The $120,000 Cavendish
Someone ate the $120,000 banana at Art Basel. Some quick thinking saved the day
BY HOWARD COHEN AND SIOBHAN MORRISSEY
Someone ate a really expensive snack at Art Basel Saturday afternoon — to the tune of $120,000.
For one banana.
By now you have probably heard of the now world-famous banana duct-taped to Emmanuel Perrotin’s outer gallery wall at Art Basel Miami Beach. The piece that sold to an art collector for $120,000.
The $120,000 banana — a real, rather ripe and edible one — is the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and titled “Comedian.” The work comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, and owners are told that they can replace the banana, as needed.
Instructions on how to replace the banana are not included.
Lena Waithe Rising
Rising queer star Lena Waithe drops trailer for new series
Lena Waithe, the out lesbian woman of color who has been among those at the forefront in the struggle to bring more visibility and representation to the entertainment industry, is on a roll as 2019 comes to a close.
On the heels of an impressive opening weekend for her debut feature film, “Queen and Slim,” the Emmy-winner dropped the trailer for her upcoming television project on BET. Titled “Twenties,” it’s the first series in the network’s history to be centered on an LGBTQ character.
“Queen and Slim,” the rising industry powerhouse’s first feature film screenplay (from a story she co-wrote with James Frey), surpassed industry expectations by making the top five box-office list for Thanksgiving weekend.
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES “Stellar”
“A Million Little Pieces” stellar tale of addiction, redemption
There is something both shocking and weirdly gallant to see Aaron Taylor-Johnson as James Frey completely unhinged and out of his skull — and clothes — as “A Million Little Pieces” opens.
The brief sequence immediately establishes the mindset of a self-destructive druggie and Taylor-Johnson’s willingness to go wherever to tell a familiar story of rehab and redemption.
Co-written by real-life couple director Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”) and Aaron, “Pieces” is an adaptation of Frey’s once notorious but still in print bestselling memoir from 2003.
The memoir was notoriously targeted by Oprah Winfrey for exaggeration and embellishing, which today seems quaint and completely out of proportion for the lies told daily in the national conversation.
What the Taylor-Johnsons have done is smoothly engrossing with a first-rate cast.
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES Premiere
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES “An effective blunt instrument of a film”
‘A Million Little Pieces’ works on film, and that’s the honest truth
Aaron Taylor-Johnson does harrowing work as author James Frey in the throes of addiction and rehab.
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Momentum Pictures
“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” – Mark Twain, quoted in “A Million Little Pieces.”
You had to feel for James Frey.
In January 2006, the School of the Art Institute grad turned best-selling author took arguably the most brutal verbal beatdown in the history of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Granted, Frey brought it upon himself, when it was revealed his mega-successful addiction memoir “A Million Little Pieces” contained major exaggerations and fabrications.
Oprah, who initially had championed the book, was not amused. She called Frey on the carpet in front of a studio audience and millions of viewers.
It seemed excessive. It was painful to watch.
A few years later, Oprah said she owed Frey an apology. By then, Frey had bounced back in a big way, with a seven-figure deal to write novels for Harper Collins. Since then, his career has continued to thrive, most recently with a “Story By” credit for the acclaimed theatrical release “Queen & Slim.”
Now, some 16 years after the publication of “A Million Little Pieces,” a film adaptation from director/co-writer Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey,” no relation) is getting an understated release, and it’s reasonable to assume a good percentage of viewers will have little or no knowledge of the controversial story behind the source material.
Not that it should matter. As a stand-alone work of cinema fiction, “A Million Little Pieces” is an effective blunt instrument of a film — a rough-edged, unvarnished, painfully accurate portrayal of addiction and rehabilitation.
Sam & Aaron Taylor-Johnson on James Frey
Q&A: Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on why it’s OK to forgive James Frey
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES / Photo by Jeff Gros
Sam Taylor-Johnson knows willpower. Four years ago, it powered an iron stomach through the contentious making of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Now, it’s propelling her James Frey movie into theaters.
On Friday, the director’s new film, “A Million Little Pieces,” arrives in theaters, starring her husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 29, as the recovering alcoholic who found himself at the center of one of the biggest memoir publishing scandals in modern history.
The Contenders: Melina Matsoukas
‘Queen & Slim’ Director Melina Matsoukas On Showing “Black People As Victors And Not Victims” – The Contenders L.A. Video
Grammy-winning music video director Melina Matsoukas is known for using her work not only to highlight African -American culture but also reflect pertinent issues in the community. That’s what made Queen & Slim the apt project for her feature directorial debut.
“The script for me was everything,” Matsoukas said at Deadline’s Contenders Los Angeles event. “It was political. It was saying something. It was illuminating issues in the black community with police brutality and so many of our struggles. But mostly because it was this beautiful love story as well. It really staddles the line between all kinds of genres. … We get to enjoy this beautiful journey between two black people.”
QUEEN & SLIM – “For me, this is a battle cry.”
Lena Waithe Explains Police Brutality Focus In ‘Queen & Slim’
“For me, this is a battle cry.”
Written by Alexis Reese
With one of the most anticipated Black films of 2019, Queen & Slim, to be released before the start of the new year, producer and writer Lena Waithe is spinning the traditional police brutality narrative.
Sitting down with BET Digital, Waithe speaks to the importance of the film, her vision behind the screenplay, the current state of America’s police force and more.
The drama follows two strangers, Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya), who find themselves responsible for the death of a police officer after going on a first date. Waithe transformed a small anecdote she got from her co-writer James Frey into a fully formed narrative, then brought on Melina Matsoukas as director. With police brutality at an all-time high, the need for the film was urgent if not crucial. “I think for Black people, police have never represented to us an organization that protects or serves us. We almost feel more oppressed by the police. That is something that is an issue and is a problem in our society, because we are citizens just like anyone else. But we feel policed, you can’t live freely in that way,” Waithe says.
Costuming QUEEN & SLIM
Queen & Slim: How Black Panthers, Diahann Carroll Inspired the Film’s Designer Costumes
Costume designer Shiona L. Turini walks us through the film’s sleek sartorial choices, from Slim’s custom red tracksuit to Queen’s Brother Vellies boots.
BY YOHANA DESTA
costume designer Shiona Turini on the set of Queen & Slim.
BY LELANIE FOSTER/UNIVERSAL.
In Queen & Slim, the sweeping road movie thriller directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, the costumes are culled from a world of rich cultural sources. The revolutionary Black Panthers, blaxploitation movies, and Diahann Carroll were all used as reference points by designers like Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss, Dapper Dan,and Aurora James of Brother Vellies, all of whom contributed looks to the film about a young black couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith) who go on the run after killing a racist, jumpy police officer. The end result is a film that is equal parts thought-provoking and impossibly stylish, a sartorial vision funneled through the eye of one specific person: costume designer Shiona L. Turini.
Queen & Slim is a first feature for many involved: It’s Matsoukas’s debut as a feature director (she rose to fame after helming sleek music videos for the likes of Beyoncé and Snoop Dogg); it’s Waithe’s first feature screenplay; it’s Turner-Smith’s first time carrying a film. It’s also Turini’s first time costuming a movie. The designer, a former editorial stylist and director who worked at magazines like Cosmopolitan and W, first turned to the screen after a chance meeting with Matsoukas.
“We met on a camping trip in Joshua Tree for one New Year’s Eve and we really just hit it off,” Turini tells Vanity Fair. “We work very similarly, we’re the same age. It was a very instant connection.”
By that point, Matsoukas was already an established music video director (she first worked with Beyoncé in 2007), but Turini had no clue about her friend’s status in the industry. She only realized later when she was making a professional website and asked to see Matsoukas’s site; the director didn’t have one, but pointed her in the direction of her management team, who had catalogued her work thus far.
Daniel Kaluuya On QUEEN & SLIM
Why Daniel Kaluuya fought for ‘Queen & Slim’: ‘I like things that are misbehaved’
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Daniel Kaluuya is used to getting people talking.
After appearing in the first season of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian anthology series “Black Mirror,” the British actor went on to deliver a breakout performance in Jordan Peele’s genre-redefining psychological horror film “Get Out,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar.
In the two years since, he’s had memorable turns in Marvel’s megahit “Black Panther” and Steve McQueen’s critically acclaimed “Widows” before once again taking the lead in the Thanksgiving release “Queen & Slim,” directed by Melina Matsoukas from a script by Lena Waithe.
“It’s a blessing, man,” he said over a late October lunch at Mid-City’s Paper or Plastik cafe. “I realized I’m always there at the beginning of things: Doing Jordan’s first [directed] film and then Lena’s first film, the first [season] of ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘Black Panther.’ It’s a nice thing to affirm something that could be in the zeitgeist.”
In the same way that “Get Out” and “Black Panther” sparked broad and unexpected cultural conversations when they were released, “Queen & Slim” is primed to do the same. A love story about an unlikely black couple on the run after an altercation with a police officer, the film was intended as a meditation on police brutality and feels decidedly of the times.
QUEEN & SLIM – “A brilliant piece of protest art”
‘Queen & Slim’: Meet the Bonnie and Clyde of 2019
A tale of an outlaw couple on the run in Trump’s racially charged America is a bold new take on an old tale — and a brilliant piece of protest art
Racial justice and the outrage at its absence courses through the visual and emotional powerhouse that is Queen and Slim. There’s also the exhilaration that comes from watching talents new to movies seize their moment with a passion that pins you to your seat. Director Melina Matsoukas — and artist of Greek and Afro-Cuban heritage — is best known for music videos such as Beyonce’s “Formation”; she also helmed Master of None‘s brilliant “Thanksgiving,” episode of Master of None, the same episode that made screenwriter Lena Waithe the first black woman to win an Emmy for writing a comedy. Now they’ve teamed up on what’s being labelled “the black Bonnie and Clyde.”
Queen & Slim is more than that, of course — way more.
[ click to continue reading at Rolling Stone ]
OTHER REVIEWS…
New York Times
TIME
The Wrap
Waco Tribune
Austin Chronicle
Chicago Daily Herald
Boston Globe
Jodie Turner-Smith on QUEEN & SLIM
New Hollywood Podcast: Jodie Turner-Smith Talks Cultural Identity And Social Impact Of ‘Queen & Slim’
By Dino-Ray Ramos, Amanda N’Duka
Jodie Turner-Smith started off in modeling and has appeared in TV series such as Nightflyers, The Last Ship and True Blood and has appeared in feature films like The Neon Demon. She now stars opposite Daniel Kaluuya in the Melina Matsoukas-directed Queen & Slim written by Lena Waithe (opening November 27). The film is garnering critical acclaim and awards season buzz for shedding an authentic light on the Black experience, flipping the script on the timely narrative about police violence against the Black community. As her first lead role in a major feature film, Turner-Smith stopped by Deadline’s New Hollywood Podcast to tell us all about it.
INTERVIEW: Lena Waithe on QUEEN & SLIM
QUEEN & SLIM – Tomorrow
3BlackDot Launches MisBits
3BlackDot unveils MisBits combat game set in a sandbox cartoon world
3BlackDot is unveiling its MisBits, which is a multiplayer combat game set in a sandbox cartoon world. The PC title is entering closed beta testing now and should launch on Steam in 2020.
In the game, toys have taken over a house. Players will build their own combat gear in a multiplayer action-adventure world. It’s a sandbox environment where there are no rules. It’s sort of like happens when Toy Story-style characters are set loose in a world where they can go berserk.
It’s the first game from a new game studio in Los Angeles, founded by industry veterans from Ubisoft, Monte Cristo, Cliffhanger Products, Sproing, and Purple Lamp Studios. MisBits aims to be the next generation of sandbox games, where anything can happen.
The founders include former Machinima executives Angelo Pullen and Luke Stepleton, along with top-ranked YouTube gaming influencers Adam Montoya (SeaNanners), Tom Cassell (TheSyndicateProject) and, Evan Fong (VanossGaming).
Interview with A MILLION LITTLE PIECES Direct Sam Taylor-Johnson
Exclusive Interview: Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Talks A Million Little Pieces
By Luke Parker
Collaborating for the first time since 2009’s Nowhere Boy, Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are bringing A Million Little Pieces to the screen, a passion project which the married couple wrote together. Sam, who also directed the film, has had a special attachment to the material for years. A bond so strong that even when James Frey, author of the source material, was chastised for fabricating some of the details in his book, Sam was still eager to to tell this story.
The film, which stars her husband in the leading role, follows a version of Frey who, like in the memoir, is left in rehab to work the drug addiction out of his system.
We Got This Covered recently had the opportunity to speak with both Sam and Aaron about the upcoming film. You can check out our conversation with the director down below, in which discussed her experience partnering with her husband again, as well as working alongside the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Juliette Lewis, and Giovanni Ribisi. Enjoy!
The Music of QUEEN & SLIM
How Queen and Slim‘s Filmmakers Captured the Past, Present and Future of Black Music
This article contains mild spoilers for the movie Queen & Slim.
Melina Matsoukas has directed some of the most influential music videos of the past decade. She placed Beyoncé atop a flooded car in “Formation” and built heaven and dystopia in Rihanna’s “We Found Love.” She introduced Lady Gaga’s zany theatricality to the world in “Just Dance.” Through her many conceptually ambitious and uniquely stylized works, Matsoukas shifted the modern ambition and aesthetic of the music video, bringing it closer to those of a feature film.
So it’s no surprise that her directorial feature debut, Queen & Slim, is deeply indebted to music. The film has been called a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde: it follows the two eponymous characters (played by Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya) who flee south after Slim kills a police officer in self-defense. The pair spends much of their time alone on the road—but according to Matsoukas, music “becomes another character on their journey.” It seeps out of car radios, New Orleans homes and Mississippi juke joints, serving as a romantic spark, a chaotic agent and a soothing balm.
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES Red Band Trailer
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Debuts Red Band Trailer of ‘A Million Little Pieces’ – Watch Here!
Aaron Taylor-Johnson keeps it cool and casual while the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversation screening of his film A Million Little Pieces held at SAG-AFTRA Foundation Screening Room on Thursday (November 21) in Los Angeles.
The 29-year-old Golden Globe winner sat down for a Q&A panel to dish about the American drama film, based on the book by the same name written by James Frey. The film is also co-written by Aaron‘s wife Sam Taylor-Johnson.
A Million Little Pieces follows the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic and drug abuser by the same name, James Frey.
QUEEN & SLIM’s Melina Matsoukas New Hollywood Podcast
New Hollywood Podcast: ‘Queen & Slim’ Director Melina Matsoukas Talks Changing The Narrative Of Violence Against Black Community
By Dino-Ray Ramos, Amanda N’Duka
Melina Matsoukas is known for directing some of the most compelling and visually striking music videos including Rihanna’s “We Found Love” and Beyonce’s game-changing “Formation” — both earned her an MTV Video Music Award. This year, she made her foray into the feature space with Queen and Slim. Written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe and starring Academy Award nominee Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith, the film has been causing buzz ever since it was announced.
Dev Hynes’ Score for QUEEN & SLIM
Dev Hynes is releasing his original score for Queen & Slim
by Lazlo Rugoff
Mellow operatic rhythms and delicate piano compositions.
Composer and musician Devonté Hynes, aka Blood Orange, is releasing his score for Queen & Slim this March via Domino, following its digital release on Friday the 22nd of November.
Written by Lena Waithe and based on James Frey’s original idea, Queen & Slim stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a young couple on the run.
It follows the release of the film’s soundtrack, which includes new music from Lauryn Hill, Vince Staples, Megan Thee Stallion and more.
Queen & Slim is the second film score composed by Hynes, following his work for Gia Coppola’s 2013 Palo Alto.
QUEEN & SLIM’s Turner-Smith and Kaluuya Connecting
from Lee Bailey’s ELECTRONIC URBAN REPORT
‘QUEEN & SLIM’ STARS JODIE TURNER-SMITH & DANIEL KALUUYA TALK DEEP CONNECTIONS
by JILLMUNROE
*Imagine a bad Tinder date turning into a life or death situation that includes a manhunt for murder, folklore status and love.
That’s the backdrop to the new Universal Pictures upcoming release, “Queen & Slim,” The feature-film directorial debut from Melina Matsoukas (executive producer/director of HBO’s Insecure) stars Academy Award® nominee Daniel Kaluuya as “Slim” and rising star Jodie Turner-Smith (Syfy’s Nightflyers), as “Queen.”
The film was written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe from a story created by Lena and bestselling author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces.) The film has already become a hot topic on social media, with many celebs weighing in on the movie’s heavy topics. Snoop Dogg mentioned he was so emotional, he had to walk out of the theatre.
EURweb’s Jill Munroe spoke with Kaluuya and Turner-Smith to discuss why the film has already connected with the audience, Kaluuya’s experience not only starring in the film, but producing it as well and what would be on their “on the run” playlist.
[ click to continue reading at Lee Bailey’s ELECTRONIC URBAN REPORT ]
Wilde’s Ring Recovered
Oscar Wilde’s stolen ring found by Dutch ‘art detective’
A golden ring once given as a present by the famed Irish writer Oscar Wilde has been recovered by a Dutch “art detective” nearly 20 years after it was stolen from Britain’s Oxford University.
The friendship ring, a joint gift from Wilde to a fellow student in 1876, was taken during a burglary in 2002 at Magdalen College, where the legendary dandy studied. At the time it was valued at £35,000 (40,650 euros, $45,000).
The trinket’s whereabouts remained a mystery for years and there were fears that the ring — shaped like a belt and buckle and made from 18-carat gold — had even been melted down.
But Arthur Brand, a Dutchman dubbed the “Indiana Jones of the Art World” for recovering a series of high-profile stolen artworks, used his underworld connections to finally find it.
QUEEN & SLIM – “Powerful Soundtrack”
Queen & Slim Get The Powerful Soundtrack They Deserve
The Queen & Slim soundtrack is a high-octane ride with a tender heart — just like the movie it’s made for.
The soundtrack dropped Friday from the iconic Motown Records, ahead of Queen & Slim’s theatrical release later this month. Queen & Slim stars Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and model and actress Jodie Turner-Smith as a “black Bonnie and Clyde” running from the police. After a forgettable first date in Ohio, the pair are pulled over on a minor traffic stop — but the situation ends suddenly and tragically, with a police officer dead after Kaluuya’s character fights back in self-defense. The incident goes viral, and the two (him a retail employee, her a criminal defense lawyer) go on the run and become national figures.
The 17-song soundtrack is a display of Black talent and artistry, featuring a genuinely staggering lineup ranging from rising hip-hop superstars to soul and R&B legends. A new, fiery Megan Thee Stallion track kicks off the proceedings, followed by original songs by artists including Lauryn Hill — her track “Guarding The Gates” is her first new music in five years, Rolling Stonereports, though fans might recognize it from her live shows.Other artists on the soundtrack include — *takes deep breath* — Vince Staples, 6LACK, Mereba, Syd, Coast Contra, BJ The Chicago Kid, Lil Baby, Burna Boy, and Blood Orange, who also composed the film’s score. Classic songs by Bilal (“Soul Sista”), Mike Jones (“Still Tippin’”), and Roy Ayers (“Searching”) are on the list, too, along with Tiana Major9 and EarthGang’s new single “Collide,” which dropped with an accompanying music video.
Queen & Slim was written by Lena Waithe, and draws inspiration from a short story by her and author James Frey. Waithe worked with Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas and Motown Records’ president, Ethiopia Habtemariam, to assemble the soundtrack, which is intended to sound like a musical road trip mirroring the characters’ journey together. It is also meant to be a bold artistic statement — a modern take on the history of Black music in the U.S.
Bash @ 3BlackDot
Swissx CBD Wellness Benefits Highlighted in Co-Sponsorship of AKON Lighting L.A. Music and Art Event
Downtown Los Angeles was introduced to the wellness benefits of Swissx and its CBD products this weekend, as Swissx Labs served as a co-sponsor of Akon Lighting L.A. Just before its launch, Swissx CEO Alki David announced that the company would sponsor the urban conscious music and art event, which was hosted by Grammy Award-nominated singer, Akon.
During Akon Lighting L.A., which benefited AKON Lighting Africa, also highlighted how Swissx is the purest and most respected brand available on the market. All Swissx products come from specially developed strains of hemp grown and processed in Switzerland. The brand counts such celebrities as Tommy Chong, Scott Disick, Dave Navarro, Donatella Versace, Ray J and Jonathan Rhys Myers as fans, and Snoop Dogg has even praised Swissx on social media.
Tonight at 9pm, Snoop Dogg will hit the stage when he hosts the special set DJ SNOOPADELIC.
The all-vegan festival also features kundalini yoga, meditation and indigenous people ceremonies.
The event continues today until 11PM, Saturday the 16th.
3BLACKDOT is at 1580 Jesse Street, L.A. CA 90021 For tickets and more information, here.
QUEEN & SLIM’s Lena Waithe with David Remnick
Lena Waithe on “Queen & Slim”
With David Remnick
The screenwriter Lena Waithe talks about “Queen & Slim,” her new feature from. For many black people, Waithe says, the police “represent Jim Crow, they represent injustice, they represent death to a lot of us.”
King Crimson 1982
Instagram A MILLION LITTLE PIECES’ Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Reminds Fans on Instagram of His Upcoming Film ‘A Million Little Pieces’
by Gabriela Silva
The American drama film, ‘A Million Little Pieces’ is based on the book by the same name written by James Frey. The film is co-written by Sam Taylor-Johnson who is known for directing ‘Nowhere Boy’ and the first installment of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.
Alongside Taylor-Johnson is her husband, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is starring in the film as James Frey. Aron is known for his roles in ‘Kickass’, ‘Savages’, The Avengers films and ‘Nowhere Boy’.
