All The Single (Black) Ladies Want To Sing Along, But The Pickings Are Slim For Men Who Want To "Put A Ring On It!"

African Americans Are No Longer Going To Jail... As Much!

Fewer Blacks Are Being Incarcerated. What's Up?

By Kelly Virella

The federal government reported in early-December that the number of imprisoned black people in the U.S. has declined by about 18,400 since 2000. That reduces the total number of black people in prison to about 591,900 as of December 2008.

Granted, across the U.S. black males are still imprisoned at a rate 6.5 times higher than white males and about 3 times higher than Latinos. Black women are incarcerated at a rate 3 times higher than white women and twice as high as Latinos.

But the reduction in the black prison population means 61,000 fewer black people were in state or federal prisons than expected by the end of 2008 (based on 2000 levels).

Most of the reduction appears to come from decreases in drug-related incarceration of African-Americans. In April, the D.C.-based Sentencing Project reported a 22 percent decline in the number of black inmates in state prisons for drug offenses, from about 145,000 in 1999 to 113,500 in 2005.

Meanwhile, the judiciary busied itself warehousing more white and Latino people. From 2000 to 2008, the prison population for white people increased by 57,200 to a total of 528,200. During the same time period, the Latino prison population increased by 96,200 to a total of 313,100.

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A Black President? Sure! A Black Governor Representing The Deep South? Not So Fast

Prominent African Americans Not Feeling "Moderate" Dem

By Phillip Rawls of AP

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, 42, wasted little time launching his campaign after Barack Obama's presidential victory last year.

The prospects seemed promising for the Harvard-educated lawyer, a moderate with proven appeal to white voters who will be running in a June Democratic primary where black voters could account for as much as half the turnout.

But a year in, Davis is finding that racial prejudice is not the biggest obstacle to presiding at the Capitol where Gov. George C. Wallace once proclaimed "segregation forever."

Among those criticizing him are Joe Reed, founder and longtime chairman of the black wing of the state Democratic Party, and former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, who was that city's first black mayor.

Across the South, a legitimate black candidate for governor is a rarity, but finding old-fashioned political opposition within black political ranks is not.

Ferrel Guillory, an expert in Southern politics at the University of North Carolina, says there is a "generational cleavage" caused by the emergence of black leaders like Obama and Davis who are too young to have been part of the civil rights era. Those who were on the front lines of that movement want to maintain their influence.

Davis, a three-term congressman who was Obama's campaign chairman in Alabama, is no stranger to the phenomenon. Reed and Arrington opposed him in 2002 when he recruited strong white support to beat an incumbent black congressman with a long civil rights resume, and again in 2008 when many black leaders at first supported Hillary Clinton over Obama, warning that America wasn't ready to elect a black president.

"There is a group of insiders in this state who benefit from protecting the status quo," Davis said.

D'Linell Finley, an expert in minority politics at Auburn University Montgomery, says some Democrats are also concerned that if Davis tops the ticket in November, some white voters will cast straight Republican tickets and doom other Democrats.

"They may have some merit," Finley said.

After all, Obama received only about 10 percent of the white vote in Alabama, according to some exit polls, and did worse among white Alabama voters than John Kerry four years earlier. In modern times, no black candidate has won any statewide office in the executive branch of Alabama's government. Only about 25 percent of the state's registered voters are black.

Davis and Obama got to know each other at Harvard law school, but Davis' political record is much more moderate — and on health care legislation, a sensitive issue for black voters, he has veered to the conservative side. Criticism from Reed was fast and pointed when Davis was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the health care overhaul bill.

Reed said Davis voted "no" to help himself in the governor's race by appealing to more conservative voters, not to help constituents in his mostly black, low-income district that stretches across the civil rights battlegrounds of Birmingham and Selma.

"He is not likely to get a 'profiles in courage' award when any political issue makes him uncomfortable," Reed said.

For many black leaders from the civil rights generation, health care legislation "is a litmus test," Guillory said.

But Davis said he rejects Reed's "insinuation that there is a uniquely 'black' way of understanding an issue, and I strongly suspect that most Alabamians will as well."

Reed, 72, didn't take kindly to criticism from someone 30 years his junior.

"My record is second to none, and I was doing this when Congressman Davis was making mud cakes under the shade tree," he said.

Reed has been a power broker in Alabama politics since about the time Davis was born. He is chairman of the party's black wing, the Alabama Democratic Conference. He's also the No. 2 official at the state teachers' organization, which has more than 100,000 members and has contributed to Davis' white opponent in the Democratic primary, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.

Sparks is running with the support of Arrington, 75, the first black mayor of Birmingham.

"As good a man as Artur Davis is, I'm not sure he can win and, frankly, I'm concerned that with him at the top of the ticket I'm not sure what that might mean for Democratic control of the House and state Senate," Arrington said.

Even if Davis wins the primary, he could face an uphill battle. Republicans have won every Alabama governor's race but one since 1986. Republican incumbent Bob Riley has served two terms and can't run again, but the GOP has a big field of contenders.

Davis is focusing his campaign on rewriting Alabama's heavily amended constitution and enacting tougher government ethics standards, reforms that appeal to middle-class voters. It's his opponent, Sparks, who is stressing issues that traditionally appeal to black Alabama voters — creating a state lottery and expanding gambling to provide money for education and Medicaid. Sparks has also endorsed the federal health care legislation.

Still, Sparks is trying to win a June primary where nearly half the vote is traditionally black. His chances of winning go up if Davis alienates significant numbers of black voters and can't manage to appeal to white voters.

Byrdie Larkin, a political scientist at historically black Alabama State University, said Davis has positioned himself as more conservative than Sparks, but that might not be enough for him to capture the white votes needed to win.

"They might see Davis as an answer to their concerns, but for a majority of Alabamians, race is still a factor," she said.

Folks Who Get It: Percy Sutton Epitomized What The Harlem Renaissance Was All About

Job Well Done Sir - Rest In Peace!

Percy E. Sutton stood proudly at the center of the struggle for equal rights. He was arrested as a freedom rider; represented Malcolm X as young lawyer; rescued the fabled Apollo Theater in Harlem; and became a millionaire tycoon in the communications business to give public voice to African Americans.

Displaying fierce intelligence and exquisite polish in becoming one of the nation’s most prominent black political and business leaders, the New York icon died on December 26. He was 89.

Percy Sutton was an eminent politician in New York City, rising from the Democratic clubhouses of Harlem to become the longest serving Manhattan borough president and, for more than a decade, the highest black official in the city. In 1977, he was the first seriously regarded black candidate for mayor.

His supporters saw his loss in that mayoral race as a stinging rebuff to his campaign’s strenuous efforts to build support among whites. But David N. Dinkins, who was elected the first black mayor in 1989, called Mr. Sutton’s failed bid indispensable to his own success.

“I stand on the shoulders of Percy Ellis Sutton,” Mr. Dinkins said in an interview.

Mr. Sutton’s business empire included, over the years, radio stations, cable television systems and national television programs. Another business invested in Africa. Still another sold interactive technology to radio stations.

Mr. Sutton had an immaculately groomed beard and mustache; tailored clothing; and a sonorous, slightly Southern voice that prompted the nickname “wizard of ooze.” Associates called him “the chairman,” and he liked it.

Percy Ellis Sutton, the last child in a family of 15 children, was born on Nov. 24, 1920, in San Antonio, Tex. His father, Samuel Johnson Sutton, was born into slavery and became principal of a black high school. His mother, Lillian, was a teacher.

The 12 children who survived to be adults went to college, with the older ones giving financial and moral support to the younger.

S. J. Sutton, an early civil rights activist who did not use his first name for fear it would be shortened to Sambo, farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink — in addition to being a full-time principal.

Percy milked the cows, then rode around San Antonio with his father in the same Studebaker used for funerals, distributing milk to the poor. He liked to attach strings to cans to pretend to be a radio broadcaster. He was an Eagle Scout.

At 12, he stowed away on a passenger train to Manhattan where he slept under a sign on 155th Street. Far from being angry, his family regarded him as an adventurer, he said.

His family was committed to civil rights, and he bristled at prejudice. At 13, while passing out N.A.A.C.P. leaflets in an all-white neighborhood, he was beaten by a policeman.

He took up stunt-flying on the barnstorming circuit, but gave it up after a friend crashed. He attended three traditionally black colleges without earning a degree. Their present names are Prairie View A & M University in Texas, Tuskegee University in Alabama and Hampton University in Virginia.

During World War II, he served with the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed all-black unit in the Army Air Forces, as an intelligence officer. He won combat stars in the Italian and Mediterranean theaters.

