The Chronicle
Arts & Entertainment
*
Janet, not Jesse
Comedian Chris Rock says
ho has no intorost in poli
tics, despite urgings from
the Rev. Jesse Jackson that
he become more involved.
"I'm in show business,"
Rock told TV Ouide in its
July 10 issue. "I wanna
hang out with Janet Jack
son, not Jesse Jackson."
Rock also reflected on the
deaths of comedians Chris
Farley and Phil Hartman,
with whom he worked on
"Saturday Night Live," call
ing them victims of a come
dians' curse.
"We're performers - a
bunch of geeks no one
liked," Rock said. "Now,
people finally like us, and
, we're willing to put up with
a tremendous amount ...
and make ourselves miser
able to maintain it. Then,
you know, we explode.
Our wives shoot us, we OD
or whenever."
North Carolina native hopes film
will break mold for black films
By LEE HUBBARD
Special to THE CHRONICLE
SAN FRANCISCO - When
Rick Famuyiwa moved from North ,
Carolina to Inglewood, Calif., in the
mid-1980s, he experienced culture
shock.
He went from a conservative
country atmosphere to a fast life of
Jherri curls, street gangs and It
Swiss tennis shoes
Despite this cultural shock, he
was able to adjust and learn to
appreciate the area as he grew up.
TTiis is apparent in his film "The
Wood," which opens in theaters on ,
Friday. The concept for the movie
came up when a close friend of the
filmmaker announced he was get
ting married.
"A couple of years ago a buddy
of mine told me he was getting mar
ried, and we immediately started
talking about our childhood," said
Famuyiwa in an interview at the
Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francis
co. "Two hours later we were still
talking."
Famuyiwa knew a reflection into
his childhood would make a good
film. So he sat down with his former
USC film school professor, Todd I
Boyd, during the summer of 1997 at 1
the Sundance Institute's screenwrit- i
ers and directors labs session, and '
the two developed the story and the !
script. , I
While "The "Wood" is the first i
feature film for both Famuyiwa and
Boyd, it isn't the first time the two
have worked together.
"Rick was in one of the first film
courses that I taught at USC. and
the relationship between us grew
from there." said Boyd. "We would
talk about everything, from film, to
hoops, to rap, and over time we were
throwing ideas out about film. The
next thing you know we were at the
Sundance Film Festival with 'Black
Top Lingo.'"
"Black Top Lingo" debuted at
the festival in 1995. It was a short
film that dealt with complex charac
ters who meet on a basketball court
in the Los Angeles area. The film
created a buzz for Famuyiwa and his
storytelling ability, and helped to
cement the business relationship
with Boyd.
/ . 'U#
Set in the 1980s and moving to
;he present, "The Wood" stars Taye
Diggs, Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones
ind Sean Jones. It focuses on the
wedding of Roland (Diggs) and the
surprise that Mike (EppS) and Slim
[Jones) feel seeing their friend
dressed in his tuxedo on the big day.
The event also surprises Roland,
who walks out on his wedding a few
hours before it is scheduled to be
held. Mike and Slim run across town
to get a drunken. Roland, who is
lying on his high school sweetheart s
couch. They sober him up and head
back to the chapel. On the way, the
three relive their childhood and
wonder if their bond will be broken
by Roland's impending marriage.
Central to the bond between the
three men is the city of Inglewood, a
predominately black middle class
area near Los Angeles. The city was
the home - up until this year ? of
the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is also home to the notorious
street gang the Bloods. Inglewood's
street life is often portrayed in the
music of rappers like Mack 10, and
See 'The Wood' on C9
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1
Orginal Supreme loses trademark suit
. * ?.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - An
original member of the
Supremes lost an appeal of her
trademark suit Tuesday against
three women who joined the
singing group later and still per
form as "Former Ladies of the
Supremes."
The rights to the group's
name are owned by Motown,
and not by former members
such as Mary Wilson, said the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. The court said
Motown had allowed Former
Ladies of the Supremes to keep
their name, and there was noth
ing Wilson could do about it.
A federal judge had earlier
dismissed Wilson's claims
against another spinoff group,
"Sounds of the Supremes,"
whose members include Karen
Ragland, another singer from
the Supremes' post-Diana Ross
era who performed before the
group broke up in the mid
1970s.
Lawyers for both groups said
Tuesday's ruling was a byprod
uct of Wilson's court battles
with Motown in the 1980s that
ended with a settlement granting
Motown exclusive rights in the
Supremes' name and trademark.
Her suit claimed the groups
were misleading members ot the
public into believing they were
the authentic Supremes. The
court's conclusion to the con
trary wasn't surprising, said
Walter Allan, lawyer for Former
Ladies of the Supremes - Lynda
Laurence, Scherrie Payne and
Jean Terrell.
"She really didn't have a case
and she shouldn't really have
taken an appeal," Allan said
Allen Hyman, Wilson's
lawyer, declined comment, say
ing he hadn't seen the ruling.
Wilson also contended the
Former Ladies of the Supremes
were responsible for recording a
See Supremes on page C9
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