I‘ve seen the previews for  Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day and it is a must see. Mark your calendars for April 13th.

Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day is a compelling story that unites love, suspense and faith into one heart-wrenching package. David (Blair Underwood) and Kari (Sharon Leal) Ames seem to have the perfect life until their young daughter is kidnapped, and over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that threaten to rip their marriage and lives apart.

Pastor, Entrepreneur and Filmmaker, T.D. Jakes proudly presents the second installment in his thought-provoking Woman Thou Art Loosed! film franchise entitled, Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day. This dramatic thriller stars Golden Globe® Nominee Blair Underwood (Madea’s Family Reunion, Set It Off) and Sharon Leal (Why Did I Get Married Too?, This Christmas). Also starring Nicole Beharie (American Violet), Nicoye Banks (NBC’s “Law & Order”), Emmy Award® Nominee Pam Grier (2012, The Man with the Iron Fists, Just Wright), Reed R. McCants (Civil Brand) and Jaqueline Fleming (2012, Contraband; HBO’s “Tremé”).

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Neema Barnette, Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day underscores the impact of secrets, lies and deception on the lives of the featured characters.

Produced and distributed by Codeblack Entertainment and executive produced by T.D. Jakes for T.D.J Enterprises

Official Film Trailer: http://youtu.be/XK3nfpfTRbs
Official Film Site: http://tdjakeswtalmovie.com/
Official Film Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomanThouArtLoosed7thDay

In contrast, more than 200 feature-length films were released in 2011, and the titles topping the box office included Harry Potter, Transformers, and The Hangover: Part II—not exactly the Shakespeare and Bible stories of 1912. Many films were nearly three hours long, and most were close to two. Filming locations included Thailand, Bavaria, and a host of California studios, but no indoor stages.

The business of making movies has clearly expanded in scope and cost in the last hundred years, but what about the business of watching them?

From the Saloon to the Cinema

In the early days of commercial movie-making, newspapers celebrated the arrival of the new “nickelodeons,” or movie theaters, not as an innovative new form of entertainment, but as an alternative to the saloon. Instead of hanging out at the bar after work, working Americans would opt to pay anywhere between three cents and a nickel to watch a series of short movies. There were gangster films, period pieces, slapstick comedies—the same plots offered by today’s studios—but with screenings that averaged only twenty to forty minutes of runtime.  

The movies themselves might have been silent, but the theater was anything but. Theater owners almost always hired live accompaniment for the films, ranging from a local amateur on the piano to a full-blown orchestra. Studios even started distributing sheet music to go along with the film reels, eager to ensure that the musical accompaniment fit the piece. Of course, that didn’t stop musicians eager for a tip from bursting into “Yankee Doodle” during Richard III or starting Christmas carol sing-a-longs during the manger scene in From the Manger to the Cross. (Now you can see why the theater seemed like a legitimate alternative to the bar.)

In this anything-goes atmosphere, you would imagine that early theater owners let the customers do as they pleased. Not quite. The one thing that theater owners did not want in their buildings during the 1900s? A concession stand.

A Century of Snack History

To modern moviegoers, that might sound a bit strange. Concession stands are now a crucial part of movie theater profit margins and the overall theatergoing experience. Popcorn, candy, and other treats are now as much a part of going to the movie theater as the film itself.

However, it wasn’t always that way. In the early 1900s, movie theaters were accused of being low-brow entertainment, stealing valuable audiences and dollars from proper theatrical performances. In an effort to make themselves look more respectable, and closer to traditional playhouses, movie theaters wanted to avoid appearing like a carnivalesque spectacle. County fairs sold popcorn and peanuts; opera houses did not.

This unofficial attempt at stifling supply did not stifle demand, though, and independent snack vendors would line the streets outside of theaters, hawking their wares from mobile machines such as the Cretors popcorn wagon. Cretors machines, widely celebrated as the first commercial popcorn poppers, made it possible for vendors to produce popcorn in large, efficient batches that were ideal for catering to crowds. They proved to be huge hits with both vendors and customers, and today they’re recognized as the catalyst for the creation of the modern concession industry.

Indeed, these machines soon became part of the novelty of moviegoing. Steam-powered and marketed with mechanical mascots like the Tosty Rosty Man, mobile popcorn machines could roast peanuts, bake chestnuts, pop popcorn, and even prepare a cup of coffee. For the average citizen of 1912, this was a device of the future, and even standing in line to watch the machine at work was a new and interesting experience. There was also a wonderful variety of machines. Some were small wagons that could be wheeled into the theater (and hurriedly wheeled back out if management complained). Most were legged so that they could be carried from sales spot to sales spot. Still others were full-blown horse-drawn wagons.

