Why Hasn't The Princess & The Frog Reach 100 Million in Box Office Sales Yet?

In comparison to black films, it's doing great. With an $86 million box after several weeks in theatres, however, Disney suits can't be pleased with this soft total, especially given all the grief they had to endure to get it made and the millions spent marketing this historic tale.

But Scott Foundas, film critic for LA Weekly, is interviewed by Michele Norris of NPR about the something other than the underperforming numbers that could have a lasting impact on the future of hand drawn animated films.

Foundas deals with the racial aspects of the movie starring Anika Noni Rose as the first Black Disney princess and why the film can't escape the ghetto. Click the picture above to listen to this very interesting interview

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James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Terrence Howard and Anika Noni Rose Give Broadway's Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Some Flava!

All Black 'Tin Roof' Is The Talk of Broadway

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CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF FEATURES ALL BLACK CAST OF AWARD WINNING ACTORS ON BROADWAY

A Tennesse Williams play with an all Black cast??? Let me get this straight a Tennesse Williams "southern White play" with an all Black cast?? OK, OK, a Tennesse Willams, "white southern story", made super popular by mega White actors Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman with an all Black cast??

Well it's about time!

20 years ago I performed the lead role of Brick in a landmark production of this same play. I'm Black and all the other family members were cast White. The reviews mentioned, "... he obviously got the role because he was the best actor available and in this glorious production, it shows..."

Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow") will make his stage and Broadway debut as Debbie Allen, makes her Broadway directorial debut of this revival of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is being presented by Front Row Productions and produced by Stephen C. Byrd, who stated, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has been revived on Broadway four times before; this production marks the first African-American production approved by the Williams estate for the Broadway stage. This revival of Cat is not only making Broadway history, it is making American theatre and Black theatre history too!"

Cast so far are the Tony-winning trio James Earl Jones ("The Great White Hope," "Fences"),
Phylicia Rashad ("A Raisin in the Sun") and Anika Noni Rose ("Caroline or Change")who will also star in Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern drama about "mendacity" and greed in a Mississippi family. Howard will play the drunken jock husband Brick who rebuffs the advances of his wife, Maggie. Rose will play Brick's wife, Maggie. Rashad will play Maggie's mother-in-law, Big Mama; and Jones will play Brick's domineering father and the ailing patriarch Big Daddy.

Preview performances begin February 12. The show is set to open March 6 at New York's Broadhurst Theatre. Tickets are on sale through April 13. Tickets go on sale Dec. 29, 2007, and can be purchased at www.telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.Cat2008onBroadway.com.

BLACK HOLLYWOOD MAKING HISTORY WITH NEW MOVIE PROJECT

RoseAnika Noni Rose ("Dreamgirls") and Idris Elba head a roster of Black thespians now set alongside the incredible Jill Scott for the telepic "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."


The bestselling "Ladies" books by Alexander McCall Smith center on Precious Ramotswe (Scott), proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in the African nation of Botswana. She sleuths, helps people solve problems and falls for the respectable owner of a local garage.

According to Variety, shooting begins Monday in Botswana. The country, which has never before hosted an entire film shoot, is said to be investing $5 million in the production.

"Africa for the first time will be shown in its true warmth and welcoming spirit," said Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, minister of environment, wildlife and tourism.