The problem with most black actresses is that they are NOT like
Dorothy Dandridge. When Dorothy wanted a part, she went after it.
The story of how she got "Carmen Jones" is legendary.

Most of these actresses will wait until they are TOO OLD to play
these roles. Aretha Franklin fooled around until she got heavy
again before she made her screen debut in THE BLUES BROTHERS. She
had been offered numerous roles after she thinned down in the
early '70s. Now, she's even too old to play Dinah Washington (not
that anybody has written a script). But look at what happened with
Dorothy Dandrige's story. For years, everybody from Janet Jackson,
Whitney Houston, etc. expressed interest in the role, but Halle
Berry was serious. She put her MONEY where her mouth was. For
years, Diana Ross talked about how much she wanted to play Josephine
Baker. She was naive, waiting for Hollywood to call and cast her in
the role. By the time the film was made, Ross, too, was much too
mature for the part. It went to Lynn Whitfield. These actresses
have the notion that they can sit back and wait for scripts to
arrive the way they did for Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth
Taylor. It "ain't" gonna happen.

There are many dramatic stories out there for black female actresses
to play: Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Joyce Bryant, Ethel Waters,
Hattie McDaniel and now, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross!

I spoke with Joyce Bryant last week and urged her to get on with
getting her book written. My friend, David Freeland, has express
interest in writing Joyce's biography. He wrote the critcally
acclaimed book, LADIES OF SOUL, which told the stories of soul
singers, Bettye LaVette, Maxine Brown, Timi Yuro, Denise LaSalle,
Carla Thomas, Barbara Mason and Ruby Johnson. Freeland just
finished Ruth Bowen's bio. She, along with Dinah Washington founded
the Queen Booking Agency.

Oliver
________________________________


--- In lenahorne@yahoogroups.com, ken h2os <kenh2os_2000@y...> wrote:
>
> now that was well said...i applaud you, sir!
> like i said give janet and the project a chance...
> i, too, have waited so very long for lenas' story to be told..
> thanks to all involved!
>
> sbwebmaster <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> This is very surprising news. My initial reaction was "no f*cking
> way!", because I have longed to see Lena's story on screen and I
had
> a list of the perfect actresses to play her in my mind (Whitney
> Houston, Vanessa Williams, Lonette McKee. etc.) and Janet Jackson
has
> NEVER been on that list. And it appears that many people share
that
> sentiment.
>
> However, upon further reflection, I see a definite upside to Janet
> being involved in this project. Janet is enormously popular, she
> will draw people to this project based on her star power. Her
> involvement makes it likely that it will be a top-notch
production.
> She is a very beautiful woman who can easily embody the physical
> appeal of Lena. As well, Janet is a very hard worker and she has
> spent a lot of time creating very impressive onstage spectacles.
At
> her essence, she is a great performer who has a keen sense of how
to
> interact with an audience -- just like Lena. Janet is a smart,
> reverent woman from a large showbusiness family, who is likely
very
> aware of Lena Horne's place in the black entertainment legacy --
> maybe moreso than her peers. Finally, it is important to remember
> that but for us diehard Lena-philes she is not very well-known to
the
> under-60 set. Most 18 to 35 year olds would only recognize her as
> Glinda from "The Wiz" movie or as the woman that Soul Train named
its
> Lady Of Soul achievement award after. So while Janet lacks many of
> Lena's traits and characteristics, the vast majority of the people
> who see this movie will not know that.
>
> The reality is that Lena is not like Judy or Barbra. Lena is
black
> and her story is a uniquely black story. Biopics on black women do
> not top most Hollywood producers' lists of dream projects. The
fact
> that the project is being made is good news that should be
> celebrated. The fact that the Oscar-winning producers
of "Chicago"
> have signed on to bring Lena's story to life and have cast one of
the
> biggest-selling and most iconic female artists in popular music
are
> reasons to rejoice.
>
> Now, I am not too eager to hear Janet sing Lena's songs but I
could
> think of much worse things. The irony is that much of the
discussion
> on this board has referred to Lena's singing as if she were Aretha
> Franklin or Ella Fitzgerald. Lena was a good singer, but she was
NOT
> Sarah Vaughan -- and would be the first person to admit it. Her
> legacy is that she was a magnetic, charismatic live performer who
> could go from red-hot to icy cool without losing her appeal. I
> believe Janet Jackson is capable of embodying this part of Lena.
> Janet singing Lena's songs is obnoxious but far from blasphemous.
>
> Let's look at the (ample) bright side of this development and wish
> Janet and the producers all the best. Let's hope that they can
> create something that is a worthy celebration of Miss Horne's
legacy.
>
>
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