Actress Dorothy Wang stands in a strapless, beige dress. Behind her, the backdrop reads ‘Netflix’ in red and ‘Bling Empire’ in yellow. Gold plants adorn the red carpet. In an exclusive interview, Wang shared details of her dating values and love life. The upcoming reality show ‘Bling Empire New York’ delves into her romantic escapades.
Cinema Village NYC hosted the premiere of the Pusha T and Keep Lock produced drama, Respect the Jux, on May 6. The star studded event brought celebrity trainer Don Saladino, reggae music producer JKlassic, the cast and more to the red carpet.
Respect the Jux focuses on how the “American Dream,” for some, is only a dream; especially for those with few resources. Jux Producer Anothony Jacobs sums it up, “This movie is about the choices life sometimes leaves us with.” The film portrays the infamous struggle of migrating to the U.S. from Jamaica. A cycle that often starts with a parent leaving their child(ren) behind to start a life in “the land of opportunity;” before sending for them so they can grow up in a better place.
The film, however, is just the beginning of a larger story. Years in the making, the novel based plot is the first of many urban stories Keep Lock will produce, according to director and writer G.H. Goba. “This is our job. To produce consistent urban content,” he reassured on the red carpet. “No longer would you have to wait five years for your next movie. From here on out, every year you’re going to see us standing on somebody’s red carpet; presenting to you something great.”
In addition to releasing more content, including Respect the Jux 2, a big part of Keep Lock’s mission is to employ black creatives and non-creatives to keep them off the street. Goba noted, “We’re not about the limelight. We’re actually about the network (…) let’s build. We’re looking for writers, producers, directors, leads(…) we can provide opportunities.”
Respect the Jux is now available on Hulu, Prime, Apple TV and more. Get updates for Respect the Jux 2 and more Keep lock films by following @juxmovie and @keeplockfilms on Instagram.
Last week, guests walked back in time with HBO’s Human By Orientation, who hosted a lavish uptown affair in an Upper East Side mansion that felt it could have belonged to Gentleman Jack‘s main character herself. Gentleman Jack, a queer period drama is now in its second season and is based on the collected dairies of Anne Lister. Those diaries contain over four million words and are written largely in secret code, documenting a lifetime of lesbian relationships maintained by Lister. The first season was celebrated for its exploration of the complex social landscape of the 19th century and the subtle wit and passion of Lister (expertly portrayed by Suranne Jones).
Cortney Key and Lenai Wilkerson dance at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
In our own way, guests were able to luxuriate in Lister’s atmosphere by way of the soirée in a hallowed home: the austere, dramatic Fabbri house, built in 1916. The property and building were bought and financed by Margaret Louis Vanderbilt Shepard as a wedding gift to her daughter, Edith Shepard Fabbri. It was said that dinners would not begin until after 1am and guests would stay weeks.
Quartet at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
Today, we partake in a similar pleasure in the spare and delightfully cold Italian interior (already of antique demographic by 1916), warmed by candle sticks lining the walls and halls, a string quartet providing music through the evening, and even period-influenced dances by Cortney Key and Lenai Wilkerson. Cocktails were prepared in the spirit of the period on the mezzanine, served in glassware of a rare regal scale and quality, weighing more than 2 pounds each. In the courtyard, a Mercedes-Benz SL350 “Pagoda” sat, the car Ms. Lister would have been well-likely to drive if she had the choice. The grand library of the Fabbri house was converted into a screening area where guests watched the first episode of the new season of Gentleman Jack. The drawing room with its important and intricate ceiling (coming way of Italy by boat) was the site of a photo studio, complete with gorgeous floral arrangements by Nicole Absher framing a period sofa.
Guests at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
Guests at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
The beautiful florals continued into the dining room, where a U-shaped table was arranged at the foot of an imported mantle. Guests assembled for a multi-course meal prepared by celebrated chef Melissa King (Melissa was quite busy this week as she had the MET Gala dinner to serve yesterday as well). The menu, according to Melissa, was heavily influenced by the period (especially the pea soup, “Always the pea soup”). But Melissa also included a part of her own legacy, that of being a queer person with Cantonese heritage. “There are some Asian influences here, especially in the selection of ingredients”.
