Damn Damn Damn- Esther Rolle is probably rolling over in her grave.

Dyn-o-mite? Sony Pictures Is Developing A Feature Film Based On 'Good Times'

 

 Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin will turn the groundbreaking ’70s sitcom Good Times into a feature film. They’ve set a writer, Phil Johnston, whose most recent credits include Wreck-It Ralph and Cedar Rapids. Rudin will produce the family comedy with Eli Bush.

my commentary...

In all seriousness, however this turns out will depend on the approach the studio and producer take. Will it be a straight comedy, more of a drama, or a mixture of the two - a dramedy? Since it'll be set in the 60s, there'll be plenty of socially and politically-relevant material to mine. What will the story be exactly? Will all the characters from the TV series feature in the film? Questions, questions, questions...

So, let's see how the filmmakers plan to really tackle this, because it could go down any number of paths. For example, it could just be a straight drama with some comedic elements about a working class black family growing up in the 1960s, and that forms the base for whatever narrative they think up to build upon it, and the title Good Times, may be the only thing that it has in common with the TV series, assuming they opt to keep the same title.

But really, there are so many other stories to be told about the black experience in this country (many that aren't remakes of old TV series), that are set in the present-day (if you look at Hollywood studio output, you'd think there are so few contemporary stories about black people worth telling) that I don't quite get why this is the one that Sony and Scott Rudin chose. I'd love to chat with Rudin and get into his head about this, because I'm really curious as to what inspired him to want to tackle this particular TV show.

Needless to say, the producer and screenwriter are both white, and we can probably guess that the director will likely be white as well. I'll leave it to you guys to suggest actors for the various parts as casting will be everything. 

Might I make a suggestion? Please don't consider Zoe Saldana for the role of Florida Evans. Having her play Florida makes about as much sense as having her play Nina Simone. Oh, and by the way, there is only one Thelma.

Might I make another suggestion? Leave Good Times alone.

 

 

 

 

Stupidity

 So,  about an hour ago I'm in the elevator at work heading down stairs, and a white guy and 2 white women get on at the 5th floor. The white guy looks at me like he knows me and smiles and says hi, and I say hi back. Then he says:

"Oh, I'm sorry, you look like Will."
In this building of maybe 1,000 people, there are about 7 black men. Before I could open my mouth, one of the women says :

"Will, you're in my Diversity meetings.We meet every tuesday afternoon on Diversity projects!"

My response:

"Will is about 6'3" and tall and lean,and light-complextioned and wears glasses. And in his 20s. I'm 5'8" and I'm not lean,I'm dark skinned and I don't wear glasses. And I'm in my 40s. We look as different as night and day. If you think we look alike, then I don't even know what to say."

They all gave me that blank look of awkwardness, like they couldn't wait to get to the first floor to get away from me since I embarrassed them. I'm sure the rest of the elevator ride was uncomfortable for them, but I didn't care.

The situation reminds me of an episode on Good Times where JJ was accused of robbery, as he fit the description of the criminal, but when the criminal was discovered, it was a young, very short,  fat black boy, and the cops told Florida and James "it was an honest error. Anyone would have made that mistake."