Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / Aug. 22, 1988, edition 1 / Page 11
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Entertainment Famous Stars And Newcomers Biend in Murphy Movie m • Eddie Murphy’s “Coming To America” is an exciting ensem ble of black acting talent, ranging from famous stars to promising newcomers. Murphy is the prince of a mythical African kingdom who travels to New York in search of a bride in the contemporary romantic comedy also starring Arsenio Hall. In Zamunda, Prince Ak^Cm ' lives a life of wealth beyond im agining, surrounded by servants ’’o fulfill his every wish. But he ’-S one thing money can’t buy—a bride he loves and who will love him for who he is, not what he is. Accompanied by his loyal, royal companion Semmi (Arsenio Hall), the prince leaves his life of luxury to look for his princess. Based on a story by Murphy, “Coming To America” is the se cond teaming of Murphy and director John Landis, following Paramount’s hit comedy “Trading Places,” which receiv ed the NAACP’s Image Award as the best picture of 1983. Offscreen pals Murphy and Hall had wanted to work together for years, but the right project never materialized until Eddie conceived "Coining To America ” After gaining prominence as the host of “The Late Show, ” Hall makes his motion picture debut in the new movie. lt is hall’s first . in the exclusive motion picture agreement he recently signed with Paramount. Hall describes his character as “a sort of adopted nephew of the royal family.” James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair are the prince’s majestic parents, the King and Queen of .Zamunda. Jones, quoting the script, describes his character as “not just a king but a concerned dad.” Jones recenlty won his second Tony Award for his Starring role in the Broadway play “Fences.” He won the first for “The Great White Hope” and earned an Oscar nom.ination for his movie debut in the motion picture adap tation. His other movies include “Gardens of Stone,” “Conan the Barbarian” and “Clnndine.” He also provided the voice of Darth Vader for the “Star Wars” trilogy “She’s a monarch but'she’s a mother first ’ Madge Sinclair ap praises her role. She was selected to audition for the part of the queen after Landis saw her cameo performance as a spaceship commander in “Star Trek.IV.” In addition to her many movie and stage credits, Sinclair was Nurse Shoop Cor six t of “Trapper John, 1LD.” i peared in the minis “Roots.” Shari Headley plays , coveted role opposite f his first romantic i _ makes he* motion picture' i as Lisa, (he beautiful, dent-minded New Yorker whom Prince Akeem falls in 1 Headley was chosen from i than 1,000 candidates. “This the kind of fairytale role eve girl dreams of,” she Says. Pagf| traying the daughter of a Queens businessman, HeftBey herself was born and raised in Qneeos.A ton model before beginning her acting career, she made ijer Pro fessional acting dsfctof on ‘“The Cosby Show” and hMfalsogo&t starred on “Miami Vice.” “We wanted an unknoefn, 'a-' face as new to us as it is to Prince Akeem," Landis states. "Shari is beautiful, photogenic and vivacious. She prefects eharasa& and intelligence. And she’s from Queens!” JohnAmos plays ttsa’s enter prising father: Amos describes Mr. McDowell as “a real en trepreneur; a man with a big idea.” Amos received a best ac tor Emmy nomination for “Roots” and starred in the bit series “Good Times.” Just prior to filming “Coming To America,” Amos toured in his two-man play “A Tribute to Great Black Men.” Eriq LaSalle, whose credits in clude the movie “Five Corners,” plays Lisa’s trendy and obnox ious boyfriend, Darryl. LaSalle remembers that bewas unusual ly Relaxed about aUAttaning for the part. “I had beard a-rumor that another actor had a leek ah the role. When I got it f was eestatic.be ' •" " ; “There’s nothing.JB» starting at the top,” says AHiswt Oean. The part of sister, Patrice, tt’"Coniig Top America” is Dean’s tint film role “They cast meAgaiiuttype. I’m basically shy, hut Patriee flirts like crazy sWith Prince Akeem. She’s a little on the wiki side.” ■'QF.,: Prior to her role hi the movie, Vanessa Bell’s only previous mo tion picture acting experience was a scene with Billy Dee Williams in “Number One with a Bullet.” Bell portrays the Zamundan beauty who has been Will To Power Tests Strength With Fast-Rising New Numbers When it comes to percolating pop/ lance music, Will to Power is the Team of the crop Their self-titled Spic debut album, "Will Toppwer," ncludes their No dance hit) ‘DreaminV and the fast-rising new ■ingle, ‘‘Say It’s Gonna Rain.” Will to Power is Bob Rosenberg, Suzi Carr, arid Dr J. Will to Power is the brainchild of top-ranking Miami club and radio DJ Rosenberg: pro ducer, composer, and co-lead vocalist for Will to Power. The female leads were sung by the vivacious Suzi Carr; and Dr. J handles all the sax work. A native of Philadelphia, Bob Rosenberg moveu- u> Florida in the early ’70s and—over the course of the next decade--became one of the most popular club DJs in Miami, one of America's most dance-mad cities. His uncontested mastery of beats and 'mixes led Bob to cut a 12-inch rap single called “Miami Vice” which