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tKIjg Cljarlotte
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997
5 B Arts ^ Entertainment
Missionary shares her
trip to Haiti. See
Travel on page 9B.
Author
sues
Spielberg
By John Horn
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - The author of
a historical novel about a slave
ship rebellion is suing the makers
of the movie “Amistad” - filmed in
Rhode Island - claiming Steven
Spielberg's DreamWorks studio
used the novel without permis
sion as the basis for the film.
But an attorney for the studio
says novelist Barbara Chase-
Riboud is trying to claim a copy
right on history and that her law
suit is rvithout merit.
John Shaeffer, Chase-Riboud's
lawyer, has asked U.S. District
Court Judge Audrey Collins to
order DreamWorks to tiun over a
video of the movie, which
Spielberg directed, and a finished
screenplay.
Shaeffer said earher drafts of
the screenplay showed that entire
characters and scenes were lifted
from Chase-Riboud's 1989 book
“Echo of Lions.”
Since the copyright infringe
ment lawsuit was filed, new evi
dence of the misappropriation has
surfaced, Shaeffer said
Wednesday.
“There is evidence that indi
cates actual use” of the novel, the
attorney said. “They keep chang
ing their story about where they
got the story.”
Among the siimlarities between
the novel and the movie, Shaeffer
said, is the character played by
Morgan Freeman. Freeman stars
as Theodore Joadson, an aboli
tionist. Shaeffer said the charac
ter appears in the novel, but not
in the historical record, thereby
suggesting DreamWorks and
Spielberg stole it.
“Big deal,” said Bert Fields, an
■attorney for DreamWorks. “The
world was filled wdth abohtion-
ists. Alot of them were black. The
characters are totally different.”
Like the novel, “Amistad” is
based on a revolt on a Spanish
slave ship in 1839. The several
dozen slaves attempted to sail
home but were captured and tried
in American courts.
“This is an actual episode in
American history and has been
written about in a number of
books,” Fields said, adding that
DreamWorks based its screenplay
on another book and with the help
of numerous historians. “This
lady is essentially claiming she
owns a piece of American history.
It's really sad that this lady, who
should be supporting this picture,
is trying to destroy the project, to
get money.”
Shaeffer said he may ask
Collins to block DreamWorks'
release of the film, scheduled to
debut Dec. 25. Such a court order
might be difficult to obtain, as one
of the elements Shaeffer might
need to prove is a significant
threat of irreparable injury to
Chase-Riboud's copyright.
In addition to Freeman,
“Amistad” stars Matthew
McConairghey, Anthony Hopkins
and Nigel Hawthorne. Newcomer
Djimon Hormsou plays Cinque,
the leader of the rebellious slaves.
Spielberg filmed the movie at the
Statehouse in Providence and in
Newport this spring.
Black is.
• ■•
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Tarra Ager, Tiffany Warren and Kimaada Moore work on a scene from “Blak Is. . .” as director Bryan Ferguson
looks on. The opens this weekend on the JCSU campus.
JCSU playwright hopes play sparks ideas
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
What is being black and how
do you spell it?
Playwright Bryan Ferguson
spells it blak,ijust to be different,
and he’s defining it in a new
play, “Blak Is. . .,” which has a
two-performance run at Biddle
Hall on Johnson C. Smith
University’s campus this week
end.
Ferguson, a 21-year-old senior
from Rochester, N.Y., wrote the
play during his sophomore year
and performed it once, “that was
a trial shot,” he said. “I wanted
to see how Td do at it. It did OK
so 1 rewrote the play.”
The new play is a choreopo-
em, which 90 percent of is his
work. The rest is by fiiends and
two by Langston Hughes
-Negro Speaks of Rivers” and
“Dream Variation.”
“The play takes a look at black
life in general - our poetry, how
we’re portrayed in the media
and an introspective look at our
selves,” Ferguson said. “The aim
of the play is to have people
walk out with a definition of
themselves, to finish the sen
tence.”
The performance wUl feature
actors with little or no stage
experience - exactly what
Ferguson wants.
“They are Idnda raw,” he said.
‘It adds to the realism. I wanted
people to be real as possible. It
adds to the flavor.”
Ferguson said he’s gotten
backing from the school’s
administration. “(JCSU
President) Dr. Yancy even
requested 1 do the play this
year,” he said. “The school has
been very supportive, which is
really cool. (The administration)
is ready trying to strengthen the
arts on the yard.”
But Ferguson found it a little
difficult getting students to par
ticipate.
“A lot of people have talent but
choose not to show it,” he said.
But people are generally curi
ous. Anticipation has been easi
er to get than participation.”
StUl, Ferguson has nearly 20
students in the production, with
another 10 working behind the
scenes.
Ferguson sees the plays mes
sage as universal.
“Td hke to take this play to
other campuses - black or
white,” he said. “I really see this
as being a coUege play. If any
thing, hopefuUy it wiU open up
the door for more artists on the
yard to put together some quali
ty work.”
Ferguson has other works but
is waiting to see the outcome of
“Blak Is. . .” before committing
to production. An honor student,
Ferguson is working on gradu
ating in the spring and partici
pates in the Black Ink Monks,
an artsy on-campus group.
“We’re basically a bunch of
fnends with a title, he said. “We
are trying to throw out more cul
ture to students, to show other
sides.”
The play debuts 8 p.m. Friday
at Biddle Hall as a free perfor
mance for students. The play
opens to the public 8 p.m.
Saturday.
Local artist’s song touches John Tesh
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Why new age guru John Tfesh
carries spare batteries in his
pocket while exercising isn’t big
news, but local singer Dalia is
happy he does.
If he had not, he may have post
poned listening to the last song of
Daha’s self-titled CD on Pure
Records, titled “I Miss You.” A
song about loosing her mother.
The song so moved Tfesh he knew
he had to use it on his forthcom
ing CD.
“He said he had an Epiphany,”
says Dalia. “He said he knew it
was a great idea to do the song. It
was a surprise. When I heard he
was interested I thought he just
wanted to talk to me in reference
to the song. I think he wanted to
add another verse to it, but we
ended up repeating the chorus. It
all just took me by surprise
because it kinda came out of
nowhere.”
Dalia was familiar with Tfesh’s
music and was surprised he was
interested in the serious tune.
“His music is kinda happy,
upbeat,” she said. “I don’t think I
would have been as comfortable if
he had not been able to identify
with the song. He also lost his
mother.”
Tfesh heard about the song from
Scott Myer, who worked at Pure
Records before working with
Tfesh. Meyer liked Dalia’s work
and jumped at the chance at hav
ing Tfesh hear her.
Daha spent most of last week in
Cafifomia in the studio with Tfesh
working on the song. She said the
experience was great.
“He was very comfortable to
work with. He’s laid back, kinda a
regular guy,” she said. “He’s easy
to talk to. It took a while to get
used to his track, but it went well,
I think. It’s a little faster and has
the extra chorus. .And of course, it
From left to right; attorney Ken Harris, Dalia and John Tesh
take a break from recording in a California studio.
has more music.”
Daha said Tfesh’s CD will be
completed by December and
should be out early next year. A
single featuring r&b crooner
James Ingram should be out by
February. “I Miss You” could be
released in May.
Brown
still full
of music
By Lori Wiechman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA, Ga. - At 64, James
Brown still gets top biUing at
Caesar’s Palace, but his newest
singles — the first since his release
from jail six years ago - get play
on nothing but low-power radio
stations.
His unique rhythms and lyrics
and boundless energy helped to
build a music career that made
him a cultural icon.
More than four decades since
his first single, “Please, Please,
Please,” hit the charts in 1956,
Brown’s new music is not for sale
in stores. Instead, he’s trying to
regain his loyal fan base on radio
stations along the East Coast.
“1 have a hit record right now,”;
he said, during rehearsal in a his-;
toric theater in Augusta, a block
from WAAW-FM, his low-power
radio station. But he won’t dis
tribute the singles widely
“because they’re not going to get
played.”
Brown won’t answer questions
directly about why he’s having a
hard time getting his new music
out and how his 1990 problems
with the Internal Revenue
Service and prison term affected
his career.
Instead, he blames the strict
radio station formats, such as
country, rap. or blues, for locking
his music out of wide play.
“I just do soul,” Brown said.
“Soul is everything.”
And he’s not so crazy about
younger artists, either. Rap
artists and hip-hop singers who
have added his rhythms and
lyrics to their songs take airtime
away from him, and they don’t
deserve the exposure, he said.
“They keep my songs hot and
financially, too, 1 thank them, but
I StUl love them enough to let
them know that, at some point
you have to know how to play,” he
said.
Despite Brown’s comeback
struggle, music experts say bis
past success will maintain his
loyal fan base.
His show hasn’t changed much
over the years. Girls surround
him on the stage, from the two
scantily-clad teenagers dance to
hip-hop choreography behind him
and the six female backup singers
who shther provocatively around
him. He’s accompanied by his 14-
piece band, the SoiU Generals,
He wears the same tight, flashy
jumpsuits, none of which hide the
extra pounds. His trademark
thick, wavy hair hasn’t changed a
bit.
During his two-hour concerts.
Brown dances and flops on the
stage, although not as much as he
did a decade ago. He still blasts
out, “Ahhhhh!” in his trademark
raspy, uninteUigible voice.
Brown himself is more comfort
able in his hometown of Augusta,
where he is surrounded by Mends
who reaffirm the image he creat
ed decades ago.
“Where drama meets rhythm,
James Brown is the reigning
genius,” said Tim White, editor of
BiUboard magazine and author of
a book about the lives of musi-
See GODFATHER on page 6B
Buying surround sound equipment ean be eonfusing
What is Surround Sound?
First there was mono which
utilized one channel of audio,
then stereo, utilizing two chan
nels of audio. This more than
doubled the realism with
advances in recording technolo
gies and the sense of space that
could be achieved over a mono
recording. With advances in
recording technologies and the
increasing demands of the film
and cinema environments
multi channel formals have
heen developed to increase the
audio realism for the listener.
However the surround sound
arena can be confusing to pro
fessional as well as domestic
users.
Dolby Laboratory is the cre
ator of Dolby Surround Sound,
'rtiere are six Dolby formats.
They are as follows:
1) Dolby motion picture
matrix (Dolby MP) This is fee
encoding process used tp gener
ate surround sound. If is based
on fee SQ Quadraphonic sys
tem that dates from the ‘70s
and is designed for motion pic
ture sound tracks. With this
system, four channels are
encoded; left, center, right and
mono surround channel.
2) Dolby stereo is encoded
Dolby Mp. If is encoded to
stereo so that it fits on the
stereo tracks of your VHS
machine (or laser disc). Dolhy
Surround is the decoding
process used to decode Dolby
Stereo into surround sound.
3) Dolby Pro logic is an active
(more expensive, higher quali
fy) process also used to decode
Dolby stereo into surround
sound.
4) Lucas Film THX is an even
more expensive enhancement
to Dolby pro logic.
5) Dolby AC-3, also called
Dolby Surround Digital, is a
digital encoding technique that
is starting to become available
to domestic users.
Dolby surround decoding and
its more advanced form, pro
logic, allows you to experience
the same thrilling multi-.
dimensional effects you hear in.
See SURROUND on page 6B