Grilling, Chitchatting, and Filming: The (Late) Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

I got off work, went to the comic book store, and pretty sang some karaoke at Jordan's.

Saturday:

I got off work, dropped off my coworker "Uncle" Marvin Skinner, and hung out for a bit. I went to Perkins and ate a little lunch, then I saw "Pirates of the Carribean". It had some good moments, but it was very convoluted. There was just too much going on, too many subplots. I think it's time to let that franchise sail off into the sunset. Johnny Depp was still good as Jack Sparrow. After that, I went back to Comics and Collectibles (www.memphiscomics.com) and bought my friend Shomari a birthday present. He's into comics, so I bought him a comic book. I know, pure genius on my part. Next, I went to Carrabbas on Poplar for Shomari's birthday dinner. Shout out to Denna Greer (What Goes Around), Jamaica, Mario, Shomari Gant, Terra Hollis, Terrance, his girlfriend Jill, and superproducer/CEO of WestPoint Records, Paul "P-Dub" West. The food was good, but a little pricey for me before the 31, if you know what I mean. I had spaghetti and water. After that, I went to Jordan's and sang some karaoke yet again. It was Jordan's one-year anniversary. I performed a little Jay-Z ("Girls, Girls, Girls"), some Fergie and Ludacris (with my girl Sharon), some Kanye West ("Gold Digger"), and Rickie and I performed "Regulate" by Nate Dogg and Warren G. A good time was had by all.

Sunday:

I went to a cookout at the home of Chris McCoy and Laura Hocking-McCoy, the husband and wife team behind Eat, another of the many films that I am in. I said many, not all, for any wiseguys out there. I ran into a few Eat castmembers. One woman was in a dance recital, and another woman was getting ready for a production of Big River, the Huck Finn musical. I also ran into Location Scouting Guru David Merrill, some nice females who came with him, and a guy from Puerto Rico named Diego. I also talked to Talbot Fields (Eat) and his wife, and I talked to Adam and Melissa Remsen. They asked me to be an extra in their short. I told him how Markus Seaberry (yes, I refer to myself in the third person) is trying to move away from unpaid extra work, but I'd think about it. Later, some other waiters that Chris and Laura knew came by, and we discussed race, politics, and...cleavage. Hey, we cover all the bases! I didn't leave until three in the morning. It was cool.


Monday:

I went to Shoney's around 5 PM ( I was tired) and I got a call from Jon Sparks (www.jonwsparks.blogspot.com). He asked me to lay down some vocals for my part in his short for the next Lil' Film Fest. I went over his house, spoke to the lovely and beautigul Mrs. Sparks, and recorded my vocals. Lavita Brooks (Katrina's Wake, Just the Two of Us) also came through to record her vocals. I don't want to give it away, but this short will be very clever. After that, I went over to the Remsen's house to be an extra in Melissa's film. Yes, I broke my new rule. I had fun, though. I met some new people. Laura Hocking-McCoy and Chris McCoy were also there to be extras, as was my nemesis Brett Magdovitz (Dollars and Signs, Eat). Brett used to hold the record for most film appearances in Indie Memphis with 5 in one festival, but I obliterated that record with 8 last year. I will never relinquish my throne, Magdovitz!!! We had fun, we all had fake ego trips, demanding stand-ins and lattes and other things. It was cool. Jeff Pope (Black Snake Moan, Hustle and Flow) showed up late, but Pope's cool with me. After that, I called it a day.

Tonight, I plan to actually shoot my part in Sparky's short. That will make three shorts with me in them at the Lil'Film Fest, with a possible fourth on the horizon. Once again, it is good to be the King...Indie, that is. Be easy, readers!!!

Movies, Concerts, and Acting: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:



I got off work at 1 PM, got my haircut, went to Comics and Collectibles (www.memphiscomics.com), went to Oak Court Mall, and then I went home for nap. I woke up, watched a little Friday Night Smackdown, and I went to Quizno's and to the Cordova Cinema to watch Shrek 3. It was not as funny as the other ones, but it had it's moments. The four princesses were funny. Snow White (Amy Poehler), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), and Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph) were hilarious. Justin Timberlake was pretty funny as Artie, a young King Arthur. Eric Idle also shined as a hippie Merlin.



Saturday:



I got off work, met up with my buddy Paul "DJ Acydic" Briggs, and gave him some neo-soul to play during his set that night. Paul was the DJ at the Soul Cafe on Ridgeway. The Soul Cafe is affiliated with New Direction Church. They don't serve alcohol, and they focus on Christian/positive entertainment. My buddy Ramp was the MC. He's an awesome poet. The main act was a guy named JR. He is affiliated with a Christian record label called Cross Movement Records. He is a Christian R&B artist. His backup singers were also in a group. Those two guys call their group Due Season. They performed two of their songs as well. His album "Metamorphosis" is available in Christian stores, Wal-Mart, and on at www.jrsings.com.

I thoroughl enjoyed JR. Shout out also to Alpha Lex, a local Christian rapper who opened up for JR, and C. Micah, who came up after JR. Paul was also playing instrumentals of popular songs (the actual songs would be too suggestive and profane for this setting). Shout out to my coworker, Cherron, who I also saw in the place. Shout out also to Quintin Alston aka Preacher's Kid. He promotes a lot of Christian activities in Memphis. I really enjoyed myself. The whole night got me thinking about things that I need to do, like go back to church and to get stronger in my faith.



Sunday:

I met up with Timm Scalita (Last Call Lovin') and I was in his short for the next Lil' Film Fest. The theme of the next Lil' Film Fest is "Say What? Freedom of Speech", and Timm wrote a crazy script. It is definitely controversial. It's about a newscast in a world without censorship. I enjoyed it. I'm definitely not the comic relief, for a change. After all that fun, I watched a WWE pay-per-view over my good friend Shomari's house.

Overall, it was a good weekend. I had fun, saw a movie, and I actually acted. Oh, yeah, I found out that I am in one of the trailers for "My Blueberry Nights". Look for me at about the 13-14 second mark. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eE3uz_me4M

Be easy, readers!!

Support the Tupelo Film Fest!!

The fourth annual Tupelo Film Festival will begin this Thursday. Check out the scheduled line-up and other information athttp://www.tupelo. net/filmfest/


PS My good friend Lavita Brooks (The Survivor, What Goes Around) is in "Katrina's Wake". It runs tomorrow, May 17. Be easy, readers!!

Karaoke, Mama's Day, Watching Movies: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:
I got off work, ran some errands, and went to the karaoke bar. I was sleepy, so I only sang "Sail On" by The Commodores.

Saturday:

I got off work, took a nap, then got up and went to the karaoke spot again. Funny story: After my buddy David sang Godsmack's "Awake", the woman who followed him said, "Some of ya'll folks need to lighten up, I like country". David and I didn't take too kindly to this, so I decided to show her my definiton of "lighten up". When my next turn came, I decided to perform Jay-Z's "99 problems". The chorus goes, "I've got 99 problems, but a b---ch ain't one". I also dedicated it "to the ladies". It was wrong, but she asked for it. After that, I went home.

Sunday:

My brother and I went out to Moscow, Tennesee to give our mom her Mother's Day gifts. I bought her a Hallmark card (The Mahogany division) and the book Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings. It was written by Tyler Perry (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) in character as Madea. We hung out, chewed the fat, ate spaghetti and meatballs, then we headed back to Cordova. After that, I went to the Bartlett 10 (discount theater) and watched Chris Rock's latest film, I Think I Love My Wife. It was okay. I like Chris Rock's standup, and the TV show he created (Everybody Hates Chris). I think Chris needs to focus on screenwriting, directing, and maybe producing. He should play an important character, but not the lead. His acting is not as convincing as it should be. After that, I called it a night.