As movie theaters became more and more accepted, and as the moviegoer love of snacks became clearer and clearer, owners caught on and moved the sales inside.

Today, concessions are an active part of the luxury. Upscale theaters have a bountiful host of options at including nachos, hot dogs, pizza, or fries. For drinks, there are slushies, tea, coffee, and a dozen different brands of soda.

However, some things have stayed constant from the hawk-your-wares heyday of independent concession stands. Popcorn remains the top-selling concession food in America, and many industry leaders of the 1900s are still producing machines, carts, and display cabinets. C. Cretors & Company, the inventors of the first commercial popcorn machine, has continued in the spirit of that initial patent to become worldwide innovators in popcorn and snack production. Spanning over 10 billion U.S. concession businesses, C. Cretors & Company’s product line encompasses the same infinite variety as the 1900s marketplace that gave birth to it. For example, the OriginatAir is a hot air popper and puffer that can make gourmet caramel corn, while the Mach 5 allows concession employees to switch between “salted” and “sweet” corn production. The machines can be decked out with features like salt and sugar dispensers, warming cabinets, butter topping dispensers. There are even eye-catching decorations like programmed LED signs or fluorescent lights.

In short, while the venues and production values may have changed, Americans are still looking for the same things from a movie-going experience that they wanted 100 years ago: entertainment, an escape, and of course, popcorn.

About C. Cretors and Company

Established in 1885, C. Cretors and Company is the leading designer and manufacturer of food processing and concession equipment providing a complete range of innovative food service solutions to companies around the world. Cretors is a renowned industry innovator, who in 1893 introduced the first patented steam driven popcorn machine that popped corn in oil. In 1967, Cretors’ Food Processing Division introduced a patented continuous production line featuring a hot air fluidized bed oven for high-volume popcorn production, ranging from 80 to 5,000 lbs. per hour.

Over the company’s long and storied history, its Foodservice Division offerings have expanded to include machines that produce and/or dispense cotton candy, nachos, caramel corn, and hot dogs, topping and dispensing equipment as well as warming and display cabinets.  Today, Cretors continues to reinvest in research and development to ensure constant improvements in everything from equipment manufacture to customer responsiveness to distributor network communications.

For more information about Cretors’ services and products, please visit www.cretors.com

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What I loved about The Best Man is the fact that the characters looked like me and reminded me of me and my friends. The scenerios were real. It was and is still is one of my favorite movies to watch.

Who can forget this quote from the movie:
Jordan Armstrong: You know, maybe if I had the luxury of getting my a** whooped, I could be calm right now. But I have been drinking tequila shots, my hormones are raging out of control, I’m emotional, I’m horny, and I don’t wanna hear about no __ peas!

What are some of your favorite Best Man scenes from the movie?

Side note: My little nephew auditioned for a role in one of Malcolm D Lee’s movies, Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins with Martin Lawrence. He didn’t get the part but it was great to meet the master mind behind The Best Man movie.

 I would love for a reunion movie. Malcolm Lee, if you’re reading this, we would love to see these characters back on screen.

On Saturday, January 29^th, the cast and the director of the 1999 film, The Best Man, which opened at #1 in the box-office, got together in West Hollywood for drinks and dinner to reminisce, catch up and discuss the future. “It’s hard to believe we all haven’t been in the same space for over 12 years, but it was like we’ve seen each other everyday. It was a joy to reunite with the “Black Pack”, one of the best casts ever assembled in my view.  Judging from the laughs, conversation and smiles we’d all love to find a way to collaborate again. God willing it’ll happen.”  ~ Malcolm D Lee

Below are the photos taken by Eric Charbonneau at The Best Man Reunion Dinner:

 

LeToya Luckett

Here’s an exclusive interview with LeToya as she prepared for her CD release.

Shelia Goss: What have you been doing since leaving Destiny’s Child?
LeToya Luckett (formerly of Destiny’s Child): Busy. I opened a ladies boutique in Houston. I’m happy to say we are going into our third year. I was also recording my album and I also had a record on the Coach Carter soundtrack.

Shelia: How did the experience of being in the group prepare you for your solo career?
LeToya: Thank God for that experience. It taught me so much and how to stay strong in this industry.

