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Khaleej Times
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Eddie Murphy recalls how Sidney Poitier advised him not to star in 'Malcolm X'
"Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy opened up about some advice Sidney Poitier once gave him that left him surprised. In Apple TV+'s new documentary, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood, he said the Oscar winner advised him not to join the cast of 1992's Malcom X. The film was first directed by Norman Jewison, the director of Poitier's In the Heat of the Night, who cast Denzel Washington in the starring role before Spike Lee took over as director. "They were talking about doing Malcolm X," Murphy recalled. "Norman Jewison was putting it together. They were gonna use Th e Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. And they approached me about playing Alex Haley. Around that same time, I bumped into Sidney Poitier at something, and I asked him, 'Yeah, I'm thinking about playing Alex Haley!' And Sidney Poitier said, 'You are not Denzel [Washington], and you are not Morgan [Freeman]. You are a breath of fresh air, and don't [mess] with that!'." Murphy admitted he "didn't know" if Poitier's advice "was an insult or a compliment", but was just shocked to be compared to Washington and Freeman. "I was like, 'What?'" he added. In the documentary, Murphy also spoke about being different from the leading black men on the big screen. "I was in uncharted waters. For Sidney and all those guys, when I showed up, it was something kinda new," Murphy said, adding, "They didn't have a reference for me, they couldn't give me advice, 'cause I was 20, 21 years old, and my audience was the mainstream, all of everywhere. My movies [were] all around the world, and they had never had that with a young Black person. So nobody could give me advice, really. Everything broke really big and really fast." While Lee's Malcom X didn't include Haley as a character, the film ended up being a huge critical success, earning two Oscar nominations: best actor for Washington and best costume design for Ruth E. Carter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
CBC
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Norman Jewison was a Canadian icon. His sons alleged his wife cut off contact, coerced him to change his will
Social Sharing In his four-decade Hollywood career, Oscar-nominated director Norman Jewison crafted acclaimed dramas like In the Heat of the Night and A Soldier's Story. Behind the scenes, there was allegedly drama in the Toronto-born filmmaker's personal life as well in his final years. Lawsuits filed in California and Ontario by Jewison's sons and recently obtained by CBC News raise issues that experts say are all too common when family members clash at the end of a loved one's life. In the court filings, Jewison's sons alleged that his second wife, Lynne St. David Jewison, progressively cut him off from friends and family starting as early as 2010, even taking over his email and phone. "It is the culmination of Respondent's progressive isolation and control of Mr. Jewison that, alongside the replacement of his longtime financial and legal advisers and uncharacteristic changes to his estate plan, are telltale signs of elder abuse," said the pair of lawsuits filed in May 2023 in Los Angeles Superior Court. In January 2024, three days after Jewison died, one of his sons also filed suit in Ontario to void his father's will that he had rewritten two months prior. The lawsuit claimed St. David Jewison had used "manipulation, coercion or outright abuse of power" to get the director to disinherit his children and bequeath millions of dollars to her instead. None of the allegations in the California and Ontario cases were ever tested in court; the claims were ultimately resolved through multiple mediations, with different combinations of family members, spread out over 16 months. In the Ontario case, which also involved former premier Ernie Eves, a Superior Court judge in Toronto signed off on a settlement this past January, one year after Jewison died at age 97. 'Afraid I may never … speak with my father again' The sons' California court filings alleged that their father "became heavily dependent" on St. David Jewison after he suffered a series of strokes in 2010. They married later that year. The applications stated that Jewison could no longer drive and that his wife became the gatekeeper of his communications and schedule, eventually also taking over his email and phone. Kevin and Michael Jewison also stated that they noticed their father making "uncharacteristic changes" to his estate planning, including "the abrupt resignations of his lawyers and accountants of more than 40 years," starting in 2021. They alleged that they raised concerns about this, but that St. David Jewison then "made it even more difficult … to contact their father," before sending a final text message from her own cellphone. The May 2022 text that cut off contact with Jewison's children was allegedly signed "Dad." Both sons stated that, as of May 2023, they hadn't been able to see or speak with their father in a year despite attempts to do so. "It is inconceivable to me that he does not want to see and speak to his children and grandchildren," Kevin Jewison, a camera operator and cinematographer, said in a sworn statement filed in the case. Michael Jewison, a producer who worked alongside his dad on a number of movies, including The Hurricane, stated in his sworn statement: "Absent judicial intervention, I am afraid that I may never have the opportunity to see or speak with my father again." An email last month from St. David Jewison's lawyer, Ian Hull, noted the allegations against her were unproven and said she believes the claims against her were untrue. CBC reached out to Norman Jewison's children and St. David Jewison for their perspectives. None would agree to be interviewed. The sons ended up withdrawing their applications shortly after filing them, following a request by St. David Jewison that they all attend mediation. After mediation, they were once again able to communicate with their father, though it was limited to brief videoconferences with St. David Jewison's lawyer present, according to Michael Jewison's subsequent Ontario lawsuit. In addition, the mediation opened the door for an agreement with Kevin Jewison and sister Jennifer Jewison Snyder in regards to their father's estate. According to Michael Jewison's subsequent Ontario claim, the two siblings got certain properties and farm equipment, as well as the rights to the 1973 film version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which their father directed and produced. But Michael Jewison didn't agree to the terms and wasn't included in the agreement. WATCH | Remembering Norman Jewison, one of Canada's most acclaimed directors: Acclaimed Canadian director Norman Jewison dead at 97 1 year ago Duration 3:13 California law let sons sue for access Lawyer Dani Kaiserman, a Los Angeles-based expert in elder law, said the kinds of family conflicts alleged in the Jewison cases "are so common." As a loved one ages, there's often tensions in families, disagreements that come up between siblings or with a new spouse," she said. Jewison's sons were able to sue in California because their father and St. David Jewison lived part-time at a beach house in Malibu, Calif., when they weren't at properties in Ontario. The brothers resorted to a California law that came into force in 2023 — it has no equivalent in Canada — and allows a person to apply for a court order allowing contact when there's evidence that an elderly or dependent adult has been cut off from that person against their wishes, and that it was not done to protect them from abuse by that person. "This gets you in front of a judge where you can ask for a court order to visit and see your loved one and stop the isolation relatively quickly," said Kaiserman, who worked to get the statute passed. So the two men sought a court order allowing contact against St. David Jewison that would let them speak to their dad privately. Kaiserman said her organization alone has handled 15 to 20 cases under the California elder-access law in the last two years. In Canada, there are other ways people can regain access, such as applying to become a guardian or involving a provincial agent known as the public guardian and trustee. But these efforts take more time and can cost more money, said lawyer Laura Tamblyn Watts who is also the CEO of CanAge, a Canadian organization that advocates for seniors. "In Canada, it's very hard. You're probably going to call the public guardian and trustee. If you have funds, you're going to call an estate litigation lawyer and try to get in there. You may be able to call some community-based organizations," Tamblyn Watts said. Wills changed between 2014 and 2023 The family strife did not end after Jewison died on Jan. 20, 2024, at age 97. Following a storied career directing Hollywood classics such as Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof and The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, Jewison left an estimated $30 million after estate taxes, including the Malibu home, a cottage on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, a ranch northwest of Toronto and royalties from his films, according to court records. A will he signed in 2014 would have given St. David Jewison the Malibu beach house and some other funds (and mentioned "gifts of money and property" previously given to her), but the bulk of his fortune was to be divided among Jewison's three children. Then in November 2023, a little over two months before he died, Jewison signed a new will. It saw all three of his children written out, with the leftover amounts after various bequests — an estimated $27 million — to be split between St. David Jewison and a fairly new charity where she was a director, the Norman and Lynne St. David Jewison Foundation. Another major change was that Jewison's 2014 will named his longtime accountant, his lawyer and a friend as executors. The 2023 will appointed just one person to the position: former Ontario premier Ernie Eves. Eves had also become a corporate director of a number of Jewison's companies starting in 2022. Eves lives up the road from the Jewison ranch in Caledon, Ont., moved in the same social circles, and is also listed as a director of the charitable foundation named in Jewison's 2023 will. Three days after his father died, Michael Jewison filed his Ontario lawsuit to void the 2023 will. Lawsuit claimed children not given chance to say goodbye In his 2024 claim, Michael Jewison alleged that St. David Jewison had exerted "control and dominance" over his dad to get her hands on his wealth. "She successfully prevented Norman's assets and his wealth from being inherited by Norman's children, and instead inherited tens of millions of dollars for herself," the claim said. Michael Jewison also claimed that the 2023 changes to his father's will were the product of "undue influence" on his dad by St. David Jewison, aided by Eves, and that his father couldn't have had the necessary mental capacity to rewrite his will so close to his demise. Neither Eves nor St. David Jewison replied to questions from CBC News about why Jewison made all the changes he did, and why Eves specifically was chosen as executor. Tamblyn Watts, from the seniors advocacy organization, said while these types of concerns with wills are not uncommon, getting a will voided or varied by a court is not an easy task. Speaking generally and not about the Jewison case, Watts said that a judge would look at such factors as, "Did you really know what you were doing when you changed it? Did you really understand the implications to the other family [members] or the people that you're cutting out?" But ultimately, she says, the court requires a "very high standard" of proof to vary someone's will and most people don't pursue it. Michael Jewison's claim went on to say that he and his siblings weren't even informed when their dad was entering his final weeks of life and started to receive hospice care. "Neither Michael nor his family were given an opportunity to say goodbye to Norman," it stated. Responding to questions sent to Eves, his lawyer Chris Paliare wrote to CBC News that Eves "cannot comment." His email continued: "The allegations … regarding Mr. Jewison's final years, and the actions of Mr. Eves and Ms. St. David Jewison, are unproven, and in Mr. Eves's opinion, untrue." Hull, St. David Jewison's lawyer, said she "adopts and confirms" those statements from Eves's lawyer. Michael Jewison's lawsuit was settled in January. A judge approved a deal between him and his daughter, on one side, and St. David Jewison, the Norman Jewison estate and Eves as executor, on the other. Michael Jewison is to get $6.8 million, the rights to and residuals from 23 of his father's movies and the forgiving of loans that at one time totalled more than $3 million.