He entered Columbia Law School on the G.I. Bill on the basis of his solid grades at the colleges he attended. He transferred to Brooklyn Law School so he could work days. He worked at the post office from 4 p.m. until midnight, then as a subway train conductor until 8:30 a.m. He then reported to law school at 9:30. He kept this schedule for three years and became a lawyer.

This punishing pace so annoyed his wife, the former Leatrice O’Farrell, that she divorced him in 1950 — only to remarry him in 1952. In between, he married and divorced Eileen Clark.

Mr. Sutton’s survivors include his wife, Leatrice Sutton; a son from their marriage, Pierre; and a daughter from his second marriage, Cheryl Lynn Sutton.After graduating from law school, Mr. Sutton made what he termed “a major miscalculation.” He enlisted in the Air Force because he mistakenly thought he had flunked the bar exam.

He returned to Harlem in 1953 and opened a law practice. The initial going was tough: he had to work at supplemental jobs that included scrubbing floors.

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Another Historic Black Church Faces Extinction

Despite Scarce Funds, Volunteers Push On

The historic Wesley United Methodist Church, the second oldest African American church in New Orleans, the eighth oldest in the United States and a symbol of the struggle for emancipation and human rights in the state of Louisiana, is in jeopardy of being demolished due to extensive hurricane damage.

Around the 1830s, enslaved Africans built Wesley United brick by brick. “The church was built voluntarily by our people while they were in slavery,” said Sakura Kone, who is leading the movement to save the church.

Not only did they work on the church every evening after working tirelessly in the fields, but they also worked all day on Sundays, their only “day off.” They used the bottom level of the church for entertainment, gatherings and other meetings, while on the second floor is the sanctuary filled with hand crafted pews.

During the abolitionist movement to end slavery, Wesley United was a stopping point and hiding place for people fleeing to freedom. Walking through the church gives a sense of communion with the builders who worked so hard for something they could call their own.

The story continues...

Black Journalist Gwen Ifill Best Positioned To Shatter Political Talk's Glass Ceiling

Time For White Males To Share Sunday Mornings

A prominent watchdog and a USA Today columnist agree that ABC has a prime opportunity not only to increase the ethnic diversity seen on Sunday morning talkfests, but to break the color barrier in the moderator’s chair.

The opening is due to Diane Sawyer's move to nightly World News and the move of George Stephanopoulos to Good Morning America.

USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham reported on the efforts of Stephanie Jones to increase diversity on the Sunday morning shows in general, which help set the national conversation. Jones is head of the National Urban League Policy Institute, which has produced studies documenting the paucity of minority guests on the programs.

She says they are getting better but still have a lot of work to do. Another study is said to be due out next year.

Wickham went Jones one better, suggesting that veteran journalist Gwen Ifill be given a shot at the job. Ifill is currently with PBS, and has had stops at NBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times, among other places.

CNN is rumored to be kicking the tires, so NBC needs to move on this and quick. Especially with their "More Colorful" campaign being anything but.

Michel Martin of NPR, another veteran with a long multimedia resume, was another Wickham suggestion.

Source

Obama Nominates First African American To Become U.S. Attorney For Los Angeles

By Scott Glover (LA Times)

Andre Birotte Jr., who for the last six years has served as the Los Angeles Police Department's inspector general, has been tapped by President Obama to become the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, the White House announced Thursday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Birotte, 43, would become the first black man to serve as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

"I am honored and humbled by this nomination," said Birotte, who learned of the news early Thursday while visiting family on the East Coast for the holidays.

As U.S. attorney, he would oversee the nation's second-largest office with about 275 lawyers and a seven-county jurisdiction that spans most of Southern California.

It would mark his second stint in the office, where he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1995 to 1999.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who recommended Birotte, praised him for having the support of both the police officers he is charged with investigating as inspector general and the various community groups who turn to his office with complaints regarding alleged police abuses.

"This ability to command respect from all sides bodes well for his nomination," Feinstein said in a press release.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who has dealt with Birotte on issues including the federal consent decree enacted in the wake of the Rampart scandal and officer-involved shootings, said: "He didn't always see things as I saw them. But I never felt him to be someone who was swayed by politics or the media or the vocal minority. He is swayed by doing the right thing."

As inspector general, Birotte reports to the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department.

Birotte's main job is conducting internal investigations so commissioners are better informed when making policy decisions or rulings on such issues as the use of deadly force by officers.

The job frequently thrusts him into some of the department's biggest controversies, including the televised beating of an unarmed car theft suspect and the melee in MacArthur Park that resulted in the discipline of more than a dozen officers.

