Lalanya Masters Movies
- 2003
Created by John Ridley and Sofia Coppola (whose father Francis Ford Coppola was among the producers), the weekly UPN series Platinum could be described as Dynasty for the hip-hop generation. At the center of the intrigue was a black-oriented record company called Sweetback, owned and operated by the Rhames brothers, Jackson (Jason George) and Grady (Sticky Fingaz). Though they had supped full of success, the brothers' label was in dire financial straits, forcing them to take drastic measures (some funny, some violent) to remain players in a cutthroat business. During the first few episodes, the Rhameses' biggest headache was their top artist, a pugnacious white rapper named VersIs (played by real-life rap artist Vishiss), who in addition to making enemies left and right was also romancing Jackson and Grady's kid sister Monica (Davetta Sherwood). On top of everything else, the white-dominated media despised the Rhameses, and were waiting baited breath to see them crash and burn. Others in the cast included Steven Pasquale as the brothers' long-suffering financial adviser, and N'Bushe Wright as a barracuda-like rival producer. Originally titled Empire, Platinum premiered April 14, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Writer-director Christopher Scott Cherot (Hav Plenty) based his second feature, G, on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby. Tre (Andre Royo), a writer for a music magazine, goes out to the Hamptons to interview a wealthy and mysterious rap mogul, Summer G (Richard T. Jones), who's recently bought a home there. Tre first stops in on his cousin, Sky (Chenoa Maxwell, who also starred in Hav Plenty) and her control freak millionaire husband, Chip (Blair Underwood). Tre soon learns that Chip is brazenly cheating on Sky, and he even witnesses Chip smack his girlfriend around. Tre doesn't have much luck getting close to Summer G, until the music impresario finds out that Tre is related to Sky, whom he dated in college. Summer G asks Tre to arrange a meeting with Sky, and Tre, apparently upset with the way Chip has been treating Sky, helps Summer G connect with his old flame. Summer G tells Sky that he still loves her, and she begins an affair with him. The snobby old money Chip, already predisposed to dislike Summer G because of his hip-hop lifestyle, suspects that there's something going on, and plots to have Summer G chased from their exclusive Hamptons neighborhood. G was produced by Andrew Lauren, fashion designer Ralph Lauren's son, who also appears in the film as Adam Gordon, Summer G's manager. G was shown at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, (more)
- 2000
When a white teenager is murdered in Harlem, the police at first assume the victim was killed in a botched robbery. Later on, a couple of black kids are heard bragging about the killing and seen brandishing the victim's jacket, thereby fomenting a dangerous racial situation. But as the evidence mounts up, the DA's office shifts its attention to a pair of police officers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
