A Chat With Literary Sensation Maggie Smith

I recently had a fascinating conversation with writer Maggie Smith, whose poem "Good Bones" went viral last year.

Like me, Maggie is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and I interviewed her for ThisWeek News about her Oct. 2 appearance at Gramercy Books, 2424 E. Main St. in Bexley. (Click here to read my article.) 

Maggie shared that before "Good Bones" was published, it was initially rejected by a couple of literary journals. Well, the poem went on to be read around the world, translated into numerous languagues and recited by Oscar winner Meryl Streep.

Maggie's amazing story just goes to show that the so-called gatekeepers aren't the ultimate judge of whether a creative work will find an audience. She's an inspiration to all of us writers.

'Lady Wrestler' Is A Real 'Girls Trip'!

Fall has officially started, and it's hard to believe summer is over! Looking back on the summer movie season of 2017, one of the biggest hits was "Girls Trip," which has raked in more than $133 million at the box office.

"Girls Trip" tells the story of four college friends played by Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish, who embark on a fun-filed reunion during the Essence Festival in New Orleans. Well, if you want a real "girls trip," see the forthcoming documentary "Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring." 

There are some similarities between "Girls Trip" and "Lady "Wrestler," which I directed. Like "Girls Trip," "Lady Wrestler" has four strong African-American women at the center of the story: Ramona Isbell and sisters Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo and Marva Scott. 

These courageous women were professional wrestlers back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. In the documentary, they talk about the Herculean task of succeeding in a white- and male-dominated industry. 

Like "Girls Trip," "Lady Wrestler" shows women supporting each other, overcoming challenges and being empowered personally and professionally.

And like "Girls Trip, "Lady Wrestler" is a wild ride that will take you on a journey. Both movies ‒ one fictional, one real-life ‒ shine a spotlight on women of color who are often underrepresented on the big screen. 

For more information about "Lady Wrestler" and updates about the official release, visit Ladywrestlermovie.com.

Every Filmmaker Should Read 'Independent Ed'

If you're a filmmaker and you haven't subscribed to Alex Ferrari's "Indie Film Hustle" podcast, do so immediately. On a recent episode, Ferrari talked about actor/filmmaker Ed Burns' excellent book, "Independent Ed: Inside a Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life."

"Independent Ed" is a must-read for anyone who wants to break into the movies. Rather than a full-fledged autobiography, the book gives an inside look at how he's blazed a non-traditional path in the film industry. Despite having success in mainstream movies such as "Saving Private Ryan," much of Burns' career has been spent making small, independently financed movies ‒ often out of his own pocket.

In "Independent Ed," Burns relates that he grew up working-class on Long Island, N.Y. His parents were supportive of his dreams, but also practical. When the aspiring writer/director decided he wanted to go to NYU film school, his police-officer father told him, "Look at your grades and look at my salary. And let's rethink NYU."

Burns ended up going to Hunter College and eventually landed a job as a production assistant on "Entertainment Tonight." Rather than wait to be discovered, Burns decided to jump in and make an indie movie. His father helped finance his $25,000 feature debut, "The Brothers McMullen." 

Burns edited the family comedy-drama in his free time, using the equipment he had access to at "Entertainment Tonight." Despite his hard work and ingenuity, Burns' low-budget feature was rejected by every major film festival, and even some minor ones. But as fate would have it, Burns found himself in the same room with Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford when the legend did an interview with "Entertainment Tonight."

Burns worked up the nerve to slip Redford a tape of his movie, and Redford actually accepted it and passed it along to the festival programmers. Through this unlikely chance meeting, Burns got into Sundance and his movie became the toast of the festival, acquired by 20th Century Fox and going on to earn $10 million at the box office (a decent sum for an indie flick back in 1995) and landing him a three-picture deal with the studio.

Despite this early success, Burns went on to have a hit-and-miss career as a director and actor. Some of the movies he wrote and directed, such as "She's the One" with Jennifer Aniston, earned critical acclaim and decent box office, while others, such as "No Looking Back," went ignored. And while he became a steadily working actor, he never became a huge box office draw like Tom Cruise.

Instead of giving up and quitting the industry, Burns decided to return to his roots and make no-frills, low-budget indie movies the way he did at the very start of his career. He made "Newlyweds" with just $9,000, using a camera he owned and asking actors to wear their own clothes and do their own hair and makeup. He managed to turn a handsome profit, releasing on iTunes instead of the traditional theatrical model.