The job requires Birotte to work with -- and be critical of -- the LAPD, a task that he and all of his predecessors found challenging.

During his first stint in the U.S. attorney's office, Birotte prosecuted fraud, bank robberies and narcotics cases, among others.

He began his legal career as a public defender in Los Angeles.

Birotte graduated from Tufts University with a degree in psychology in 1987 and Pepperdine University School of Law four years later.

He lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife and three children.

Technology Is The New Civil Rights For Black Children - Welcome To The Digital Renaissance Movement!

Growing up in the ’70s, John Halamka was a bookish child with a penchant for science and electronics. He wore black horn-rimmed glasses and buttoned his shirts up to the collar.

"I was constantly being called a geek or a nerd,” he recalled, chuckling.

Now 47, Dr. Halamka is the chief information officer at the Harvard Medical School, a practicing emergency-ward physician and an adviser to the Obama administration on electronic health records.

Hybrid careers like Dr. Halamka’s that combine computing with other fields will increasingly be the new American jobs of the future, labor experts say. But not enough young people are embracing computing — often because they are leery of being branded nerds.

Educators and technologists say two things need to change: the image of computing work, and computer science education in high schools. Teacher groups, professional organizations like the Association for Computing Machinery and the National Science Foundation are pushing for these changes, but so are major technology companies including Google, Microsoft and Intel.

That message must resonate with parents and school administrators, they say, if local school districts are to expand their computer science programs.

“We need to gain an understanding in the population that education in computer science is both extraordinarily important and extraordinarily interesting,” said Alfred Spector, vice president for research and special initiatives at Google. “The fear is that if you pursue computer science, you will be stuck in a basement, writing code. That is absolutely not the reality.”

Kira Lehtomaki can attest to this. She came to computing by way of art and movies. Art projects, not computers, were her childhood passions. She loved watching videos of Disney movies like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Dumbo,” and wanted to grow up to be one of those artists who stirred life into characters using pencils and paper.

She even took a summer job at Disneyland as a “cookie artist,” painting designs and Mickey Mouse faces on baked goods, because she was allowed to spend a few days with Disney’s animators.

Yet as a 19-year-old college student in 2001, Ms. Lehtomaki saw the Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” and was impressed by how good computer animation had become. At the University of Washington, she pursued computer graphics, graduating with a degree in computer science.

Today Ms. Lehtomaki, 27, is an animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios, working on “Rapunzel,” which is scheduled to be released next year. She does her drawing on a computer, using specialized graphics and modeling software. Her computer science education, she said, is an asset every day in her work, less for technical skills than for what she learned about analytic thinking.

“Computer science taught me how to think about things, how to break down and solve complex problems,” Ms. Lehtomaki said.

Reformulating a seemingly difficult problem into something a person can know how to solve is “computational thinking,” which the new high school courses are intended to nurture. Some schools in Los Angeles County are experimenting with the introductory course, called “Exploring Computer Science.” Last year, 35 students were in one pilot program, and this year the course is being taken by 130 students.

Students from low-income families create projects that address subjects of their interest, like gang violence and recycling. Others choose to make simple computer games.

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Are People Really Arguing Over Whether "Avatar" Is a Racist Movie???

Avatar Is About Blacks Or Native Americans, Right?
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New York probes report EMTs ignored woman who died
SCLC suspends chairman and treasurer
Rapper T.I. released from prison early
Obama says he has unemployed relatives

Woman held in Hawaii after Michelle Obama threat

The Most Embarassing Black People of 2009

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Boys Choir of Harlem Silenced!

For the audiences that marveled at the Boys Choir of Harlem, it was an additional wonder that the young performers with world-class voices had emerged from some of the most difficult neighborhoods of New York. But this year, the boys are nowhere to be found.

Last week, Terrance Wright, a 39-year-old choir alumnus, picked up a microphone in front of the altar of Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in Harlem, the choir’s last home, and delivered news that surprised few people but saddened many.

“Tell the people. Let it be known,” Mr. Wright said, glistening and exhausted after leading a Christmas concert by former singers in the choir. “There is no Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem.”



The choir’s last official performance was in 2007, around the time of the death of its founder, Walter J. Turnbull. But no one ever announced that it was gone. Board members and alumni had hoped to revive it, but they acknowledged last week that they had not had any success.

