University Advancement
News Release


Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu


CSUN Forum to Examine the Changing Role
of the African American Filmmaker

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Oct. 30, 2000) - What does it take for a black filmmaker to succeed in Hollywood today? What role does race play as studio heads consider giving the okay for a film to be made? Why are there so few African Americans in films and on television?

Actor/producer Robert Hooks, his son, actor/director Kevin Hooks, and actors Brock Peters, Tommy Davidson and Lillian Lehman will tackle those and other issues regarding African Americans and the movies at a free forum on Monday, Nov. 13, at Cal State Northridge.

"Hollywood Filmmakers and Their Craft: The African American Filmmaker" will take place at 8 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

"Black cinema seems to be experiencing some of a renaissance in recent years. This year's highest grossing popular film was Scary Movie which was written and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. But what does that mean?" said John Schultheiss, chair of CSUN's Radio-Television-Film Department. "We hope to explore this and other issues with this forum."

Robert Hooks, whose production company Rock Creek Entertainment is co-sponsoring the event, said the issues surrounding African Americans and the entertainment industry need to be addressed "more than once or twice a year."

"There is a problem with under representation in film and television to the point of being very serious. And if African Americans are represented, then it is not always in the most positive tone," said Hooks, whose film and television credits include Hurry Sundown, Last of the Mobile Hotshots, Trouble Man, Airport '77, Star Trek III, Passenger 57and N.Y.P.D. Blue.

Hooks said he hopes the forum will address those and other serious issues facing African Americans, and other minorities, as they try to navigate the intricacies of Hollywood. Three films will be screened during the day prior to the panel discussion. The screenings, which will take place in the Presentation Room of the Oviatt Library, are free and open to the public.

The 1972 film Trouble Man, starring Hooks and Paul Winfield and directed by Ivan Dixon, will be screened at noon, followed at 2 p.m. by the 1972 film Sounder, starring Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield and Kevin Hooks and directed by Martin Ritt. Boyz N the Hood (1991), starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Laurence Fishburne and directed by John Singleton, will be screened at 4 p.m.

The panel discussion will begin at 8 p.m. with the screening of a film compilation overview of the image of African Americans in Hollywood cinema.

Joining Hooks in the discussion will be:

  • Peters, whose film credits include Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess, To Kill a Mockingbird, Major Dundee, The Pawnbroker, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country;
  • Kevin Hooks, whose acting credits include Sounder, Aaron Loves Angela, White Shadow and St. Elsewhere and directing credits include Strictly Business, Passenger 57, Fled, and on television, E.R. and City of Angeles;
  • Tommy Davidson, whose credits include Bamboozled, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Strictly Business, Premium Blend, and on television, Malcolm & Eddie and In Living Color; and
  • Lillian Lehman, a professor in CSUN's Theatre Department whose credits include Body of Evidence, Defending Your Life, Tenafly and on television, L.A. Law, Seinfeld, Chicago Hope and Emergency.

    For more information about the event, call (818) 677-3193.

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