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May 2007
The 7 Sistas of Summer

The 7 Sistas of Summer
Description: Queen Latifah, Naomie Harris, and Kerry Washington are among the 7 sistas you will see this summer in films.

By Wilson Morales


When it comes to films in general, there are never enough roles for women on the screen, let enough leading roles, or roles for African American women, but so far this year, we have seen a good share of prominent roles go to Black women. While Halle Berry is the only one to have a leading role in “Perfect Stranger”, some supporting roles were given with Meagan Good in “Stomp The Yard”, Thandie Newton in “Norbit”, Gabrielle Union in “Daddy’s Little Girls”, S. Epatha Merkerson in “Black Snake Moan”, Kimberly Elise in “Pride”, Jada Pinkett Smith in “Reign Over Me”, Nia Long in “Are We Done Yet?”, Tracie Thoms and Sydney Tamaii Poitier in “Grindhouse”, Vivica A. Fox in “The Salon”, and Victoria Rowell in “Home of the Brave”.

As the summer gets going and the studio as well as the audience focusing heavily on potential blockbusters such as Spider-man 3, Shrek The Third, Ocean’s Thirteen, and Transformers, here’s a look at some of the African American women that will seen in some of these summer films.

Naomie Harris returns as Tia Dalma in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Opens May 25)

In the follow-up to the record-breaking smash 2006 hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, we find our heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker – while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle – as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance. Click here for more information -

 

Kerry Washington returns as Alicia Masters in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (Opens June 15)

Marvel's first family of superheroes, The Fantastic Four, meets their greatest challenge yet in "Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer" as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost. Click here for more information -

Wanda Sykes stars as Rita in “Evan Almighty” (Opens June 22)

Steve Carell reprises his role as Evan Baxter -- the polished, preening newscaster of the first film -- who finds himself the next one anointed by God (Morgan Freeman) to accomplish a holy mission. Newly elected to Congress, Evan leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his family to suburban northern Virginia. Once there, his life gets turned upside-down when God appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark. But his befuddled wife (Lauren Graham) and kids just can't decide whether Evan is having an extraordinary mid-life crisis or is truly onto something of Biblical proportions...
Click here for more information -


Taraji P. Henson stars along Don Cheadle as Vernell in “Talk To Me” (Opens July 13)

The powerful real-life story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene (portrayed by Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle), an outspoken ex-con who talked his way into becoming an iconic radio personality in the 1960s in Washington, D.C. Sparked by both the era's vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness, Petey openly courted controversy at a white-owned station. Relying on his producer Dewey Hughes (double Golden Globe Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor) to run interference, Petey's unprecedented "tell it like it is" on-air style gave voice and spirit to the black community during and exciting and turbulent period in American history. Click here for more information -


Queen Latifah stars as Motormouth Maybelle in “Hairspray” (Opens July 20)

Sixteen years after the release of the original film, New Line Cinema is bringing a feature film adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway production "Hairspray" to life. Featuring new and original material based on John Waters' 1988 cult classic. Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a heavy weight teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, her and her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes)run home and watch the show, and drool over the hot Link Larken (Zac Efron) must to Tracy's mother Edna's (John Travolta) dismay. After one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins (Jason Marsden) holds auditions to see who is the next person on the Corny Collins show. With all of the help of her friend Seaweed (Elijah Kelly), Tracy makes it on the show and maddening the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow) and her mother Velma (Michelle Pfieffer). Tracy then decides that it's not fair that the black kids only can dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month, and with the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), her father (Christopher Walken) and Edna, she's gonna integrate the show.....without denting her 'do! Click here for more information -


Garcelle Beauvais stars along Lindsay Lohan as Julie Bascome in “I Know Who Killed Me” (Opens July 27)

Lohan plays Aubrey, the young daughter of affluent parents who is abducted and mutilated by a sadistic serial killer. She manages to escape, sans a hand and a leg and lots of blood. The girl who regains consciousness in the hospital claims to be not Aubrey but Dakota -identical to Aubrey, but with a much different demeanor. Dakota struggles to convince anyone that she is not Aubrey and finds herself in a desperate race to save Aubrey's life and her own against overwhelming odds. Click here for more information -

Tamala Jones stars along Cuba Gooding Jr. as Kim Hinton in “Daddy Day Camp” (Opens August 10)

This hilarious sequel to the smash hit “Daddy Day Care” finds dads Charlie Hinton and Phil Ryerson (Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae) in another kid-harried adventure as they take over running a summer day camp. Armed with no knowledge of the great outdoors, a dilapidated facility, and a motley group of campers, it doesn’t take long before things get out of control. Up against threats of foreclosure and declining enrollment Charlie is forced to call on his estranged father, Col Buck Hinton (Richard Gant) to help bring the camp together and teach everyone about teamwork, perseverance and the power of forgiveness. Click here for more information -

 


 

 

 

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