For a famous organization that politicians had vowed would outlive its founder, it had a quiet end. Many of the choir’s materials, like copies of handwritten scores and its trademark burgundy blazers, now sit in black garbage bags and open boxes in the church’s damp dirt-floor basement, amid overturned tables and sacks of plaster of Paris.

Led by Dr. Turnbull, who started the group in 1968, the choir sang at the White House for nearly every president since Lyndon B. Johnson, and it was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Bill Clinton. But it did not survive long enough to perform for the country’s first black president.

The choir’s demise as a functional organization was a result of many factors, but everyone agrees it was set in motion by a single episode...

The story continues here...

It Was Kumbaya Election Night 2008, Now Data Shows Blacks Not Getting Stimulus Loans

SBA Data Reflects Hispanic Small Businesses Also Shut Out In 2009!

By Aaron Glantz of New America Media

Loans handed out to struggling small businesses as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus package have largely shut out minority businesses -- especially those owned by Blacks and Latinos -- according to data provided by the federal government's Small Business Administration (SBA) to New America Media.

On June 15, the SBA, using money from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, launched the ARC program, America's Recovery Capital, giving banks and credit unions 100 percent guarantees so they're taking no risk when they make loans of up to $35,000 to previously successful, currently struggling small businesses to help them ride out the recession.

Under the program, the borrower pays no interest and makes no payments for 12 months, then has five years to repay the loan. SBA charges no fees and pays interest to the lender at prime - the rate of interest at which banks lend to favored customers - plus 2 percent.

The Obama Administration does not report the racial breakdown of who's benefiting from these loans at Recovery.gov, but data obtained by NAM from the SBA found that of the 4,497 ARC loans where the race of the borrower was reported, 4,104 (over 91 percent) went to white-owned firms, 140, (3 percent) went to Hispanic-owned businesses, and 151 (3 percent) went to Asian- or Pacific Islander-owned businesses. Only 65, (1.5 percent) went to black-owned firms.

Overall, white-owned businesses received over $130 million in loans through the program, while Hispanic-owned businesses got $4 million and black-owned businesses less than $2 million.

In five states - Alabama, Arkansas, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming -- every single firm that received an ARC loan was white-owned. In eight other states, including Louisiana and Nevada, all but one loan went to a white-owned firm.

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HP Tracking Webcams Don't Recognize Black Faces - Well, Excuse Me!

This is beyond awkward. It appears that Hewlett Packard's new webcams, which have facial-tracking software, can't recognize black faces. After just returning from that Tavis Smiley America I Am exhibit, HP has some esplainin to do!

Their response:

"We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty "seeing" contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting."

Black Quadruplets Headed To Yale University

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Avatar's Zoe Saldana And Oscar Bound Gabourey Sidibe To Be Feted At 3rd Annual Essence Luncheon

Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige Round Out Hollywood's African American "It" Women For 2010

The 3rd annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon will be held during Oscar Week on March 4, 2010 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Honoring four extraordinary women making a significant impact in Hollywood, this star-studded event commemorates ESSENCE magazine's annual Hollywood issue and will pay tribute to a special milestone in 2010; the 40th Anniversary of ESSENCE magazine.

The esteemed honorees for the 2010 event include: Queen Latifah (Power Award), Zoe Saldana (Star to Watch Award), Mary J. Blige (Songstress of the Year) and Gabourey Sidibe (Best Breakthrough Performance).

"Our annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon is taking on special meaning in 2010 as we are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of ESSENCE magazine by paying homage to phenomenal women throughout the year," said ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray. "We are proud to carry the ESSENCE legacy into the future by honoring the accomplishments of such brilliant performers as Latifah, Zoe, Mary J., and Gabourey, whose incredible talent and sheer grit are serving to change the face of Hollywood."

Queen Latifah is not only a celebrated television and film actress, but also a gifted musician, as well as an established author and entrepreneur. As a one-woman entertainment conglomerate, Latifah's rise has been nothing short of remarkable--landing her a place in history as the first hip-hop artist to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Her production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, is currently co-producing the sports-driven romantic comedy, Just Wright, in which she will also star.

Zoe Saldana has shown she can hold her own in major blockbuster productions and has proven herself to be an amazing Hollywood star on the rise. After landing her first leading role as a ballet dancer in the film Center Stage, her turn as a leading lady in both the college-set drama Drumline and romantic comedy Guess Who followed shortly thereafter. Over the past decade, Saldana has grown into stand-out performances in popular films such as Avatar and Star Trek and continues to demonstrate the versatility necessary for longevity in Hollywood.