Table at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
OJ Williams and Benjamin Schmidt at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
Read more about Lister and her diary at the West Yorkshire Archive Service Exhibit blog. Gentleman Jack seasons one and two are streaming now on HBO Max as part of their Queer Voices collection. Learn more and watch the series here. Follow along with HBO’s LGBTQ community on Instagram @humanbyorientation.
Hosts at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
Guest at Gentleman Jack Dinner in NYC. 25 April 2022. Photo by Cirsty Burton
It’s hard to believe but it seems the pandemic may be finally coming to a close, at least in the world of cinema. Nothing indicated this more so than the New York Premiere of “The Batman”.
An hour before my first Sundance Premiere, I am unexpectedly mesmerized not by a Sundance related element, but by Jess King’s rhinestone-studded spin shoes.
“A Shot Through The Wall ”, an upcoming film, showcases the aftermath of an accidental shooting of an African American man by a Chinese-American police officer
Dear Evan Hansen,
Blindspotting, co-written and co-starred by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, is part dark comedy and part poetic musical, choreographed by Jon Boogz and Lil Buck. Casal and Diggs are executive producers on the series and features Casal as not only the showrunner but also reprises his role as Miles, Ashley’s longtime boyfriend. The limited series (8 episodes) follows the critically acclaimed 2018 feature film, six months after Miles goes to jail. However, this time the narrative is heavily focused on the people who are affected by Miles’s longer-than-expected jail sentence for possession of drugs.
Ashley, his loyal and devoted longtime girlfriend, is forced to move in with his hippie, Birkenstock-wearing mother, Rainey (Helen Hunt), and Instagram baddie sister Trish (Jaylon Barron) to raise their young son Sean (Atticus Woodward). While Ashley is making ends meet by working in a boujee Chateau Marmont-esque hotel full of white privilege, Trish has a progressive sex workgroup of girls running their half-naked business in the living room.
The series is nothing short of hilarious with Candace Nicholas-Lippman as Ashley’s protective best friend and Benjamin Earl Turner as the neighbor next door negotiating with little Sean for a food truck burrito since he’s on house arrest. Blindspotting is more than a comedy as it tackles deeper issues of wealth disparity and shows the reality of the failed justice system in America. You can expect to laugh out loud and want to become more of an activist for prison reform after watching the series.
The LA premiere took place at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Sunday, June 13th, and stars Jasmine Cephas Jones (Ashley), Helen Hunt (Miles’s mom, Rainey), Jaylen Barron (Miles’ sister, Trish) were all in attendance. Jasmine Cephas Jones and Andrew Chapelle got to reunite from their last time working together on Hamilton as they play opposite of each other as friend co-workers in the series.
The 2018 film was written as a love letter to Oakland and features some of the best bay area music out there and the series is no different. Because Casal and Diggs are real friends they share real experiences growing up in the Bay and wanted to put an accurate representation of where they come from on-screen.
“The music and the culture of the bay is so beautiful and so multidimensional and complex… I think it’s been put on the map many different times by many different artists but never quite in this way so we wanted to add a little sauce to it and really just show love to so many artists and so many culture creators and innovators the bay has to offer,” said Rafael Casal.
Producer Keith Calder spoke about the underlying message of the series when talking about how important it is for stories to be told that deal with the aftermath of a loved one being locked up and what that experience is like. He also touched on how the US plays a significant factor in that corrupt prison system as it has the highest incarceration rates in the world.
“The United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world and it’s something that’s taken for granted as an unchangeable fact and we don’t believe that to be true,” said Calder. “We think that if people see the impact on not just the people inside the jail but the tens of millions of people that are indirectly affected either being a family member there or someone in the community or really the long extent of prison once you leave incarceration, too.”
The series puts a face and name to the need for change in America. Audiences who may not have empathy for drug users will hopefully walk away with a more open mindset after they fall in love with the characters in the show.
Guests from the premiere also included Oakland native, Kehlani, where she talked about her new song with T-Pain ‘I Like Dat’ which they performed on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE June 10th! Of course, Ron Cephas Jones was also there in support of his daughter’s performance on screen as well as Brandee Evans and Dascha Polanco.
If you like shows like On My Block and films like Do The Right Thing then you’ll binge Blindspotting in no time. Blindspotting is now available to stream on STARZ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCtdIC666Ec
Steve McQueen does it again, but this time through SMALL AXE, a collection of five films. Amazon Prime presented a drive-thru experience this past weekend in Los Angeles, which fully immersed the guests into these powerful stories.