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Thursday, July 5, 2007
Charlotte actor touring with ‘Annie’
Continued from page 1D
while the play is going on.
Benjamin said parents
make sacrifices when they
have a child in show biz,
but it’s worth it.
"When you see that your
child wants to (act) it’s up
to us as parents to cultivate
it," said Benjamin, who is
also Jaida’s manager and
agent. "I wear three hats,”
she said.
"It's more than just say
ing my kid is cute. This is
bigger than what people
think.”
“Annie" opens Septem
ber 17.
New ‘Transformers’ film celebrates
the return of the 1980’s TV classic
THE ASSOC/ATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -The Police
and the Stray Cats are on
tour. Leggings, pegged pants
and wide belts are in style.
“Transformers" are the
hottest toys on the market.
What year is it?
It’s 2007, the year the ‘80s
came back.
• It used to take generations
before trends reappeared.
The hippies of the ‘60s
turned to fringed cowboy
jackets and Native American
beads from hundreds of
years earlier. In the '70s, pop
culture turned back the cal
endar two decades, with
•50s-
inspired I
shows like |
"Happy
Days” and groups ’
like Sha Na Na. In the)
'90s, the flowery,
flouncy clothes of the ‘70s
came back big time, as bell-
bottom pants, hip-hugger
jeans and halter tops re-
emerged as hot styles. One
of the bigger TV hits that
began in the ‘90s^'^at 70s
Show."
Experts say trend recycling
happens much more quickly
now, driven by nostalgia,
technology and marketing.
“This embrace of styles
from the past, at least for
people of a certain age who
are in the position of social
arbiters, has to do with a
social equivalent of comfort
food.” said Alice Echols, a
professor and cultural histo
rian at the University of
Southern California.
"The ‘80s... was before ter
rorism, before any kind of
9/11 consciousness. People
didn’t worry about terrorist
attacks. It was a somewhat
tranquil time," she said.
Given the state of the
world today, it makes
a lot of sense that that
kind of escapist fare
would be very attrac
tive."
The Transformers, a
line of toys that
change from robots
into vehicles, were
bom at Hasbro Inc. in
1984. Shortly after their
introduction, the Autobots
(the good guys) and Decepti-
cons (the bad guys) inspired
cartoons, comic books and a
1986 animated film, "Trans
formers: The Movie.”
"Transformers has a huge
dormant fan base.” said Has-
bro’s Samantha Lomow,
global vice president of mar
keting. "It goes back to that
emotional connection. ... A
lot of people now who are
having kids are looking to
share experiences across
I their families.”
Executive producer
Steven Spielberg is one of
them. He's been a fan of
the toys since their
debut.
“I'm not talking
about buying the
toys for my
kids," he said in studio pro
duction notes. '' I’m talking
about reading the comic
books and buying the toys
for myself. I’d play with
them at home with my kids,
but I’m the one who was
enthralled with them." .
While today’s generation is
too young to remember the
original Transformers, all
things retro are cool with
young people, said Kevin
Jones, historian at the Fash
ion Institute of Design and
Merchandising.
"It’s the post baby-boom
generation that’s driving
today’s products, and it’s
brand new again because we
At 70, Wilson ‘an angel’ of jazz
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK— Nancy Wilson is hardly the
retiring type, even though she is trying to
spend more time with her grandchildren
these days.
Last year, the singer retired from tour
ing, but she continues to record—her last
album "Turned to Blue" won the Grammy
for Best Jazz Vocal Album earlier this
year-- and perform selected concert dates.
On Friday night, she found herself shar
ing the Carnegie Hall stage with many old
friends—including three of the top vocal
ists on the current jazz scene, Nnenna
Freelon, Dianne Reeves and Kurt Filing, as
well as guest musicians such as violinist
Regina Carter - -for a concert called "Nancy
Wilson’s Swinging 70th Birthday Party,’* a
highlight of this year’s JVC Jazz Festival.
"It’s really fine to let everyone know
what 70 can be," said Wilson, whose birth
day actually was Feb. 20. at the start of a
program celebrating milestones in her 55-
year career.”It doesn’t get much better
than this."
After Freelon spiritedly swung her way
through “They Can’t Take That Away From
Me,” the younger singer took the opportu
nity to thank Wilson for mentoring her
years ago, calling her "an angel in my life."
Turning to the svelte, silver-haired Wil
son, she quipped, "If this is what 70 is all
about, I can’t wait."
Elling paid tribute to the 1962 “Nancy
Wilson/Cannonball Adderley" album, con
sidered among the best jazz vocal record
ings of all time, by performing the soulful
“Save Your Love for Me."
Pianist Herbie Hancock completely
reharmonized Cole Porter’s romantic bal-
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ourselves are bringing it
back for this youth market,”
Jones said. The United
States’ “baby boom" genera
tion was bom in the mid
1940s through mid 1960s.
But the Transformers, as
Spielberg emphasized, aren’t
so childish that adults can’t
still enjoy them.
“You feel good talking
about the Transformers as a
grown man," said Tyrese
Gibson, one of the film’s
stars. "It doesn’t make you
feel like you’re talking about
the Care Bears or some
thing."
Advanced computer-gen
erated graphics keep the
cool-factor high and help
modernize the story, which
involves 30-foot-tall robot
aliens interacting with a
human cast that includes
Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel
and John Turturro.
Technology has caught
up and finally a studio has
the opportunity to bring this
property to life in an ultra-
realistic manner," Lomow
said. ■ 'This property is
being reinvented for the long
term."
Many of the movie’s writ
ers, actors and artists are
"hard core" fans of the
original Transformers, said
producer Lorenzo di
Bonaventura, and the film
taps into the same qualities
that made the shape-shifting
robots popular in the first
place.
■'Their mythology is
about good versus evil on a
very basic level," he said,
adding that in that regard
2007 is the perfect time to
retell the Transformers
story.
- In the ‘80s. "the world did
n't seem quite as threatening
a place, but from a creative
point of view, it ... was a
decade when people seemed
to want to explore larger-
than-life characters and take
them to a place they had
previously not been doing,"
he said. '' It was a time peri
od that was searching for its
own identity, much as we are
now.’*
On the Net:
wwiv, transformersmovie.c
om
www.hasbro.com/trans-
formers/
Community
k
News
The Charlotte Post 704-376-0496
JOSEPH~BETH WELCOMES
Signing
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Beloved bestselling African-
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THIS IS YOUR COCA-COLA
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
CALENDAR...
The Music Ministry of St. Mark’s
will host their
2007 Annual Youth Gospel Explosion
July 27-28,2007.
The group ages 12 -18 is comprised of
members of the congregation as well as
youth from the community and Triad Area.
For infomation call
Louretta Howze (704)4289
Former residents of t)ie Charlotte “Brooklyn” Neighborhood are planning the
2nd Annual Brooklyn Neighborhood Heritage Reunion at Pearle Street Park
(1200 Baxter Street) August 4, 2007 from 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
Theme is “Good Times In The Old Neighborhood".
Frank,/. Manago, Chairperson, Brooklyn Neighborhood Planning Committee
(704)598-0544 or fmanago88@yahoo.com
Mary Ellison, Co-Chairperson, Brooklyn Neighborhood Planning Committee
(704)536-5795 or eUisondimp54@yahoo.com
“KEEPING IT REAL WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
COCA-COLA REAL”
“Here’s How You Can Be Connected”
Sabirat, m wming,your otguniaibon y fcnerhead, the iMe of your event, data locabon. contncl person and
telephone number for your activity to:
Coca-Cola Community Conneclion
801 Black Satchel Rd.. Charlotte NC 28216
.Attn: Dwaiir .Smith ■ Phone 9S0.32l-.t542. Fas 980.32I-3S« or Email dwain.,mith@ccbcc.cora