FayesVision/WENN.com

In the world of entertainment, you don’t often get to be the best actor/performer you once were after you reach a certain age. However, these men are 50 years old and older…and FINE.  If you’ve never been “into” older men, I get it, but you’ve to look beyond the age and see what I see!

Rachel Worth/WENN

As Hollywood has changed, so have some of our favorite stars.  People we used to see all the time sort of disappear on us and we never hear about them again.  That’s just the way it seems to go for many stars but we just wanted to take a minute to shout out some of the actors we miss!

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: fugeesonline.proboards.com

First things first: THIS IS NOT A WHERE ARE THEY NOW? if you were wondering. Check back at the end of the week.

Anywho, while most actors, singers and more have chosen to let folks in on every single aspect of their lives thanks to their affiliations with social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr pages, reality television shows, and their quest to make errands a chance for a paparazzi photo op, there are a slew of big name artists who would balk at all that exposure. Some of the biggest names in entertainment over the years dropped albums, TV shows, had huge roles in movies and more over the years, only to disappear off of the face of the earth when the press and the people were calling for them. Why? Well, after reading the most recent issue of GQ, which profiled the rise, fall and re-emergence of D’Angelo, folks like Questlove eloquently explained it as “a crazy psychological kind of stoppage that prevents them from following through. A sort of self-saboteur disorder.”

Or maybe they just weren’t feeling folks all up and through their business and wanted to live like normal folks. Whatever motivates these artists to dip in and out of public view only they know, but we’re always happy when they come back. Here are a few, aside from the obvious Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo, who decided to step out of the spotlight when they were huge, but decided to come back later (before disappearing for a bit again).

filmtrophy.com

Rihanna has 11 #1 singles on the Hot 100, and now the Bajan superstar can officially add actress to her resume. Riri just made her silver screen debut in the sci-fi thriller, Battleship, and while folks were hoping the #RihannaNavy would make this movie #1 at the box office, it was pretty much an expensive flop. But she’s not the first singer to step outside her comfort zone to act and not have the best results. And at the same time, there have been many singer-turned-actors who’ve had major success on-screen. They’ve solidified the obvious: in this economy, two jobs are better than one.  Let’s take a look at some other musicians who decided two lanes were better than staying in one.

dallasweekly.com

In light of Rocsi, Terrence J, Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall recently being thrown in front of the BET firing squad, I’d like to remind them of something: keep your head in the game! It takes no time to become forgettable and despite what you might think, just about everyone is replaceable in Hollywood.  They seem to all have different opportunities ahead of them but just in case they don’t, I’d like to remind them of a few people we’ve seen little to nothing from since they were fired from their show or once the show was canceled. (Rocsi, girl you are really going to need to step it up.)

As the daughter of two actors, there was no question as to the path that Julia Pace Mitchell was to follow. The Young and The Restless actress is one of the few Black actresses representing for the sistahs on the soap opera circuit. She talks to 24Wired.TV about CBS taking a chance on her, colorism in Hollywood and the empowerment of Black actors. Quite an inspiring artist if you ask us. Check it out.

More on Madame Noire!

• Once a Bully, Always a Bully? The Issue With Mitt Romney’s Past & Present
• Pull Out the VHS: Best Black Films of the ’90s PART II
• LOL: After One Date and One Rejection, Guy Says The “Average Chick” Was Lucky He Gave Her A Chance
• Lord Help Me, I’ve Got The Old Chick in The Club, Ready For a Family Itch
• Bad Hair Don’t Care: 5 Tips to Overcoming Your Bad Hair Day
• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “The Color Purple”
• Cute Kid Alert: Candid Pics of Roc & Roe Cannon’s Birthday Party, And Tallulah Dash Turns Four

I’m a big movie fan, and a big black movie fan at that. Therefore, when new movies come out by black directors and with interesting, hot or amazing actors, I try to support them. But in my years, I’ve seen a lot of overrated movies. This list isn’t to be mean, I’m just being honest about the fact that these nine films got my hopes up pretty high, only to leave me feeling jilted, confused, and of course, disappointed.

Source: cnn.com

Red Tails

I know we here at Madame Noire, like many people, pushed really hard for this film. It was mostly done in the hopes that we could make Hollywood see that big budget black films could be marketable. And while it was a valiant effort, this movie was just not what I was expecting. The action sequences were pretty good and the men were FINE with a capital F, but the dialogue was horrific. Allegedly they were trying to make the characters sound like individuals from films back in the ’40s, but I’ve seen movies from the ’40s (thanks college film class) where people didn’t talk so cheesy (i.e., “Thank goodness those Red Tails were here!”). I’m not saying it was the worst film ever, and I do appreciate the information it provided me on the Tuskegee Airmen, however, within the first 10 minutes of watching, I was blown away by the writing (and not in a good way). And that love story they threw in there? Raaaaaandom.

In celebration of Black History Month, instrumental leaders and trailblazers are often acknowledged in the realms of political and social change.  But just as there are many instrumental figures in these roles, there are also a variety of influential black leaders in style. These style icons have set trends, graced magazine covers and displayed personalized taste that still serve as inspiration for some of our fashion choices. Some made a conscious choice to be style blazers, while others did it effortlessly with no intention. We discussed our favorite hair mavens the other day, now it’s time to acknowledge the fashionistas.

From the style icons of the past to present day trendsetters making their marks for years to come, these women all share one commonality: they influence style.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of two things happen when an actor steps outside of him or herself: they either win an Oscar or find it hard to work in Hollywood ever again. Film is a powerful medium and your favorite actors’ on-screen portrayal are exciting, entrenching, and even uncomfortable at times.

Maybe that’s the mark of a good story and stellar portrayal but drama is drama. It’s easy for real emotions to get all wrapped up and influenced by people on screen as if they aren’t fictional characters. You may hate them, love them or simply wish they’d never existed but for the length of the film, make believe personas become flesh and blood thanks to actor portrayals.

The following screen stars dug deep, transforming themselves into characters that couldn’t be further from the truth of who they really are. Case in point:

You smell that girl? This movie stinks!

Halle Berry

More than once, Halle has hit the nail on the head as a crackhead (Jungle Fever, Saving Isaiah) and it’s hard to forget her over-the-top homegirl role in B.A.P.S. No, none of these roles are how anyone would most like to remember Halle Berry.

Adequate representation of black people and culture in TV and film is a well-chronicled fight in America but most people forget why. If there’s one thing the world can stop producing right this second and still get along fine, it’s actors. So this isn’t as much about numbers as it is about impact.

It’s vital that black people are well represented in film because of the awesome power of moving pictures. The normal human brain is wired to believe what you see, above all else. For centuries, people could reliably believe what was before their eyes i.e. if you see a flying man, then men must be able to fly. But that all changed when movies were invented.

Now you’re forced to cope with images, many more vivid than actual memories, that are merely figments of a producer’s imagination. On a cognitive level, you know that you’re watching TV, and that it is not reality. But on a deeper, sensory level, your brain is processing those images as knowledge and experience, just like always.

Enter millions of Americans watching black people robbing, killing, rapping or serving on TV, all day, every day. Add that to the fact that most of them are white and it’s obvious these TV/Film watchers are going to have fcuked up knowledge and experience of black people.

Why go into all this to bring you a list of Underrated Hollywood Actors?

(A) Reminders are always helpful and (B) when minorities are lumped into a category of an industry already divided by genres and generic award systems, they end up fighting for what’s left. Too often black actors are seen as a homogeneous group rather than unique and talented professionals.

These next few actors are underrated because they forced America to cope with marvelously diverse images of black people. And that is what adequate representation in Hollywood is all about. First up: