December 08, 2016
By Kimberlee Buck
Contributing Writer
Legendary comedian, actor, author, and motivational speaker Michael Colyar has been in the game for a number of years. Just when fans thought Colyar had done it all, he makes his biggest career move yet, bringing his funny to the Dallas radio show, the “Afternoon Rush.”
The comedian shares the show with his two female co-hosts, Loni Swain from “Dish TV” and Ebony Steele, who formerly worked on the “Ricky Smiley Morning Show.”
“My co-host are fabulous. The three of us really compliment each other’s style because we are different in so many ways but we are also kind of similar,” said Colyar. “So, it is like a new family. We are merging with each other and moving and grooving and making it all fit, and it’s nothing but fun. We are just laughing and having the time of our lives and when it is all over, they pay us.”
The show, which airs weekdays 2-6pm CST, discusses adult contemporary topics.
“It’s music driven, but on our breaks, we cover everything that’s hot and current and dealing with Black people,” said Colyar. We are tickling funny bones, we are following what’s going on with the police killing us in our communities. We talk about what’s going on in entertainment and Black music, culture and films.”
Aside from these topics, the radio host also has a few of his own segments. Every Monday is “Michael at the Movies,” where he reviews movies from his perspective. Colyar also has a segment called, “Michael Loves Food,” where he provides listeners with comical cooking tips, lessons and more. A few weeks ago, he taught his audience how to make a grilled cheese sandwich with an iron.
“We approach everything with a humor and a likeness and an energy that drives the community. It’s the ‘Afternoon Rush’, and that’s what we want to give people, a positive rush on life. We want listeners to be ready to go and energetic,” said Colyar.
Colyar was given the opportunity to join the “Afternoon Rush,” after a friend spotted him at one of T.D. Jakes live service in Dallas. Later, Colyar received a phone call from his friend offering him the position as the new co-host of “Afternoon Rush.”
Colyar describes the opportunity as a blessing.
“The way this came to me was so magical and beautiful that I know it is the correct thing for me,” said Colyar. “Even if it is just for a short period of time, or whatever period of time that it is, it’s perfect because I already learned so much just being there. I have already met so many great people and had so many great opportunities and I have only been there four months.”
As a Chicago native, the city’s high number of Black-on-Black killings is nothing new to Colyar. In fact, it has inspired his latest project, a small film tilted, “The Sound Track of my Life.” Artist’s such as Twista, Da Brat, and Dave Hollister are already working on the music for the film.
“It’s a cold piece of music and an awesome story that reminds Black people of their heritage and asks them to put the guns down,” said Colyar.
According to Colyar, everyone involved in the project is working for free. All of the proceeds raised from the project will go toward building music studios and projects in Chicago for inner city children.
“When we say put the guns down, we don’t mean now you are on your own. We mean, put the guns down and we can show you how to be a young Jay-Z. Maybe we can show you that there are some other options besides standing on the corner or being mad at each other,” said Colyar.
Aside from his latest film project, Colyar is also enjoying the success of his newest adult poetry book, “Miss Innocent Goes to Kool Skool and Other Silly Stuff: A Poetry Book for Adult Children.”
Colyar utilizes poetry to describe his journey from Chicago to Hollywood, and his roller coaster ride of success and failure and his crack addiction. The Kindle edition is on Amazon. Hard copies will become available after December 9.
“I have been wealthy three times, but I have been broke 18 times. I am way more familiar with broke than I am with wealth. But, I know how to get around broke—we like family. It’s an awesome book. I guarantee I will sell a million copies of that. But that’s not all I am doing, I also have my one man show,” said Colyar.
The one man show, “Michael Colyar’s Mama,” is a two hour dramatic play discussing Colyar’s evolution in life. Curtains will open at Barnsdall Theatre in Hollywood on February 3, 4 and 5.
Stay up to date with the latest Michael Colyar tours, plays, books and events by logging on to http://therealmichaelcolyar.com/
Don’t forget to get your dose of the “Afternoon Rush.” You can,
1. Download the Tune In app and search for the “Afternoon Rush.”
2. Visit their website at http://www.theafternoonrush.com/
3. Visit their Facebook page @AfternoonRushShow
December 01, 2016
Aries
March 21 – April 19
With the holiday season in full swing, you may feel too restless to focus on important things. Travel and opportunities to sample other diversions might be more appealing. And with the likelihood of enjoying a more active social life, your everyday tasks and chores could seem a tad tedious. However, you might be stirred to action by a conversation or idea that gets you back on track and encourages you to make good progress, too.
Taurus
May 21 - Jun 20
Although this is the season of generosity and goodwill, don't feel you have to lend money to friends or do them any big favors. While it's great to help out, there is such a thing as overdoing it, especially if you end up feeling resentful. Invest your time and money carefully this week and avoid giving it away to causes or people who might not appreciate it. Taking a workshop or short break would be money well spent.
Gemini
May 21 - Jun 20
Cautious confidence can encourage you to step closer to cementing a certain bond. However, the present setup suggests that you aren't likely to be overly demonstrative if things don't work out as planned. In any case, you may be better off enjoying lighthearted liaisons rather than anything too heavy. However, the New Moon in this same sector can be the perfect opportunity to take a business or romantic relationship to the next level. Business matters become more buoyant, too.
Cancer
Jun 21 - Jul 22
If you've discussed a key project for a while, the New Moon is the time to take the first cautious steps to getting things off the ground. It might be a tentative beginning, but it could blossom into something to be proud of. If it's a home-based business, it could turn out to quite lucrative, too. Mercury's move into your partnership zone may help you discuss a situation diplomatically and find ways to agree that you can both live with.
Leo
Jul 23 - Aug 22
The Sagittarius New Moon could coincide with a chance to invest more time in a romance or creative plan. Either way, you'll feel optimistic about the outcome. The stirring energies of Mars aligning with the expansive energies of Jupiter could see you pushing ahead and being quite ambitious with your plans. There's much to be said for drilling into the details and making sure you cover all your bases. You can be even surer of success if you do.
Virgo
Aug 23 - Sep 22
Do you want to put real estate on the market or relocate to a new place? Tuesday's New Moon could coincide with an urge to take action after a long period of deliberation. It's likely you've already put a lot of thought into such ideas, so any move you make now will be more of a calculated risk than leap in the dark. You could get very excited about the potential for new activities that come with such a decision.
Libra
Sep 23 - Oct 22
Upgrading your skills may be one way to attract new opportunities into your life. Tuesday's New Moon could be the best time to enhance your options by seeing what's out there. Want to learn creative writing, interior design, or online marketing? Any of this is possible if you're willing to embrace the work that comes with the decision. Romantic opportunities could show up at a special holiday event if you're solo and looking for love.
Scorpio
Oct 23 - Nov 21
If your plan costs money to implement, then starting around Tuesday's New Moon could help matters flow in the right direction. Think about investing wisely and try to avoid splurging and you'll be likelier to get a good return. However, don't be tempted to give generously to a lost cause. While it's nice to help, there are some people who will take advantage. On the other hand, someone who's generous by nature might want to return the favor.
Sagittarius
Nov 22 - Dec 21
Tuesday's New Moon in your sign is the best of the year for you. It brings an opportunity to fulfill your dreams and desires. If you make a list of these and review it regularly, you may find they materialize a lot sooner. On another note, Mercury's move into your money zone could see you selling items and perhaps earning some extra money on the side. If you start with things you no longer need, you could pocket the proceeds while enjoying more space.
Capricorn
Dec 22 - Jan 19
If you've ever wanted to learn to mediate or take up some other spiritual discipline, Tuesday's New Moon may be one of the better times to go ahead. However, it can be equally helpful for beginning the process of visualizing your desires on a daily basis, as the practice helps the law of attraction work more efficiently. Venus in your sign could coincide with a desire for a holiday makeover that boosts your confidence.
Aquarius
Jan 20 - Feb 18
If you make a new friend this week, you may stay buddies for a long time into the future. This is because the New Moon can set the right emotional tone that proves supportive to both of you. However, Mercury's move into Capricorn can be a call to listen to your feelings, as they may be trying to tell you something. If you've had trouble making a decision, tuning in to your intuition could help you decide what to do.
Pisces
Feb 19 - Mar 20
Should you make a start on a goal or career plan? If you're thinking about it, Tuesday's New Moon may be the best of the year for you in this regard. You might find yourself in the right place at the right time to take a golden opportunity further. Your social life looks livelier, too, as Mercury encourages more mixing and holiday carousing. New connections could prove useful over the long term, so keep the contact details.
December 01, 2016
Zon D’Amour
Contributing Writer
To say that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is “busy” is an understatement. The former athlete’s career has transcended his days as a WWE wrestler. Now Johnson is a global superstar who’s name is synonymous with box office success having starred in such action films as “Hercules”, “Central Intelligence” as well as the “Fast & The Furious” franchise.
What makes Johnson’s latest project different from his previous endeavors is the fact that he’s paying homage to his Samoan culture in the new animated Disney film “Moana”. In the movie, Johnson plays a demigod name Maui who “literally” steals the heart of an island goddess named Te Fiti which as a result renders him powerless and brings about a famine on Moana’s island.
It’s Moana’s (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) mission to find Maui and return the heart to Te Fiti to restore prosperity to her island. While the plot may sound mushy and like a stereotypical Disney movie, the project has been a labor of love for directors Ron Clements and John Musker over the past six years. The pair ventured across French Polynesia to learn about the culture and ensure historical accuracy. More than just a Disney movie for little girls, the film has empowering life lessons, which encourages you to be fearless, take risks and be the hero of your story.
During a recent press conference for “Moana” Johnson shared the historical significance of the film and the directorial team give insight on how “Moana” went from vision to fruition and became a box office win when it opened Thanksgiving weekend.
On how the concept for the film came about:
John Musker: I was intrigued by that part of the world. I had never been to French Polynesia, Samoa or Tahiti but I had read books and seen sculptures and paintings that were so rich and visual. I thought it would be intriguing to set a film there. That led me to begin reading Polynesian mythology. I read about the character Maui who’s a big cultural figure in the Pacific islands. The legend was that Maui was a shape shifter, he could transform into animals, he had a magic fish hook and he could pull islands out of the sea; he was covered in tattoos which told all of these stories—there were all of these visual elements and I thought it was ripe for animation, so I showed the storied to Ron.
Ron Clements: As a directorial team we pitched the idea to Disney. During a three-week trip on these islands we spent time with educators, anthropologists, navigators and sailors, we talked to people about what it was like to live on an island your whole life and how it affects your perspective of the world. We learned about the great pride they take in being the greatest navigators the world had ever seen and ideas about their connections to their ancestors and their personification of the ocean. That trip led to the story of Moana, which means “ocean” in many of the Polynesian languages.
How Dwayne Johnson was cast as Maui:
JM: We knew that Dwayne was part Samoan and very connected to his heritage there. His mother’s Samoan and his father is African American. For all of the voices in the movie, we were hoping to cast people from the islands to give it more authenticity. Dwayne was perfect for the character in so many ways. We never auditioned anyone for the role. We just brought him in, showed him the drawings, pitched him the story, played some of the music and he loved it and said, ‘I’m in’ because he really wanted to celebrate his heritage. Our writer, Jerry Bush worked with Dwayne in the recording studio and wrote to his voice.
On adding the film to his busy slate and the similarities between he and his character:
Dwayne Johnson: It was an opportunity to showcase a culture that’s very important to me. To be part of something that’s truly historic and I’m not saying that because I’m in the film! With Disney putting out “Moana” they’re showcasing the Pacific islands for the very first time on screen in this unique way.
As a kid, I grew up knowing different stories of the great charismatic larger than life demigod, Maui. He’s very determined, and incredibly charismatic and has a tremendous voice. When he sings, the room stops; he commands the room—and I have a little bit of that. Just between us, Maui is incredibly good looking; I’ve also got a little bit of that.
The part of the film that most resonated with him:
DJ: When Maui becomes vulnerable and shares the truth of what happened to him and what he still struggles with, I really appreciate that. It’s one thing when you’re performing the lines in the studio but it’s another thing to watch it materialize on screen and that was an element that struck a chord with me because we all have something that we struggle with and we hope to get better, so the fact that Maui had room for growth.
