entertain ment ' 1 a ■" n ... (AP)—The Cinedome Theatre, a multiplex in a mostly white, middle daaa neighborhood in Sacramento, Calif., usually plays mainstream movies: Hook, TheAddams Family, Beauty and the Beast. But this summer Cinedome also ran Boyz N the Hood, a drama by a 23-year-old black director set in a Los Angeles ghetto. In the fall, the ' multiplex featured another black film, House Party II, a hip-hop fla vored campus comedy. *1 think the white audience is taking agreater interestin the films being made by the black filmmakers,” explained Jack MyrVill, general manager of Syufy Enterprises, which owns and oper ates the Cinedome and other thea tersin five states. ‘These are quality films, and that’s really what people want to see. The film is what it’s all about.” Still, for every theater like the Cinedome, many more refuye to show movies made by African American filmmakers or with black themes. Spike Lee, John Singleton, Ernest Dickerson and other filmmakers may have succeeded in cracking Hollywood discrimination and getting their movies made, but they’ve had a harder time getting them seen. Lee’s acclaimed Jungle Fever didn’t reach as many screens as the critical and commercial flop Drop Dead Fred. Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood, which pulled in more than $50 million at the box office, re ceived less exposure than the quickly forgotten Point Break. Dickerson’s Juice opened recently to favorable reviews, but the widely panned Kuffs had a wider distribu tion. Some blame the studios for insuf SUPREME SACRIFICE - Sam (Scatt Bakula) “leaps” Into a Mack teenage gill who sings My Boyfriend’s Back, Heat Wave and Do You Love Me as a member of a 60s “girl group" and must prevent a fellow vocalist (guest star Tammy Townsend) from alienating her stifling minister father (guest star Harrison Page) by signing an exploitative contract with a sleazy manager (guest star Eriq LaSalle) on NBC-TV's Quantum Leap Wednesday. Feb. 26,10-11 p.m. Michael Jackson Fan Sentenced For Larceny DETROIT, Mich. (AP)—A Mi chael Jackson fan was sentenced to two years probation last week for stealing the singer’s trademark white, sequined glove from the Motown Museum. Detroit Recorder’s Court Judge Dominick Carnovale also sentenced 23-year-old Bruce M. Hays of Flint to 20 hours of community service on a felony charge of larceny inside a building. “You think I'm going to put him in prison?" Carnovale asked Hays’ attorney, Craig Freeman, before the sentencing. Hays, wearing a gray pinstriped suit, sat impassively between his mother and a sister. He declined comment. "Sure Fm relieved," said Hays’ mother, Pamela, after the sentenc ing. "Jail was always a possibility." Hays faced up to 12 years’ impris onment for stealing the crystal beaded glove on uct. z, iwi irom the mueeum. The glove wom by Jeckaon during hie “Thriller* video was kept in a locked glass case in a room devoted to Jackson memorabilia. Before the sentencing, Hays gave Caraovale a typed statement that said police before arresting him took turns posing for photographs with 'Jackson’s glove. The theft took place while eight employees and two visitors were in the museum, officials said. Police said Hays removed hinges on the case to reach the glove, then re placed the hinges. Two days later, Hays surrendered to police in Flint, about 75 miles northwest of Detroit, after investgi 1 gators received an anonymous tip. Jackson donated the glove along with a hat and $125,000 in 1088, He wore the sequined glove on a 1983 television program honoring the 25th anniversary of the founding of Motown Records. The theft led to greater security measures at the museum, situated in a house where the Motown music empire was founded, said director Esther Gordy Edwards. The theft also prompted rap star Hammer to offer a $50,000 reward for the return of the glove. Hammer set up a special telephone line to Capitol Records for people to call with information about the glove. Jackson's 1982 Thriller is one of the most popular albums of all time, with more than 50 million copies sold. ficient support; others say the films’ subject matter gives them limited appeal. But whether it’s racism or simply a matter of what the market will bear, the same formula seems to apply: black films for black people. "I think it’s because of the way distributors and retailers view black films,” said Fred Rashid, the NAACPs national director for eco nomic development. “They just try to put them in pre dominantly black areas. I think films are pretty much looked at the same way as records are. They label it as black music or pop music, and that’s the way they market it. The studios pretty much label and so do the people who distribute the film.” “There are films that you can’t open in the middle of a white, cracker neighborhood,” added Mark Gill, Columbia Pictures’ senior vice president of publicity. "There is Group Plans For Black-Oriented MBC TV Network BY BARRY COOPER Can black America support an other black-oriented television net work? Yes, say a group of enterpris ing African-American business men. Plans an now being farmed for the nation's second blade network. BET, offered through cable compa nies, has been a hit. Now the Minor ity QtgUdcasting Corporation, bcasdln Dallas, says it will fill a nkheofitsown. Backers of MBC say the network will,fcp made available, free of in selected aties. MBC WQ(B&S)t orffered on cable. Instead, ^ppi will receive the signal in the same manner in which they receive ImrtatMhans. So far, about 10 inde pMaMBstations have shown inter est, according to MBC. niTlU WWMSSVSPy V11W1 HI1M1 W» MBC, said offering MBC “over the air,” will make it attractive. "We are going to be the first free over-thf-air network for the black community,” James told reporters at a trade show in New Orleans. "We are positioning MBC in the market place as the prime conduit for inde pendent producers for minority pro gramming.” No one can tell if MBC will become a reality. But James and his part ners have some impressive shows lined up, and they hope to begin op erations this fall. Shows in the works include “Sports Lifestyles,” which will star Stedman Graham—Oprah Winfrey’s friend. It’s not clear whether Graham’s show will be produced by Winfrey’s production company. Other shows lined up are "Good Morning Black America,” “Fame and Fortune,” a talent show; and “Minorities Speak to the Nation,” a 60-minute talk show. If MBC gains the backing it needs, it could be a boon for black house holds. Aside from sitcoms, very little programming by the meg or net works has a black theme. Initially, MBC plans to offer six hours of programming per day, with the eventual goal being 24 hours of coverage per day. CARTOUCHE - Jaan-Paul VUtar, Mt. mi Myrria Thelen, right, c—Mm mm Ulanti af tinging/ripping/dancing partarwitag on tha danca club icana with aaa af tha siaapar hits of th« yaar, Faai Tha Breava. racism in America and we’re fools to ignore it." Racism of one kind or another long has existed in the motion pic ture industry and black directors and producers continue to have an uphill struggle. Independent black filmmakers emerged in the 1920s when more than 100 black film companies made low-budget, pri marily B movies for black theaters. The most notable filmmakers of this time included Noble and George Johnson, and Oscar Micheaux, who made Paul Robeson’s first movie, Body and Soul, in 1924. But today’s filmmakers want their movies to be seen by everyone. Some, such as Matty Rich (Straight Out of Brooklyn) and Charles Burnett (To Sleep with Anger) even debut their works at the more pres tigious international film festivals where they hope to get the attention of a wider audience. Hie number of screens a film might reach can range from just a handful for an art picture to more than 2,000 for Terminator 2 or Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In between, how much exposure a movie gets depends on any number of factors: timing, commercial ap peal, marketing strategy. Some movies, such as Boyz N the Hood, open at a small number of theaters and gradually expand. Others, such as Mobsters and Body Parts, debut on a large number of screens and quickly disappear. Either way, the most successful black movies have yet to get the kind of exposure given to many inferior, white films. House Party 11 peaked at 1,185 screens last fall, according w iiguron cumpnea oy pxmoiror Relations, which puts out the weekly box-office listings. That’s the highest in memory for a black movie without Eddie Murphy, but still well short of Mystery Date or Pure Luck, two movies that quickly came and went ’When any distributor looks to market a film, they want it to be a synergy between the content of the film and the neighborhood it’s in,” said Steve Rothenberg, senior vice president of theatrical distribution for the Samuel Goldwyn Company, which has released Straight Out of Brooklyn, and such black art films as To Sleep With Anger. “You have the cost of advertising, the costs of the prints. You add up all those costs and try to make a ra tional business decision. Typically, it makes sense to play these films in roughly 700-1,000 theaters. Be yond that, it has been proven the films don’t do any business.” “There are, unfortunately, thea ter owners, and in some cases, mayors and chiefs of police, who did not want House Party 11 playing in .their neighborhoods,” said Mitch Goldman, sales manager for New Line Cinema, which distributed the film. “They said it was for fear of problems, law enforcement prob lems. “And the commercial success of BoyzNthe Hood and New Jack City was a factor in our ability to get into __iv_4._a 1.4 .r._.1. j; j MV UHUtj M1VMWV* tvv v» frwwjraw IUW more bumness than expected on those films and were more willing to take a chance.” UNC Concert To Revive Sounds Of Sousa Band CHAPEL HILL—It won’t be the Sousa band but it will look and sound like the Sousa band. The UNC Symphonic Band, conducted by James Hile, will present a cos tumed tum-of-the-century park concert in Memorial Hall on the UNC campus Saturday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. The concert will feature a con cert presentation in the same style that John Philip Sousa used to en tertain large audiences and which made him a household name throughout the United States. The concert will feature overtures such as Von Suppe’s “Poet and Peas ant” and Sousa’s "Mars and Venus.” Professor James Ketch will be fea tured as a soloist in the name of the famed cornet virtuoso Herbert L. Clarke. The concert will also feature nov elty numbers and music of the great composers, fulfilling Sousa’s dual function of entertaining the audi ence and bringing the best music available to the public. Tickets are available at the UNC band office (919-962-6695) or at the TJNC MOBir