklin, Mos Def, Carmen Ejogo, Louis Gossett, Jr., Macy Gray, Terrence Dashon Howard, Delroy Lindo, Rosie Perez, Liev Schreiber, Jimmy Smits, and Jeffrey Wright. For more information on the film, click here.

In celebration of Black History Month, SHOWTIME will anchor a month of original programming and compelling stories focused on the African-American experience. The salute kicks off February 1st with the 14th annual Black Filmmaker Showcase, featuring six shorts by up-and-coming African-American filmmakers. Also included in the Black History Month line-up will be several Showtime Original Pictures with top-notch talent including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Mario Van Peebles and Forest Whitakerr, as well as the premium network premiere of the movie "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," starring Ice Cube and Sean Patrick Thomas.

The month of February is also Spike Lee Month. Not only is his last film, SHE HATE ME, which starred Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington, being released next week, but a special edition of SCHOOL DAZE is also out as well. Besides the DVD releases, Spike Lee, along with Ernest Dickerson, LeVar Burton, Neema Barnette and Bill Duke are directing episodes of MIRACLE BOYS.

 

The N, the nighttime network for teens, will premiere Miracle's Boys, the network's first-ever dramatic mini-series that centers around three half-Puerto Rican, half African-American, orphaned teenage brothers living in Harlem, NY and their struggle to hold their family together. The mini-series, which was shot entirely on location in Harlem, will premiere in three, hour-long installments on The N during Black History Month. Miracle's Boys (Part 1) will premiere on Friday, February 18, from 9:00-10:00 p.m. (ET), with Parts II and III premiering that same weekend on Saturday, February 19 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) and Sunday, February 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), respectively. Miracle's Boys is based on the award-winning novel of the same name, by young adult author Jacqueline Woodson. Miracle's Boys is executive produced by Nikki Silver, Orly Wiseman and David C. McCourt for On Screen Entertainment, in conjunction with Tonya Lewis Lee. For more information of Miracle Boys, click here.

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