Shelia: What was the motivation for this album?
LeToya: At first I had NO plans on being a solo artist, but once I got in the studio and started writing I decided this was what I wanted to do. So I decided to make a record that reflected on the last five years of my life.

Shelia: Did you draw on personal experience when writing the lyrics for some of the songs?
LeToya: Yes indeed! I’ve grown so much in these last couple of years and gone through. so many things that dealt with love, life, and relationships. That’s all I knew to write about and I must say I have a lot of women’s anthems on this record.

Shelia: Who all did you collaborate with on this album?
LeToya: My Houston Hard Hitters, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Slim Thug & Bun B. Great producers like J.D., Scott Storch, Jazzy Pha, Teddy Bishop and B. Cox.

Shelia: Which song on the album is reflective of the chopped and screwed that Houston is known for?
LeToya: Gangsta Grillz because of the screwed and chopped hook.

Shelia: What do you want the listener to walk away with after listening to your album?
LeToya: I want them to feel like, “Hey, I feel like I know her”, and that they can relate to me. Also that I’ve grown vocally.

Shelia: What advice would you give other young ladies who want to follow in your path?
LeToya: Continue to fulfill your dreams and keep those haters out of your ear. Perform as much as possible and I mean ANYWHERE there’s a microphone. I remember performing in front of grocery stores and planes.

Interview by Shelia M. Goss, entertainment writer and the national bestselling author of My Invisible Husband and Roses are thorns, Violets are True. Her website is www.sheliagoss.com.

LeToya Luckett recently starred in the movie “Preacher’s Kid.” Check out the review by Kandie Delley at Film Reviews To Go with Kandie and Shelia: http://www.filmreviews2go.com/2010/05/20/preachers-kid/

The movie came in at #4 in the box office this past weekend, which is good for a Black romantic movie, but I really would have liked to see it go #1. Black romantic movies can be successful, but it’s up to avid movie watchers to make it happen. If you love romance novels, then definitely support the movie. Of course, you’re not going to like every romance movie, just like you don’t like every romance novel; but if we want to see more romantic movies with AAs as the main characters, we have to support the ones that do get made.

Queen Latifah (Leslie) of course is an outstanding actress. She’s good with whoever her leading man is; whether it be LL Cool J or in this case Common (Scott). Common was sexy in his role as the NBA superstar. Of course, there has to be a conflict, which came in the form of Leslie’s gold digging god sister Morgan (Paula Patton).

I’m sure I’ll be adding Just Wright to my personal DVD collection, along with my copies of Love Jones, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar, The Best Man, and a few others.

Let’s hope Just Wright leads to more movies in the genre starring us.

Have you seen Just Wright? If so, what did you think? Do you want to see more Black romance movies made or is it just me?

Quotes from Monique’s acceptance speech:

“I would like to thank the academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics,” said Mo’Nique.

She also went on to say, “I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to.”

Quote from Geoffrey Fletcher’s acceptance speech:

“This is for everybody who works on a dream every day. Precious boys and girls everywhere.”

Here are my top three BEST DRESSED people from the Red Carpet:

Queen Latifah

Monique

J-Lo

Honorable Mention for  BEST DRESSED:

Gabourey

My FAVORITE COUPLE on the Red Carpet:

Nick & Mariah

Okay, last but not least, here are my top two picks for  WORST DRESSED:

Zoe

Nicole

Did you watch last night Academy Awards? What are your thoughts on the show? Did the movies/people win that you wanted to win?

P.S. - I found out while watching the Oscars, my YA book Paper Thin: The Lip Gloss Chronicles Vol. 3 is a Dallas Morning News Best Seller.  Thanks to all who purchased the book for their teenagers.

What are some of your favorite romantic movies?

Win Free Movie Tickets – sponsored by Film Reviews 2 Go & FanCast

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Contest – Soul Men Movie Soundtrack

One of my other sites, Film Reviews 2 Go, is hosting a contest where you have a chance to win a copy of the movie soundtrack for the upcoming movie “Soul Men” starring Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac.

Click Here for more info!

1.  Friday the 13th
2. It – Stephen King
3. Saw
4. The Ring
5. Child’s Play
6. Scream
7. The Thing
8. The Car
9. The Exorcist
10. Halloween
11. Amityville Horror
12. The Omen
13. Nightmare on Elm Street