The Guardian
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Number One on the Call Sheet review – a spectacular tribute to black excellence in Hollywood
Denzel Washington. Don Cheadle. Morgan Freeman. Laurence Fishburne. Idris Elba. Viola Davis. Halle Berry. Cynthia Erivo. Angela Bassett. Octavia Spencer. To say that the cast of Apple's new two-part, feature-length documentary series is stacked would be an understatement, and that truly is only a smattering of its many interviewees: I'd be here all week if I listed every single one. A celebration of black excellence in Hollywood, these two films are produced by the likes of Jamie Foxx and Kevin Hart, and stuffed full of household names who have made it to that coveted No 1 spot on the call sheet – in other words, the top-billed star of a production. They also offer a potted history of how black actors came to thrive in Hollywood – and the struggle baked into almost every stage of that process. Episode one focuses on male stars, juxtaposing more established names with a new generation of actors, such as Michael B Jordan, John Boyega, Daniel Kaluuya and the late Chadwick Boseman. We start, though, with Sidney Poitier, and the debt that so many performers feel towards the pioneering star of In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Director Reginald Hudlin cleverly segues between archive footage and new interviews, as we observe Washington's tribute to Poitier on stage at the Oscars in 2002 (the former won best actor, while the latter picked up an honorary Academy award). Present-day Washington then adds more colour to the story, namechecking the stars who Poitier had in turn tipped his hat to: James Edwards, Canada Lee, Paul Robeson and – of course – Hattie McDaniel, the first black Oscar winner (in 1940, for Gone With the Wind), whose story we return to in the 'women' episode. We race through the decades – via Blazing Saddles and blaxploitation – before arriving at Eddie Murphy's imperial phase, when he showed that a black comic actor could garner mainstream acclaim in films such as Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America. If you've forgotten just how big a deal Murphy was in the 80s and 90s, he's here to remind us, complete with some wicked anecdotes, such as, er, the time James Brown advised him to bury his money in the woods to keep it away from the government. As his life story begins to coalesce with that of his biggest fan, Will Smith, there's the risk of these actors going all luvvie central on us. But, luckily, even when Smith (and, later, Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson) begin to speak in riddles and motivational metaphors, the episode stays on the right side of self aware. Its best moments are those that highlight candid, endearing memories, such as Boyz N the Hood's Morris Chestnut confessing that the film's Cannes success went right over his head (he remembers asking: 'Are they gonna release it here in LA …?'). The second instalment – directed by Shola Lynch – pays homage to Whoopi Goldberg in the same way as it does Murphy, reminding viewers that, at the peak of her powers, she was the cream of the comedy crop and totally devastating as Celie in The Color Purple. But Goldberg had to fight for even her most memorable roles; she explains that she only got Sister Act because Bette Midler wasn't available, and Patrick Swayze fought for her to be cast alongside him in Ghost. Elsewhere, we hear from actors at the top of their game who are yet to get the awards-show recognition they deserve; the disappointment on Erivo's face as she learns that Renée Zellweger has won the 2020 best actress Oscar is positively heartbreaking. Meanwhile, the temptation to generalise is resisted. After all, audiences of all races are likely aware that Halle Berry – a former beauty queen whose acting skills were initially underestimated – has had different challenges to overcome in the industry than, say, Gabourey Sidibe. Sidibe speaks beautifully about not conforming to beauty standards: in the way she cared for the titular character in the 2009 film Precious; and feeling that she could relate to a girl who was 'not the sexpot, not the popular girl – not even the one with the cool sneakers'. It isn't a perfect set of films. Samuel L Jackson is conspicuous by his absence (surely the film-makers could've grabbed five minutes with him?!) and Quentin Tarantino makes a needless cameo. And I'm not convinced that splitting the films by gender was necessary. But, Number One on the Call Sheet is still a joy to watch – as a loving homage to black Hollywood's past and a sign of its rude health in the present. Number One on the Call Sheet is on Apple TV+ now.