he. (as “Vigilante”) released in 1981 on, Pantera Records. The track—a strong Miami club and radfa;: favorite—was soon pulled from.the market under threat of legal action from MCA/Universal, producers of the popular “Miami Vice” TV series. The story of Bob’s next vinyl effort has a far happier ending, in 1986, he ■wrote ana produced an enormously catchy uptempo dance tune called “Dreamin’” by a group he called Will to Power. Issued on Rosenberg's own Thrust Records, “Dreamin”’ shot to No. I in Miami and was-quickly pick ed up ior national distribution by Epic Records. Will to Power’s “Dreamin”’ stayed at No. 1 in Miami ior 1 ^Consecutive weeks and became, hand# down, the biggest local record ;«f 1987 and a top 40 Billboard pop charter. But Rosenberg wasn't just sitting . back and watching hi^ record climb the charts. Bob became a pioneer of so-called ‘ Hot” radio with his high energy programming and mixing-at WHQT-FM (“Hot 105”) in Miami. This format burst out of the Sunshine State to sweep urban market* across the country—with flitt to Power riding the crest of the waye. . “The so-called ‘Hot* sbitnd has already been around longer than Mire many people predic tBob.“NoW It’s undergo _ permutations in differentparifi of the country,.There are distinckvariiOons ' coming out’of New York, Chicago, D C:, Miami.. and it’s got a 1 •growing to do, " lormer bodyguard tor the rap Run-DMC was sentenced to in prison tor involuntary iter in the death If a- man at e concert in California two yean . Garfield Brown was originally ..charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of ^manslaughter in the death of Alex Police said several fights broke out during a Run-DMC concert at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif, in August 1966, and Brown and the two other bodyguards left the stage to restore order. Brown was charged with throwing Baldwin to the concrete floor and kicking him. Baldwin died of head injuries two weeks later. WIL TO POWER-This Is a - - ys jkas |L.|. ••M iMUil Cain ilaliul HR6C IWI 01* WOti SVIi*ITOB UOIItll sioaia. Say If* Gonna Rain. COVETED te JU* tint 7MB>i Headley ptoyi the tmW rate apposite Eddie Murphy To America, now playing at the Terrace , trained from birth to be the perfect wife for a royal husband. “She genuinely wants to please the prince,” Bell says, “Before my audition with Eddie Murphy, John Landis told me not to play it subservient, but to play it sincere.” The film is currently playing at the Terrace Twin. The cast of “Coming tftc. America’’ also includes*' newcomer Paul Bates at Qba/> ■prime minister of Zamunda; comedian Louie Anderson as a fast-food career man; Broadway . veteran Frankie Faison as Akeem's New York landlord; and ■ i-Cahrin Lockhart as Zamundan ^ Col. fszi. Making a special cameo appearance in the film is music legend Randy Watson, perform ing with his new group, Sexual Chocolate. Some of the world’s most beautiful women appear as members of the royal entourage. Interest in model railroad ing as a hobby began after the Chicago World's Fair of 1933-34. Model railroad ex hibits at the fair spurred this interest. WRAL-TV Planning For New Look In The Fall Early evening television on WRAL TV 5 takes on a new look this fall, ac cording to plans released last week by the station. The schedule will feature two 30-minute entirely different locally produced newscasts rather than the current hour-long program. The first newscast, “Live at 5:30,” will include a brief update on news of the day, recreational weather, human interest sports stories and live on-location segments. WRAL-TV “News at 6” will b%a more traditional newscast featuring Charlie Gaddy, Bob DeBar delaben and Tom Suiter, the nation’s top-rated anchor team. Leading into news programming at 5 p.m. will be “Cosby,” the nation’s No. 1-rated television show. “CBS News” will be aired at 6:30 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by the planned premiere of ‘USA Today.” The new evening lineup is tentatively schedul ed >to begin Oct. 3 when “Cosby” becomes available. Changes in the approach to news programming are being made to reflect the lifestyles and preferences of today’s viewers, according to John Greene, Sr., vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV. “This is an option we have been researching and considering for more than two years. "We are always looking for in novative ways to meet our viewers' needs and at the same time fulfill our responsibility as a licensee,” he con tinued. “Independent research has shown that today’s viewers have more demands on their time. Two out of three prefer shorter newscasts and newscasts which reflect their per sonal interests. This is not just an eastern North Carolina phenomenon, it’s a trend nationwide.” Station manager Paul Quinn called the move “tremendously exciting. With this format, we can serve all our viewers, whether they prefer a shorter, earlier newscast, a shorter 6 o’clock news or an hour of news.” Quinn emphasized that the newscasts will be complementary, but distinctly different. “Sixty-six percent of all adults say television is the medium they turn to most often for news, according to a 1988 Roper survey,” said Quinn. “At