Father Geek here, posting another fine column from Dr. SOTHA, Rigobert Song and crew.

Take it away Doc...

DR.SOTHA here, and it's quite simple - if you slice before you gouge, you're bound to fuck up. It's a cardinal rule. One that Miss Shelly Santiago has failed to follow. I'll go on record and say she killed an amphibian's life in a vessel removal operation. She won't like that it has been made public, but how else can we avoid disasters like this in the future? If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen Miss Santiago.

You can send your angry thoughts on the frog's death to africaaicn@hotmail.com and I'll forward it on to her incompetent publicist.

Miss Hollis, I know nothing of a love/hate relationship.

SOUTH AFRICA

* Earth is under threat from Aliens again - The War Of The Worlds is being remade with an all star cast headed by Michael Caine. The movie is being shot with a $42 million budget and is due to be released on Halloween 2002 to mark the 64th anniversary of the famed Orson Welles radio broadcast. Pendragon Pictures are producing H.G. Wells's epic tale of monstrous invaders from the red planet Mars, the first big-screen adaptation since the Oscar-winning 1953 version. It will star Katie Tomlinson and Harry Jay Knowles and Pendragon has also approached Michael Caine, Matthew McConaughey, and CHARLIZE THERON for the project which will be directed by Bug Wars' Timothy Hines. Hines says, "The known talents we are talking with right now are Sir Michael Caine, Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron. We want the best actors possible." He adds, "This won't be from gore and violence, which goes along with the territory in War Of The Worlds, but from the sheer psychological terror that the script invokes - I intend to cut the film as NC-17 and resubmit until the ratings board allows an R."

* Singer Miriam Makeba is the winner of the Arts and Culture category of the premier accolade for achievement by women in the country, the Shoprite Checkers/SABC 3 Woman of the Year Award. Known to millions worldwide as "Mama Africa", Makeba accepted her award in Cape Town on 1 August 2001. Makeba started singing in the 1950's and still continues to sell out at concerts worldwide. Her appointment as Goodwill Ambassador by President Thabo Mbeki is the latest in a long list of accolades.

* We're in on the joke Mr. South African Box Office: Two new entries on the South African cinema circuit have gone straight to the top of the local box office in their first week of release. They are Swordfish and Along Came A Spider. Next up is Dr Dolittle 2, Shrek and Tom Cats. Pearl Harbor is currently at number 10, having made R12 628 664 (about the price of a loaf of potato bread in North America - DR.SOTHA) since its release on 1 June.

* Media for Development Trust in Harare, Zimbabwe has just completed an evaluation study on its recent feature film, Yellow Card. Some 614 youths were interviewed in Chitungwiza, a high-density neighbourhood of low-income households during June 2001. The goal was to determine the accessibility of the film to Zimbabwe's youth, and their understanding of its messages. (Yellow Card deals with teenage sexuality.) The study was carried out by Stephen Mueller, a graduate student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. An amazing 74% of those interviewed had seen the film, many had seen it several times. They generally not only found it enjoyable, but also meaningful and educational. The results also showed that television was the ideal medium through which to reach low income youth. Latest news is that Yellow Card will be cable-cast nationwide in the USA on Starz Encore as a part of its African Film Festival, commencing 15 August.

NORTH AFRICA

* The cast and crew of Will Smith's new Muhammad Ali biopic Ali are smarting after being robbed repeatedly while on location in Africa. Shooting moved to Africa for the legendary Rumble In The Jungle fight scenes, but, according to actor Mykelti Williamson, who plays Don King in the movie, being robbed by locals spoiled what would otherwise have been an ideal working trip. He says, "The anticipation was high for all of us to go to Africa - we shot in South Africa, Mozambique and Ghana - and once we got there, we were all very sad. We experienced tremendous theft. Anything you left in your room disappeared, even small things like toothbrushes and Q-tips. I'm really having a hard time admitting it, but I can't just say, 'Africa was wonderful.' People have starved, they've not been given access to things for so long, this kind of behavior is entrenched. They need help. It's heartbreaking." (I'm officially offended, you left out drug running, murder, incense, petrol bombs and AK47's - DR.SOTHA)

* Rigobert Song with another clinical film review:

Hi readers, I continue with my exploration into African American cinema that has made a difference in the public consciousness. I review another Marlon Riggs masterpiece, you must track this man's work down. It is remarkable. Remember to e-mail me at rigobertsong@hotmail.com with your African film thoughts.

ETHNIC NOTIONS - Produced and Directed by Marlon Riggs - Narrated by Esther Rolle -- 56 minutes

Ethnic Notions is Marlon Riggs' Emmy-winning documentary that takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing for the first time the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice. Through these images we can begin to understand the evolution of racial consciousness in America. Loyal Toms, carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies, grinning Coons, savage Brutes, and wide-eyed Pickaninnies roll across the screen in cartoons, feature films, popular songs, minstrel shows, advertisements, folklore, household artifacts, even children's rhymes. These dehumanizing caricatures permeated popular culture from the 1820s to the Civil Rights period and implanted themselves deep in the American psyche.

Narration by Esther Rolle and commentary by respected scholars shed light on the origins and devastating consequences of this 150 yearlong parade of bigotry. Ethnic Notions situates each stereotype historically in white society's shifting needs to justify racist oppression from slavery to the present day. The insidious images exacted a devastating toll on black Americans and continue to undermine race relations. Ethnic Notions has quickly become a mainstay of university, high school, and public library collections. It is a basic audio visual text for American History, Sociology, Black Studies, Anthropology, Social Psychology, Popular Culture, and any training program concerned with stereotyping and cross-cultural understanding.