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Richard Kind knows you recognize his face
'It's not going to the dentist, so if you're going to pay money and see me, you might as well be entertained,' he says. While he's talking about himself non-stop — 'that's what I've been hired for'— he hopes to educate, too. 'I try to teach the audience a little bit about the business of show business, by elucidating exactly what's going on. I think it's a little interesting... I hope.' Advertisement He does not, however, discuss his acting process. 'That would bore everybody,' he says, 'but I'll talk about how I got a part or what it was like working with the Coen Brothers. Or I'll tell you what happened when I got to meet Paul Newman.' Now, before Kind can reveal his encounter with the iconic film star, he veers off into a story about once doing a reading for a Neil Simon play. 'See, this is how I'll talk during the show,' he says of his name-dropping digressions, explaining that Simon had tried adapting his autobiography for the stage, but that it was a disaster because it required modern actors to try and play the likes of George C. Scott, Maureen Stapleton, and Art Carney. Advertisement 'That's no good,' Kind says, 'but sit around the table and have Simon tell you about seeing Scott and Stapleton when they used to drink and curse and it's great. And that's what you'll see in my show. It's an oral autobiography.' The one constant in this oral autobiography is that at every show he ends up mentioning one of his closest — and most famous friends — an actor by the name of George Clooney. They worked together on a failed pilot decades ago and are so close that Clooney was best man at Kind's wedding and recently came to New York to support his latest Broadway appearance. Kind jokes that 'I'll talk about how we met but not about why he's my dearest friend — he gets enough publicity.' Then, after a prompt, Kind returns to the Paul Newman story. Kind of. In 1998, he appeared in Clifford Odets' play 'The Big Knife' at the That sojourn to Williamstown is one small beat in a forty year career. Even recounting the broadest outline requires a bit of going on and on. Kind got his start in a Chicago theater company co-founded by Advertisement Kind broke out in the 1990s in a supporting role in 'Mad About You' and then a bigger role in 'Spin City.' 'When I was doing 'Spin City,' people said, 'You're going to be the breakout character.' But I never wanted to be the breakout character,' Kind avers. He recalls that growing up ('when I was supposed to go to law school or work in my dad's store') he loved both Batman and Archie Bunker, roles that he says were blessing and a curse for the actors. 'Adam West and Carroll O'Connor both said, 'I'm an actor, I can do more than this,'' he says. 'Carroll O'Connor was lucky enough to do 'In the Heat of the Night' after, but Adam West was Batman and only Batman. That would have been hell to me. So when I was doing 'Spin City,' I didn't even have a publicist because I didn't want to be known for just that role. I wanted to go and do other things.' In other words, Kind knew how not to be famous. Since then, his genially rumpled persona with a face and a voice to match — has helped him to continue popping up in supporting or small roles in a steady stream of series and movies. He is frequently beleaguered and bemused, as in the Coen Brothers' 'A Serious Man,' or on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' 'Red Oaks,' and 'The Other Two.' Advertisement 'People may ask 'Who,' if you mention my name, but if you show them my picture, they'll say, 'I know that guy,'' he says. Off-camera, he has lent his comedic vocal stylings to 'Big Mouth,' 'American Dad' and Pixar classics including 'A Bug's Life,' 'Cars,' 'Toy Story 3' and, most memorably, 'Inside Out,' where he voiced the beloved Bing Bong. Pick a credit, any credit, and Kind has a story in store. But he's a raconteur who goes with the flow, so in his show, he doesn't always get to the ones he sets out to tell. Before a recent show, he told Bianculli he had a funny Clint Eastwood story. (Eastwood directed Kind in 'Hereafter.') But, of course, Kind kept veering off in his own directions with other sagas to recount. 'He had questions about Eastwood ready for me, but we never even got to it, never even dug one foot into it,' Kind says. Kind's friend Griffin Dunne says his persona is not far from the real man — he's both hilarious and sweet. 'Everyone loves the guy,' Dunne said in a recent phone interview. But he adds that while Kind may not discuss his process in his show, he's a gifted actor. When 'The Big Knife' was re-staged on Broadway in 2013, Kind earned a Tony nomination. 'He was explosive,' Dunne recalls. ''Everyone knew he had a big voice and was hilarious, but in that play he was a revelation as a monster.' And when they appeared together last year on 'Only Murders,' Dunne was struck by Kind's dedication to bringing his character's loneliness and alienation to life. Advertisement 'It's a comedy, but he was playing a complicated character and his work got me to up my game,' he says. After so many credits, even being on a show as popular as 'Only Murders' can't force the kind of fame on Kind that he has long avoided. 'In New York, I walk around and one person will stop me to say, 'You're a national treasure,'' he says. 'Then I pass a hundred people who don't know who the hell I am. But that's not a bad thing. It's what I've always wanted.'