On the film’s take away:
DJ: I hope that the audience not only leaves with better understanding of our culture, tradition, pride, love, determination and our spirit, but also the power and importance of family. You can go out and conquer the world but always give back and acknowledge where you came from.
November 24, 2016
By Zon D’Amour
Contributing Writer
A major contender to win big this upcoming awards season is “Moonlight”. The indie film directed by Barry Jenkins has been captivating audiences around the nation. The coming of age story addresses the oftentimes taboo topic of homosexuality in the black community. Within three acts, using three different actors, Jenkins poignantly tells the story of Chiron who literally grows up in front of the audience’s eyes. From being a latch-key kid of a drug addicted single mother to constantly being bullied for being gay, Chiron’s life is far from easy but his friend Kevin is his refuge.
Actor Andre Holland who plays the eldest Kevin in the latter half of the film speaks exclusively to the L.A. Watts Times about masculinity in the black community, the importance of role models for men of color and the film’s ambiguous ending.
LAWT: What are your thoughts on how some actors prefer not to play gay characters because they don’t want their sexual preferences in their personal life to be under suspicion?
AH: I don’t feel any types of reservations what so ever because it’s about the story, the characters and if the people feel real and three dimensional. If the story resonates with me then I feel like it’s my job to step into those roles and bring those characters to life. I feel like my masculinity will be in tact regardless of what types of roles I choose to take on.
LAWT: For someone who feels like the main character Chiron, how do you go about accepting yourself.
AH: Chiron wasn’t really living an authentic life, he was actually living a pretty dangerous life. I think that if he and Kevin had not reconnected, he would have gone the way of Juan (Mahershala Ali) and he would have some how fallen victim to the streets.
The one thing that these two boys didn’t have in their lives were male role models. Whether or not you have the type of parents that support you, seek out people in your community that you can look up to and surround yourself with them, that’s a great place to start.
LAWT: The movie ends without a resolution. What do you want the audience to takeaway after seeing the film?
AH: Barry [Jenkins, the director] didn’t tie the story up with a bow by showing them getting married and living happily ever after because that’s not the reality of what it would be. If you look at what it means to be a gay man of color in America—we saw what happened with the shooting in the Orlando nightclub. It would be a disservice to think that just because these men acknowledged that they care about each other, love each other and want to be together, that’s not the end of the story. It’s actually only the beginning because of the world we live in; they would still have a lot of issues ahead of them to navigate.
I love the last shot in the film where young Chiron walks to the edge of the water and he looks out at the ocean; to me that signifies that he’s at the beginning of his journey, he hasn’t arrived anywhere. In order for these two men to get to a place where they can be in a relationship, they’d have to shed all these masks of masculinity, heartache and suffering that they’ve had to endure in order to get to a place where they can be authentic with each other. Let’s be open and vulnerable with each other to get the conversation started. I love the ending because it feels more real instead of trying to resolve in 90 minutes something that hasn’t been resolved in hundreds of years.
LAWT: What type of direction did Barry Jenkins give you to ensure you were in sync with the emotional aspects of the storyline?
AH: Barry didn’t let us connect with the younger actors so we never saw any of their scenes, we never met them ahead of time. He kept us all separate and his motivation for doing that was to ensure that we didn’t fall into just mimicking one another, he wanted us to get inside the experience of these people and get down to the essence of who these characters are. I think it’s a credit to his incredible direction that he cast the right people; not necessarily people who looked exactly alike but they felt alike.
The challenging aspect was, when I first read the script, I thought there must be a resolution, there must be a real dynamic speech with tears; you look for those moments when you’re reading a script then I realized, no it’s not what it’s about. It’s about two brown people sitting in a room, thinking, feeling and trying to figure stuff out and that’s not something that we see on screen very often. Usually we’re not the primary, central character having a psychological experience that’s progressing the story forward.
It was a challenge for me as an actor because there wasn’t an easily identifiable objective. Barry was both specific and collaborative; he gave the actors room to explore. He’s previously said this film is reminiscent of where he’s from. His goal was to bring art house to the hood and he did that in a really beautiful way. There’s no code switching--he gives a real sense of what it actually is. It’s an artful experience, I hope to work with him many times over.