Approaching a complex and delicate subject with great sensitivity, Ethnic Notions equips viewers to view media and other cultural representations with a more critical eye. It's a direct challenge to those who say, "It was just a joke." Some quotes of the film: "Riggs packs enough in one hour to fill a documentary three times its length.Hearing the songs, watching the films and seeing all the artifacts are what make Ethnic Notions roll with the power of a juggernaut. It's nothing short of astounding." --New York Post -- "Disturbing but absorbing. With no rancor and considerable scholarship it lays out how stereotypes helped white society justify slavery, segregation and even lynchings." --Los Angeles Times

* The upcoming Fespam 2001 in Congo Brazzaville - the largest Pan-African music festival - boasts some of the world's finest musical artists including Mama Senegal, Coumba Gowlo and Mali's chief whip Salif Keita, to hip-hop Africa Bisso Na Bisso, Angola's Barry White, Bonga Kwenda, Brenda Fassie and Pierette Adams. The event is sponsored by the African Union with its "ideals of peace, unity and the power of knowledge using music to entrench the African millennium". For more info visit www.afribeat.com

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* It's a casting story that might one day inspire a biographical feature film itself. Newcomer Derek Luke, discovered working in the gift shop on the Sony Pictures lot, has nabbed the coveted lead role in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, the Fox Searchlight biopic "The Antwone Fisher Story." Shooting is scheduled to start Sept. 24 in Cleveland and later in San Diego. After auditioning hundreds of actors for the role, producers chose Luke to play the title character based on the life of the film's writer Antwone Fisher, a former security guard on the Sony lot. Luke was first discovered by Fisher, now a working screenwriter, when Fisher dropped by the gift shop on the Sony lot where Luke has worked for nearly four years. Fisher then brought Luke to the attention of the film's producers -- Washington, Randa Haines and Escape Artists' Todd Black -- who met with him several times before making their final decision. Black and Washington then surprised Luke at the gift shop to offer him the role.

* In their first deal together, Momentum Pictures has bought four titles from Intermedia, headlined by the tentatively-titled Plague Season, Ron Shelton's story of LA police in the run up to the Rodney King riots. The acquisitive Momentum also bought all UK rights to Wisegirls, starring Mariah Carey and Mira Sorvino, dark comedy Clay Pigeons and hip hop documentary Scratch. All four tiles are to be released next year. Star of the package, the high-profile Plague Season also bears the distinction of coming from an original screenplay co-written by crime novelist James Ellroy and David Ayer, whose credits include U-571 and The Fast And The Furious. The thriller stars Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames and Scott Speedman. Potential titles that have reportedly been considered for Plague Season include 04-29-92, the date of the trial where King's police assailants were found not guilty and the riots which erupted immediately after.

* Actor Chris Tucker has passed over Mariah Carey for a role in his comedy Double-O Soul. The Rush Hour 2 comedian, who is being paid $7 million to star in the Antwone Fisher movie, has denied reports that the troubled singer will be appearing in the movie. He says, "I'm not sure if Mariah will be in it. I think we're casting someone else." However Carey's spokeswoman argues the prospect of Mariah starring in the movie, "died a couple of years ago. It never got off the ground." (would you stay out of the news Mariah, you're giving me a headache - DR.SOTHA)

* Here he is again: Chris Tucker is pining to work with Hollywood heavyweights Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. The actor, 29, already commands $20 million per picture but wants to take his art to the next level - dramas. Tucker cites one of the reasons he hasn't acted at all in the three years since the original Rush Hour is because he's usually offered "stupid ideas." "I had so many basketball scripts, you wouldn't believe," he complains. "I'm like, 'I'm not doing a basketball movie.'" But the picky star says he will consider Forrest Gump or The Color Purple type dramas. "When people get tired of seeing you make them laugh, then you can switch over and do a little drama," Tucker reasons. "It's just mixing it up. You can always renew yourself." (You gotta stop hanging out with Tom Hanks - he's a bad influence - DR.SOTHA)

* Whitney Houston has signed a new exclusive long-term recording agreement with Arista Records, label president and CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid said Thursday. The deal is valued at more than $100 million, with $25 million of it paid upfront. Exact details are difficult to ascertain because the deal Houston had with Arista before Thursday's signing still has her committed to at least six albums of new material plus two compilation albums. "It's a combination of things," Reid said of the deal. "First off, Whitney Houston is the queen of Arista Records. She really has earned this deal. But this wasn't an exchange of money for guaranteed anything." Asked why he would sign a new contract while the last one was still valid, Reid said, "Because she deserved it. I want her to feel very inspired, very committed and very happy to remain in her home." Despite Houston's long relationship with Arista, there had been some question as to whether she would stay with the label or join her mentor Clive Davis at his new label, J Records. Reid took control of Arista from Davis in a very public and prolonged power struggle slightly in May 2000.

* Twentieth Century Fox said on Monday that it has pushed back the release of Mariah Carey's debut film Glitter to September 21. It had been scheduled to open on Aug. 31. The studio made no mention of Carey's recent admission to a hospital where she was said to be suffering "an emotional and physical breakdown." Presumably Carey would be unavailable to promote the film for the August date. (Doesn't that sound convenient - DR.SOTHA)

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT