Hudlin Entertainment

Archive for October, 2010

Friday Night Lights

You Must See This Movie!

We talk a lot about super heroes on this website. But we have real life super heroes who post here on the forum pages – educators, healers, law enforcement. Sam Wilson is one such poster. I am grateful that he tells us true stories of his life in the public school he works at. Here’s the latest:

Sam Wilson: Revolution, It’s the Only Solution

 

Friday Night Lights

Friday night was homecoming weekend. The game of the year of course, and the hype machine was building up the drama, cumulating with a pep rally and lots of fanfare. The players were excited, there was going to be people watching and for a minute they were local celebrities. Even if they weren’t playing they all wore their jerseys to class and were recognized as those about to do battle for the glory of the group. Parents would be proud, dinners would be had and celebrating was to be done.

This holds true in most kids but didn’t hold true for Jose, one of my students in my English class. Jose was a good kid, he wrote beautiful poetry about low-riding with his father in LA and was a class leader, tutoring other members of the football team and helping out his teacher whenever asked without question. A good kid with a good heart, someone I would have been proud to call my son if my wife and I had a child. This good kid texts me at 11:30 PM on a Friday night asking me if I could come pick him up from the game.

The thing is no one came to watch Jose play. His dad was in LA (supposedly) and his mom was in South America, he has a grandmother (grandfather is not in the picture) but she works third shift. Jose is on his own most of the time when he is not in school. Jose also has a sister who is in 7th grade who came to the game to watch him play. I find this all out when I show up to pick him up. I was ready to go to bed when he called, but I put on some sneakers and answered the call anyway, without hesitation. I’m not sure why until I thought about it later.

On a Friday night of homecoming the kid calls me for a ride. He could have gone out with anyone on the team, he could have went and gotten in trouble or gone to a hotel party or done whatever disturbing things teenagers do these days that we don’t want to think about but happen anyway, but he didn’t. He called me for a ride. He had to take care of his sister. I’m sure that was part of it but a bigger part of it was he was lonely and just wanted someone to show him some love. He wanted an adult to show him some love. An adult male who reminded him of his father…

My wife and I took Jose and his sister out for burgers, I told him, “it’s past curfew, so if anyone asks you have to pretend you are my kid or something”. Jose smiled real big and said, “yeah, I look just like you anyway”. He does. He’s light skinned, I’m a bit darker but paired with my fair skinned Irish wife he looks like he could be my kid. It was the smile that tipped me off. Since Friday night I haven’t been able to get it out of my head and it makes me sad. Sad, frustrated and angry.

This kid who anyone would be proud of has no one. No adult male anyway. No one to tell him he is loved, no one to be proud, no one to teach him about being a man or what it takes to be a man. What he does have is opportunity to become whatever he wants, and in most cases young people take that opportunity to become something bad, they get in trouble, they turn to drugs or partying and forget about school and a future and live for the here and now. Instant gratification because it’s all they have ever known. Except for Jose, he just wanted someone to love him and on Friday night he chose me. Teenage bravado, (which Jose is full of) is more often than not a mask. As hard as a kid wants to be sometimes, more often than not they want to be loved more.

My name is Sam Wilson. Revolution is the only solution, and sometimes the best agent for that revolution is love.

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Every Little Step I Take – The Remix!

This clip is already a huge hit on the net, but had to post it here as well. I saw Wayne Brady and Robin Thede the day before they shot it, and it sounded hilarious then…but who knew just how genius level funny Mike Tyson would be?

Every Little Step with Mike Tyson & Wayne Brady from Mike Tyson

I love that Bobby Brown just shows up, like he always does. He’s a fun dude too. I’m always happy to see him. He’s been through a lot in life but his disposition is always sunny.

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Bernie Mac RIP

Bernie MacI was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with Bernie Mac. I produced and directed for three seasons on the Bernie Mac Show.

Bernie wasn’t just the star, he was a host. It was his set, and he made everyone feel welcome. He spoke to every crew member, from stand-ins to guests visiting for an hour.

He wasn’t always “on” but he was always funny. Nothing was more delightful than lunch time. At least once a week he had a soul food lunch catered in his large dressing room, and invited EVERYONE to get a plate. It was an amazing spread, with ox tail and ribs and lima beans and mac (heh) and cheese. He’d have a chocolate cake AND a coconut cake…and he didn’t like sweets. But he wanted folks who did to have a choice.

While you ate yourself into a coma, Bernie would tell stories about his life before being a comic…tales of his childhood, of various jobs he had while developing his craft. He was so good it took me a while to realize he couldn’t have worked all those jobs. Who knows how much if any was true, but it didn’t matter. Bernie was a mesmerizing storyteller.

What people didn’t understand was that Bernie was a scientist about his comedy. He was a student of the game, which is why he always invited comedy legends like Carl Reiner and Don Rickles to appear on his show. I directed that Don Rickles episode. I tried to contain my awe of the man and do my job well. After the first day of shooting, Don kissed me dead on the lips. I was flattered and horrified all at once – which is just the way he liked it.

I would often ask Bernie about the state of comedy, and he explained why were not generating as many next generation great black comics. He broke down how the economics and changing of the guard were diminishing standards. It wasn’t hateration, is was a deep understanding of the Game.

Years later, Bernie and I went to lunch together at the 4 Seasons. He gave me a giant compliment by saying I was one of the only people in Hollywood who understood him. That was the last time I saw him.

In memory of him on his birthday (October 5th), here’s some clips from his funeral from his fellow Kings of Comedy.

Cedric The Entertainer:

DL Hughley:

Steve Harvey

And here’s Bernie Mac’s Last Will and Testament:

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