As one of the greatest singers of our time, Mary J. Blige's accomplishments are beyond impressive. A multi-faceted mogul and philanthropist, with a career spanning 15 years--including nine Grammy awards, eight multi-platinum records, and over 40 million albums sold--she has lent her tremendous talent this year to the official soundtracks for two powerful films with original songs: "I Can See in Color" from Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and "Stronger" from the Lebron James documentary, More than a Game.

Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe has wowed the public and taken the industry by storm with her compelling breakthrough role as the title character in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, which is garnering serious awards buzz. With the film winning numerous prestigious awards, including the Sundance Film Festival Audience and Grand Jury Awards, it's been a whirlwind year for the young actress, who was a student pursuing a degree in psychology when she was cast in Precious. A native New Yorker, Sidibe is the daughter of R&B/gospel singer Alice Tan Ridley. Next up for Gabourey is the Showtime pilot The C-Word opposite Laura Linney for director Bill Condon and the film, Yelling to the Sky.

The ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon is an annual event to honor African-American women, who through their work in Hollywood--both in front of the camera and behind-the-scenes--have helped to change and inspire positive images of Black women in television and film.

The inaugural event, which took place in 2008, honored Jada Pinkett-Smith (Power Award), Ruby Dee (Legend Award), Suzanne de Passe (Visionary Award) and Jurnee Smollett (Star to Watch Award), and hosted A-List stars including Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Kerry Washington, Star Jones and more.

In 2009, celebrities such as Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Queen Latifah, to name a few, were on hand to fete honorees including Halle Berry (Power Award), Diahann Carroll (Legend Award), Gina Prince-Bythewood (Visionary Award), and Taraji P. Henson (Star to Watch Award), with a posthumous honor given to Eartha Kitt.

Hollywood Adds Money & Talent To Web Shows, Time For Blacks To Get With The Program

Web sites that buy original video clips often pay so little that "The Bannen Way," a flashy crime thriller debuting online, looked destined to be made poorly if it could be made at all.

Yet budding filmmakers Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt managed to hire 40-odd staff, including a boom operator, camerapeople — yes, more than one — and even production assistants on hand to offer sunscreen and sandwiches. And the production had actors familiar to some TV and movie audiences, including Michael Ironside, Robert Forster and Vanessa Marcil.

The secret to their success? Treat the Internet run like a TV or movie release, which often loses money on its on-screen debut, but can make healthy profits when issued on DVD or Blu-ray and later sold for reruns on cable or overseas.

With that in mind, major movie studios are now getting behind such productions, giving them a lift in budgets and quality — a far cry from the shaky camerawork and dubious special effects prevalent when Web video became a new phenomenon a few years ago.

For Warren and Gantt, who wrapped up shooting in October, a snazzy trailer they produced helped snag Sony Pictures Television as a partner.

"We came up with this idea," said Warren, 31. "There's no limit to how many episodes there can be in a Web series. So why don't we design it as a (feature-length movie) so we can sell it as a DVD feature at the end?"

Sony executives, it turns out, had the same idea.

The studio picked up the project in April and gave it a budget of around $1 million. That's nowhere near the $30 million-plus budgets of many Hollywood movies, but more than the producers were told they could sell it for. Web sites typically pay up to $5,000 for a short clip of original video; with 16 episodes, other Web sites might have paid around $100,000 for "The Bannen Way."

"This money buys more lights and more production value," said Gantt, 40.

Warren appeared to bask in the fullness of his crew: "We can afford extras rather than having our friends come in."

One quirk of the Web is that each episode must have a cliffhanger to keep online viewers coming back. In one scene, the audience learns for the first time that Neal Bannen, the title character, had been working for his mob boss uncle. Bannen's father is the chief of police, and viewers realize the son is about to be entangled in a cops-and-robbers struggle between father and uncle.

"It moves pretty well," Warren says, snapping his fingers. "We had breaks that would naturally lend itself to the Web."

Sony Pictures Television hopes the release will gain buzz and a few advertising dollars when it begins to debut in increments in January on the Sony-owned Crackle.com, a site targeted at males aged 18-34. Then, it will stop running for free online and get repackaged for sale to TV outlets, on iTunes and elsewhere.

Editing finished this month on the feature-length project. There's no substantial difference between the whole or spliced versions — just that the Web version has episodic breaks at certain climaxes.

Although the main goal is to drive traffic to Crackle.com, which Sony Corp. acquired when it was called Grouper for nearly $60 million in 2006, made-for-Web productions are expected to make a profit by themselves.

Thus, studios scrutinize projects before approving them and committing funding — green-lighting in industry speak. In this case, studio input during the production was also part of the process.

"We go through a very similar green-light process as we would for any piece of content in the studio," said Eric Berger, senior vice president of digital networks for Sony Pictures Television, which is planning to make 15 Web productions annually. "How and why we make them and where we will make money is conceived with every project."

Paramount Pictures's digital arm is also backing made-for-Web productions that can make additional money in other formats. Paramount spent $1 million to $3 million making a horror movie, "Circle of Ei8ht," which began showing on MySpace in installments in October in an initial run through Dec. 8. The series had generated nearly 5 million views online — which would rank it among the most-watched shows if it were on cable TV.

To help pay for production, Viacom Inc.'s Paramount lined up a key product-integration deal with PepsiCo Inc.'s Mountain Dew and sold rental and on-demand rights for one month exclusively to Blockbuster Inc. MySpace, which is owned by News Corp., kicked in marketing support.

"I don't think there's been a more expensive piece of content made for the Web," said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Digital Entertainment, which has two other Web projects in the works.

He added that hiring professional talent and crew and paying for an original score will help sell "Circle of Ei8ht" when it makes it onto other platforms such as iTunes, DVD and video-on-demand.

"The stuff that we're creating could easily play on television," he said.

Brady Brim-DeForest, the co-founder of research and news site Tubefilter.tv, calls the renewed activity "the second coming of original programming online."

He cited the recent success of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," which "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon made during the writers strike last year.

He estimates "Dr. Horrible" cost $220,000 to make but brought in about $2.4 million within a year, after sharing advertising revenue on Hulu.com and selling the movie and soundtrack on iTunes, as well as DVDs and merchandise. It went on to win an Emmy.

Internet shows have also made the transition to television. After a one-episode flirtation on NBC, "quarterlife" found a home on the NBC Universal-owned Bravo network last year. Sci-fi Web series "Sanctuary" made it on Syfy, and "Secret Girlfriend" ran on Comedy Central this fall.

Yet for every Web series that is made with a modest budget and high-profile directors such as "The O.C." creator Josh Schwartz — who made "Rockville CA" for The WB's site — there are about 20 made independently on a shoestring, Brim-DeForest said.

"What's so spectacular is they are all drawing an audience, finding a niche," he said. "That's the power of the Internet as a distribution medium. It's very compelling."

In October, Michael Eisner's Web production startup Vuguru got a multimillion-dollar capital injection from a unit of Canada's Rogers Communications Inc. in a deal that gives Rogers the right to use Vuguru content on television, the Web or even its rental video stores in Canada.

Vuguru had already made several sales internationally. Its "Prom Queen" hit from 2007 was translated, recast and reshot for the Web in Japan. A dubbed version ran on cable TV in France and it ran as-is on Yahoo's Australian site.

Rogers' minority investment will ensure Vuguru can ramp up its production to some 15 projects a year, compared with a half dozen over the last two years combined, said Andy Redman, chief operating officer of The Tornante Company LLC, which owns a majority of Vuguru. The plan is to boost the staff to 30 in a few years, up from two people who currently work on Web projects full-time, he said.

Redman compared the growth of the new platform to cable television in the 1980s, when networks like ESPN, CNN and MTV were just getting going, reaching focused audiences at first and then growing.

Today, cable networks like AMC put on some of the most critically acclaimed series on TV, such as its Emmy-winning "Mad Men," and have largely cast off their reputation as being a receptacle for reruns or shows that failed on broadcast TV.

"It was the platform to be joked about," he said. "Five years later, they've realized this whole new medium passed me by."

By RYAN NAKASHIMA (AP)

On the Net:

The Bannen Way: http://bit.ly/8pI4Ky

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: http://bit.ly/8D6Wjm

Rockville CA: http://bit.ly/6HRmCk

Vuguru: http://bit.ly/7IE3Ee

Join Kevin Ross on His Online Radio Show Tonight To Discuss Tiger Woods & Barack Obama

Healthcare, Afghanistan, and Affairs -- Oh My!

Sports and politics may not mix, but these two biracial men are grabbing headlines of late so we have to discuss what the whole world is talking about.

Golf superstar Tiger Woods and our President, with the plummeting poll numbers, are on the menu. But be forewarned. This will be a spicy dish.

Join Kevin Ross, the former judge and KABC talk radio host, as he dissects what's really going on. We'll see you at 7pm PST on Blogtalkradio. The call in number is (347) 945-5939. Don't miss it!

Man Caught Cheating On His Wife Has A Mouthful To Say!

DAMN FINE EXPLANATION

A wife comes home early to find her husband in their bedroom making love to a very attractive young woman.

Yes, she was somewhat upset. 'You are a disrespectful pig!' she cried. 'How dare you do this to me -- a faithful wife, the mother of your children! I'm leaving you. I want a divorce right away!'

And the husband replied, 'Hang on just a minute love so at least I can tell you what happened.'

'Fine, go ahead,' she sobbed,' but they'll be the last words you'll say to me!'

And the husband began -- 'Well, I was getting into the
car to drive home, and this young lady here asked me for a lift. She looked so down and out and defenseless that I took pity on her and let her into the car..

I noticed that she was very thin, not well dressed and very dirty. She told me that she hadn't eaten for three days.

So, in my compassion, I brought her home and warmed up the enchiladas I made for you last night, the ones you wouldn't eat because you're afraid you'll put on weight. The poor thing devoured them in moments.

Since she needed a good clean-up, I suggested a shower, and while she was doing that, I noticed her clothes were dirty and full of holes, so I threw them away.

Then, as she needed clothes, I gave her the designer jeans that you have had for a few years, but
don't wear because you say they are too tight.

I also gave her the underwear that was your anniversary present, which you don't wear because I don't have good taste.

I found the sexy blouse my sister gave you for Christmas that you don't wear just to annoy her, and I also donated those boots you bought at the expensive boutique and don't wear because someone at work has a pair the same.'

The husband took a quick breath and continued - 'She was so grateful for my understanding and help that as I walked her to the door, she turned to me with tears in her eyes and said,

'Please ... Do you have anything else that your wife doesn't use?

Looks Like Chris Rock Finally Has A Hit Film, Courtesy of Martin Lawrence And A Strong Black Ensemble!

Screen Gems Death At A Funeral Looks Promising.
Thoughts???

Black Woman Wins 112 Million Through Lotto, Starts Hollywood Film & TV Studio

By Lisa Horowitz of The Wrap

While Hollywood goes chasing to Abu Dhabi and Mumbai for ever-scarcer funds to finance its movies, the industry might do better just heading to 7-Eleven.

The latest film fund, $30 million to make romantic comedies, thrillers and faith-based dramas, comes from the lottery winnings of Cynthia Stafford, who shared a $67 million jackpot with her father and brother in 2007.

Now the African American single homemaker from Hawthorne, California wants to make movies.

"What I like about movies is it's something ongoing," Stafford said. "Movies from the '20s, '30s, '40s -- I still see them today and think, 'Wow, this is something that can go on forever."

The film fund, which follows the creation of her production company Queen Nefertari Productions, will be repped by the Gersh Agency. The banner already has four projects lined up.

Stafford is CEO and executive producer of Queen Nefertari.

The production funding, which comes from private investments, will be used to finance or co-finance commercial feature films. They aim to expand the fund over the next 18 months by recruiting other investors or forming partnerships.

Given the difficult financing climate in Hollywood of late, with even big names such as Imagine Entertainment, George Clooney and Brett Ratner turning to outside sources like India's Reliance Big Pictures, Stafford definitely has a leg up with her lottery winnings.

With the assistance of the Gersh Agency, specifically Jay Cohen, the Queen Nefertari partners have been setting up meetings and putting together projects. Gersh's film financing and packaging division represents the banner.

Stafford was quietly raising her late brother's five children in Hawthorne, California, when she and her father and another brother bought a $2 Mega Millions lottery ticket. They won $112 million, but took a lump-sum payment of $67 million.

Since that life-changing event, Stafford has become a philanthropist, donating $1 million to the Geffen Theater and becoming part of its outreach efforts. She said she named her company after the Egyptian queen Nefertari because she was a patron of the arts, and “a queen for peace. She had tremendous power, a great love of herself and her family – that's who I am.”

Stafford recently produced a pair of independent movies, multicultural coming-of-age tale “Polish Bar” and supernatural thriller “The Gathering.”

Queen Nefertari expects to have its first film in production by the end of this month or, at the latest, the first of the year.

The company is looking primarily at commercial projects in four broad genres: comedy, romantic comedy, thriller/horror and faith-based.

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