WRAL-TV, we’re very aware that such confidence carries with it a great responsibility.” A CBS affiliate, WRAL-TV has been a leader in television broadcasting in North Carolina since it first went on the air in 1956. It was the first area television station to use a satellite to relay live coverage of a major news story, the first television station on the East Coast to have a portable satellite truck for news coverage, the first station in the country to begin a regional television news network and among the first with a microwave equipped helicopter. WRAL-TV was recently selected by View, a national broadcasting trade magazine, as one of the top television stations in the nation, the only North Carolina station to be so designated. The magazine said the selection was based on an outstanding achievement in five categories including program ming strategy/scheduling and local news/program production. CenterFeat Brings Action And Talent With Annual Celebration DURHAM—The Durham Arts Council will present its 15th annual street arts festival, CenterFest, a festival celebrating the arts and the opening of the new arts center in downtown Durham. CenterFest will kick off with the blues on Friday night as the council presents the first annual Bull Durham Blues Festival. The blues festival will feature guitarist Otis Rush, Chicago blues band Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows, New Orleans funky Dr. John, seulstress Denise LaSalle, the rockin’ zydeco blues of Terrance Simien and the Mallet Playboys and much, much more. The Blues Festival will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17, at Durham Athletic Park from 6 p.m. to midnight., CenterFest will continue on Satur day morning with a special ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new arts center. Immediately following the opening ceremonies the festival will begin. This year’s schedule will feature performances by Burlington’s Bass Mountain Boys, one of North Carolina’s fastest rising bluegrass stars, and Richmond, Va.’s Awareness 4tft Ensemble, one of the premiere reggae bands in the Southeast. An outdoor art gallery will greet festival-goers in the visual arts area as more than 100 of the area’s outstanding artists and craftsmen ex hibit in downtown uurnam. original handcrafted artwork by this group of select artists will create a walkway of choices. Even the youngest festival participant can celebrate the arts at CenterFest, in “Children’s Area.” The young and the old join in the wonder of creating in this special place. A spectacle of sight, sound and taste will greet festival-goers at CenterFest’s International Food Court. Featuring flavorful fare from around the world, and regional specialties from the United States. Colorful tents and, banners will transform the streets of downtown Durham into sidewalk cafes, com plete with an outdoor beer garden and live entertainment uenterf'est will be held Saturday, Sept. 17, from ll a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 18, from noon to 6 p.m. in downtown Durham. CenterFest is sponsored by Cablevision and the Durham Herald and Sun newspapers. The Blues Festival is sponsored by the Durham Arts Council and St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc., in cooperation with Mad Hatter Produc tions. The Durham Arts Council opening season celebration is sponsored by Glaxo, Inc. For more information on CenterFest and other opening weekend events call 1-560-ARTS. tve Cornelious Holds Concert For New Album Durham vocalist Eve Cornelious celebrates the release of her new album, “Faces of Eve,” with a jazz concert at the ArtsCenter on Sunday, Aug. 28. The appearance at the ArtsCenter is part of a hectic summer for Eve Cornelious. In the past few weeks, she has sung at Bell Chere in Asheville, the Greensboro Fourth of July Festival, and the Greensboro Coliseum. For Eve, the concert ai me ArtsCenter will be a return to ver> familiar ground. She has sung here on a twice-yearly basis for the fast four or five years, and is a big favorite of Sunday-night jazz devotees. Appearing that night with Eve will be Chip Crawford on piano, Stanley Baird on saxophone, Calvin Jones on bass, and Mar cus Crump on drums. Her album "Faces of Eve” will be available at the concert, with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting the ArtsCenter. The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. at the ArtsCenter, 300-G East Main St., Carr boro. Tickets will be 16.50 for the public, and 95.50 for friends. An explosive motion picture that will shock you and disturb you. “An absolute don’t miss on your list of must see films!’ X2SSS2L,' DEBRA WINGER TOMBERENGER *. sV2,''?'i>‘A'"' ‘X ~s: . ■ '___.'I' MM l Tf aCOSTAGAVRAS hui UNITED ARTISTS'"'1«IRWIN WINKLER™..« DEBRA WINGER TOM BERENGER «COSTA-GAVRAS m* BETRAYED JOHN HEARD JOHN MAHONEY iSKiiSJOE ESZTERHAS HAL W POLA1RE *« BILL CONTI '“KK5PATRIZIA VON BRANDENSTEIN “""® JOE ESZTERHAS """"."IRWIN WINKLER"1"' ""COSTA-GAVRAS Soundtrack Album available on Varese Sarabande Records. Cassettes and Compact Discs
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Aug. 22, 1988, edition 1
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