Department (919-962 1039). Tickets will also be available at the door. IMAGINARY FRIENDS — Ella Jenkins, children’s folk singer, is a guest on an all new week about Imaginary Friends on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, premiering in most areas February 24-28 on PBS. Through her song, Jenkins invites children to imagine and pretend. “The ability to imagine is one of the most useful tools children need for their learning,” says Rogers and focuses this week on imagination and children's use of imaginary friends. This segment is part of the program scheduled for Feb. 28. Marilyn McCoo Sparkles With Pop-Gospel Album “For the last couple of years I’ve been concerned about the quality of contemporary song lyrics,” said Marilyn McCoo. "Some of them are so negative and oriented toward irresponsible behavior. There’s so often not enough hope.” That’s why she’s particularly thrilled that her album, The Me Nobody Knows, has been nominated for a Grammy in the pop gospel album category.. She first performed the title song publicly before a live audience at the Children’s Miracle Network Tele thon at Disneyland, but she was most concerned about how it would go over at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for the reunion perform ance of the Original 5th Dimension. “I didn’t know what the response wouldbe, but I was determined to do these songs,” she said of the gospel numbers. *1 was pleasantly sur prised when I received a standing ovation.” After the single came out, she received further validation of its value when she got a letter from a suicidal young woman, who, upon hearing the song on the radio, wrote that it had given her new hope and that she didn’t feel so alone any more. The present Grammy nomination is her first as a solo artist, although she and her husband, Billy Davis, MARILYN MCCOO Jr., won a Grammy (best R&B vocal performance by a duo) for “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show).* When she sang with the 5th Dimension, the group won six Grammys. She is particularly pleased with “Did We Forget About Love?”, one of the songs on her current album. It’s the first song she has co-written that’s also been recorded and it will be her next single. “It’s about get ting so caught up in our own lives that we forget about other human beings who are in need—that’s not what God had in mind for us,” she said. bonny KoIIins To Bring Indomitable Style Here For over four decades, Sonny Rollins has been blowing away the competition. On Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m., the indomitable, ever-riv eting Rollins brings his group to NCSlPs Stewart Theatre as part of the Center Stage season. Always a stunning performer, and arguably the greatest jazz tenor saxophone alive, Sonny Rollins has wooed and wowed audiences for years. Just out of high school he began jamming with the likes ofBud Powell and Fats Navarro, and by the early ’60s was recording and per forming with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Rollins credits Ornette Coleman and Lester Young, however, with having the greatest influence on his style. Like Coleman, Rollins has a gift for improvisation—playing free, and often playingtast and loose with the old standards. But unlike many improvisers, Rollins always keeps the melody within earshot, recog-, nizable somewhere under the amal gam of bebop, calypso, dance rhythms and avant garde that in form his unique, swaggering style. The beauty of what Rollins does with a tune doesn’t lie in a lush or remarkable beginning—it unfolds from anything as banal as “I’m An Old Cowhand” or “Tennessee Waltz” into a single, splendid tapestry when Rollins makes his magic. Wildly imaginative yet remarka bly logical inventions flow nonstop from his staccato bursts, rapidly and cleanly articulated runs and sustained notes. From aggressive to lyrical, his tone can be almost con versational at times. And this is one man whose sax has a lot to say. Standup Comedienne Takes UNC Spotlight CnArEL nlLii—nertace Berry, the most popular young comedienne on the college circuit—ehe was voted the 1991 National Association of Campus Activities Comedian of the Year—in comedy clubs and on television, will appear at 9 p.m. Feb. -14, in the Great Hall in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union Building on the UNC campus. A multi-talented woman, who was told by her high-school coun selor she was not college material, Ms. Berry is: a) A Ph.D. graduate in sociology and former university professor who happens to be funny. b) A comedienne who happens to be scholarly. c) A gifted lecturer/speaker with a comic edge. d) A comic with a serious message e) All of tne aoove. She has been described as either the Bill Cosby of sociology or the Doctor of Comedy. Or both. She is a woman with a message. She keeps her audiences howling, with jokes that convey positive images about living happily together. Using com edy as a tool towards better under standing, Ms. Berry shows that by laughing with each other, people can learn to respect each other also. Although she has always been! funny, Ms. Berry didn’t start per forming until a few years ago when Mike Veneman, a comedian friend and classmate, convinced her to audition for amateur night at Hi larities, a comedy club in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. To her surprise, she won. She has been performing ever since.