QUEEN & SLIM Soundtrack Out Now
Vince Staples’ “Yo Love” feat. 6lack & Mereba From Queen & Slim:The Soundtrack Is Out Today
Today, Motown Records released Vince Staples’ “Yo Love” feat. 6lack & Mereba. The new song is from Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack, which will be released this Friday, November 15.Zane Lowe debuted “Yo Love” earlier today as a World First on Apple Music’s Beats 1.The track is featured today on the cover of Apple Music’s New Music Daily playlist. Download / stream “Yo Love” HERE and view the pseudo video HERE.
Those who pre-order / pre-save the albumin digital format will instantly receive “Yo Love” plus “Ride or Die” by Megan Thee Stallion x VickeeLo and “Collide” by Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG. Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack is available for pre-order / pre-save HERE.
Starring Oscar® nominee Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Queen & Slim isa powerful, consciousness-raising love story that confronts the staggering human toll of racism and the life-shattering price of violence. The film, from GRAMMY®-winning director Melina Matsoukas and Emmy®-winning writer Lena Waithe, is due in theaters November 27 following its November 14 premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, where it opens the festival.
The music in the film serves as an additional voice and showcases the range of talent across Black artists with a compelling blend of genres. The 16-song soundtrack also features new tracks by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Lil Baby, Coast Contrafeaturing BJ The Chicago Kid and Syd, plus classic songs by Roy Ayers, Bilal, Mike Jones and others. Blood Orange composed the film’s score and is featured on the soundtrack.
“Collide,” by Tiana Major9 & EARTHGANG, has amassed over three million combined global streams. Produced by Benny Cassette (Kanye West, John Legend), the track was the #1 Most Added song at Urban AC Radio. It has topped Spotify’s The Newness playlist, placed in Apple Music’s “Me & Bae” playlist and appears on the biggest R&B playlists on Pandora (Top R&B Hits), YouTube Music (R&B Wave) and Amazon (R&B Rotation).
Lena Waithe wrote the screenplay for Queen & Slim from a story by herself and bestselling author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, Katerina). The film is produced by Frey, Waithe, Matsoukas, Michelle Knudsen, Andrew Coles, Brad Weston and Pamela Abdy.
How Knight Rider Brought Down The Berlin Wall
David Hasselhoff Looks Back on His Surprising Role in the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, when, on Nov. 9, 1989, Berliners breached the 12-ft.-high wall that had divided the communist East side of the city and the capitalist West side of the city since 1961.
It was not only the beginning of a new chapter for Germany and the World, but also a new chapter in David Hasselhoff’s career. The actor and singer had made a name for himself in the U.S., especially as the star of the TV show Knight Rider, but he became even more of a celebrity in Germany after his song “Looking For Freedom” (an English adaptation of the 1978 German hit “Auf Der Strasse Nach Süden,” often translated as “On the road to the South”) came out in 1988, followed by the album of the same name in June 1989. It topped the charts in West Germany, in large part because its lyrics about the long search for freedom struck a chord among those living in a divided Germany. The coincidental timing of the song’s release and the wall’s destruction made Hasselhoff a surprising symbol of the end of the Cold War, a position cemented by his performance at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on New Year’s Eve 1989.
QUEEN & SLIM On Racism, Police Brutality
‘Queen & Slim’ a tale of outlaws, but also a love story and a meditation on racism and police brutality
By SONAIYA KELLEY, LOS ANGELES TIMES
For “Queen & Slim,” screenwriter Lena Waithe’s meditation on race relations and police brutality, director Melina Matsoukas drew visual inspiration from sources as diverse as Alfonso Cuaron’s 2001 dramedy “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and Spike Lee’s 1989 classic “Do the Right Thing.” But the biggest influence came from YouTube.
“One of the key references for me has been real life, authentic struggles in the black community,” said Matsoukas, who makes her feature debut with the movie, in theaters on Thanksgiving. “I watched a lot of YouTube videos of black people being pulled over by the police or encountering law enforcement and it not necessarily ending well. Unfortunately, there are so many of those videos, but they were a major influence in how I wanted to approach shooting the opening scene.”
Starring Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith, our protagonists (known simply as Slim and Queen until the end) are forced on the run within the first 10 minutes of the movie. “A Million Little Pieces” author James Frey pitched the idea for the opening to Waithe at a party.
“He was like, ‘Yo, I have this idea for a movie that I can’t write,’” she remembered. “And I was like ‘What’s that?’”