The weekend was slow, but this weekend should be different. Timm Scalita (Last Call Loving) had drafted King Indie (me) for a short for the next Lil' Film Festival. The topic is Freedom of Speech. Anybody who knows Timm knows that we will definitely have something interesting to contribute. Be easy, readers.

PS My uncle Gus is out of the hospital. YAAAYYY!!! I just pray that he follows the doctor's diet and takes care of himself. I don't want him to have any more heart attacks. It has given me extra incentive to whip my chubby behind into shape. Stay tuned.

Free Dinner, Disappointing Fights, and Live Music: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

The staff and full-time faculty at the university that I work for went out to eat at Macaroni Grill. It was a good time, and the food was free. I had to control myself and not eat the delicously fattening, salty pasta. I settled for grilled salmon and rice. It was okay, when I close my eyes, it tasted just like....aw, who am I kidding? I'm fat, when I get skinny and stay skinny, I may indulge myself again.
After that, I went to Jordan's Karaoke Bar and Grill. I sang Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home", Al Green's "Love and Happiness", and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". The Luther was a little pitchy, I have the darnedest time with his songs. The other two were on point.

Saturday:

I got off work, ran my errands, and went back home to take a nap. I decided to stay at home and watch the boxing match on Pay-Per-View with my brother and his friends. It was underwhelming. Oscar De La Hoya lost to Floyd Mayweather by decision. Okay, this is the part that bothered me: De La Hoya was hurting Mayweather with his left jab. For no reason at all, he stops using it. His response after the fight was, "I don't know, it just wasn't the night of the jab". What the hell?! You're kidding, right. Even one of the commentators gave him grief over that excuse. De La Hoya may need to sit on down. I am not sure that his heart is still in it.

Sunday:

I went to the last day of the Beale Street Music Fest. I started off watching Egypt Central, a Memphis-based rock band. The rain started coming down too hard, and I had to find cover. It was also getting in my eyes and irritating them. I apologize to the people that I may have bumped into while "fleeing for cover". While moving from tent to tent (Most tents would not let you stay unless you bought something), I ran into Lina Fritsche (Unholy Passion, Curbside Confessions). I really couldn't speak because we were separated by several people trying to get cover. Once the rain cleared, I moved to the Budweiser Stage, where I watched Ann Peeble's performance. She's an older R&B singer. She performed "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down". I did not know that was her song. I remember a singer in the 80s doing a cover of it. She did a cover of "I Want to Know What Love Is", and she finished off with her signature song, "I Can't Stand the Rain". Many people know the Missy Elliott rap song that sampled this, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". Ironically, it started sprinkiling again during this song. I also ran into local poet Darque Angel. After this, I walked around and ran into Tracy(Tricks), an actress that I know, and her fiancee. Tracy and I talked about the dry spell in terms of productions filming in Memphis right now. I went back to the Budweiser stage for Edwin McCain's show. McCain did a cover of Teddy Pendergrass' "Love TKO". His last two songs were "I"ll Be" (his signature song) and a cover of Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". McCain brought out ukulele during "Maggie May". I loved it!! I went to the concesson stand for a chicken on a stick and a Sprite. I ran into Patrich Behroozi, who is a part-time tutor at my job. He was with his wife, Amy, part-time faculty at my job. Amy's been teaching online recently, so I haven't seen her in a while. It was good to see her. Patrick and I chit-chatted about how he doesn't watch trailers online, in the movie theater, or on TV (if he can avoid it), so he's totally surprised when a movie comes out. It seems a bit extreme, but that's his way. After eating my food, I ran into "Angry" Nick Jones and his girlfriend, Courtney Wright. They were there to see Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend. I also ran into a guy who used to cut my hair back in the dorms during my college days. He was taking pictures for a website. I also saw my good buddy Mario Lindsey, but he didn't hear me yelling his name. I ran into another college buddy named Eric. We chatted, and he complimented "Angry" Nick's "Champipple" t-shirt. "Champipple" is a mixture of champagne and Ripple (two beverages) that was featuredi n a classic episode of Sanford and Son.
Corrine Bailey Rae took the stage. I was shocked at how skinny and short she was. She's still cute to me. Yes, I did scream out "I love you, Corinne". I also sang out "Sing that s----". Everybody around me laughed, though. I'm sorry, Mama. She sang songs from her debut album, like "I'd Like To", "Like a Star", "Trouble Sleeping", "Call Me When You Get This" and her debut single "Put Your Records On". I thoroughly enjoyed her.
John Legend came to the stage next. Corinne had been the opening act for John Legend for about six weeks. The music festival was the end of her spot on the tour. John came out with both arms raised pompously. I guess Kanye West has rubbed off on him. He sang several songs from his two albums. My favorite was "PDA (We Just Don't Care)". He sang it to the beat of "RockCreek Park" by the BlackByrds (look them up). That was hot!! Shout out to his female background singers. One was a dark-skinned, voluptuous African-American sister, and the other one was a light-skinned, petite, African-American goddess with a curly afro. I was in love. They would both be worthy sires of my offspring, Prince Indie (since I am King Indie). Oh, yeah, his brother was the other backup singer. He was a lucky man. The ladies "interacted" with him several times. He brought Corinne Bailey Rae onstage and they dueted on Donnie Hathaway and Roberta Flack's "Where Is the Love?" John Legend also brought a girl onstage during the song "Slow Dance". He took his button-up shirt off, revealing a t-shirt. Of course, the ladies screamed while Nick and I made faces. Skinny peolple don't look cool taking his shirt off. I told Nick it reminded me of a movie, The Birdcage. Yes, I am hating. Everybody got into it when he sang his debut single, "Used to Love You". Shout out to the student from my job that was in the crowd. His girlfriend knew Nick. It's a small world, after all. Shout out to my cousin, Sonya Saine, from good ol' Fayette County. She fussed at me for talking while she was recording John Legend on her phone. She shouldn't have been doing it anyway, she was breaking the law!!! I let that slide and enjoyed the rest of the concert. He left, then came back for an encore song. I think it was called "So High". After that, I headed for home. I stopped to talk to Richard, a guy I met that works at the University of Memphis. Also, I ran into singer/actress Latoya Baker-Smith (Just the Two of Us). She told me that she's forming a new band and is trying to work on new material. I then ran into the sister of my homeboy Paul "P-Dub" West. As I left the park, I ran into Martina, a cool person and an actress that we have used on several Pittsop Productions (Just the Two of Us, SCJ Project). She asked me where Rod Pitts was (www.pittstopproductions.com). I said that he was busy editing. Rod is always working on film. His hustles harder than me, The Hardest Working Film Actor in the Memphis Area (believe it). I finally made it back to the Peabody Place parkng lot, and I headed home.
It was a good day, I didn't eat too much bad food, and even though my feet and legs hurt from walking and standing, I had a good time.

Now, I am ready to film something again. I've been hearing about things on the horizon. I was just emailed something that is still in the draft stage, but it should be nice. Soon, King Indie will act again. Be easy, readers!!!

Celebrity Deaths

Tom Poston, better known as the handyman George from the popular 80s sitcom Newhart, died recently:

http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/sns-ap-obit-poston,1,2322839.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Zola Taylor of the singing group The Platters has also passed:

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8ORQ1RO1.html

They will be missed.

Random Items: 5/2/07

1: Continue praying or sending positive energy toward my Uncle Gus. He had surgery to unblock four arteries. Yesterday was rough, but today he was sitting up and talking.

2: Shout out to Bevan Bell, a Mid-South native now living in San Francisco. Bevan won the Best Actor award at the Bare Bones Film Festival for his role in Divine Manipulation of the Threads. Divine was shot in Memphis with Rusted Sun Films (www.rustedsunfilms.com). Yes, I have a small role in the movie, but this isn't about me. This is about Bevan, an actor/writer/director of photography/film editor/musician and all around decent guy.

3: Be easy, readers!!!