There are two ways to look at Burns' story. One is to get depressed. If a handsome movie star who won the lottery with his very first low-budget movie and was mentored by the likes of Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg encounters rejection, what hope do the rest of us average joes have?

The other way of looking at Burns' story is inspiration, which is how I see him. Arguably, you can learn more by studying the up-and-down career of someone like Burns than those who have had a nonstop stream of blockbusters. Burns is a shining example of someone who has managed to continue to make movies on his own terms, simply for the love of storytelling and forged his own path through trial and error and a lot of persistence. 

Reading "Independent Ed" will uplift you, show you that dreams do indeed come true, and prove that there is more than one way to make it in show biz.  

A Celebration Of Diversity In The Big Apple

Last week, I took a "just for fun" day trip to New York City, and it ended up being a wonderful celebration of performers of color.

After arriving on the Greyhound bus in Port Authority in the middle of Manhattan, my first stop was the Broadway ticket booth in Times Square. I randomly picked a show and ended up seeing "The Great Comet of 1812."

This musical period piece ended up being a great choice - pun intended. It's an interactive experience, with performers coming out in the crowd and literally dancing on seats and up and down the aisles. The best part is the cast is totally diverse, featuring in prominent roles African-American actors Denee Benton, Amber Gray and Okierete Onaodowan (an alumnus of the smash "Hamilton").

Later that night, I ventured to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe's open mic night. This show turned out to be another celebration of diversity, with people of all different cultures getting onstage in the intimate, hip venue to share original poetry and songs. Each performer was backed by the three-piece house band who improvises beats to accompany each piece.

The next time I go to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, I'm going to work up the nerve to put my name on the sign-up sheet and perform something of my own. Presenting my work in the Big Apple will certainly be a dream come true!

My Summer 2017 Playlist Sounds A Lot Like '1984'

My summer 2017 playlist is sounding a lot like 1984 - quite literally.

I recently ended up revisiting Van Halen’s landmark album “1984.” The nostalgia trip came after tuning into the “Rolling Stone Music Now” podcast’s interview with Noel Monk, Van Halen’s manager during the band’s heyday in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Monk discussed his new tell-all book, “Running with the Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen.”

Monk described David Lee Roth and the Van Halen brothers as true characters - and Monk is quite a character himself. For example, Monk related a story in which Van Halen was on tour and, after the brothers got into an out-of-control argument with Roth over something relatively trivial, they tied Roth up in a straitjacket to keep him from trashing a hotel room.

After listening to Monk’s wild and crazy tales of life with Van Halen, I pulled up YouTube and listened to classics like “Jump,” “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher” (the stripped-down version with just the drum track is definitely worth checking out).

And, of course, no musical nostalgia trip back to the summer of 1984 would be complete without revisiting Prince’s “Purple Rain.” This summer, we Prince fans received a special treat when Warner Bros. released “Purple Rain Deluxe (Expanded  Edition).” The package not only has previously unreleased songs and alternate versions of the familiar songs we all love like “Let’s Go Crazy” and B-sides like “Another Lonely Christmas,” but a concert DVD as well.

One of my favorite songs from the “Purple Rain Deluxe (Expanded Edition)” is a live version of “I Would Die 4 U” from the “Purple Rain” tour. As a lifelong Prince fan as well as a lifelong Ohioan, it’s cool that the show was recorded during the tour’s Cleveland stop. (I live in Columbus, the Buckeye State’s capital city, which is about two hours south of Cleveland.)

Listening to the live version of “I Would Die 4 U,” I love it when Prince calls out to the crowd to sing along: “Cleveland, help me!”

For my full review of “Purple Rain Deluxe (Expanded Edition),” click here.

Summer Beach Reads - With A Dash Of Diversity

I've come across several lists of the best summer beach reads, and none of them have much diversity. So here are a few of my recommendations:

A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terry McMillan - An enthralling story told from several different perspectives about a black family coping with divorce, health challenges and other everyday problems.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - Like Macmillan's book, this story about a nerdy Dominican-American fanboy is told in the voices of different characters.

Rock Star by Jackie Collins - The late, great Collins was the queen of the juicy summer beach read. The diverse cast of characters in this page-turner features a Teddy Pendergrass-type soul singer and a young Mariah Carey-esque pop diva.

What Does It Mean To Be An American?: An Interview With Flame, Pioneering Trans Comedian

A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to interview a pioneer in the transgender community: Flame, one of the first trans stand-up comedians. 

Flame, who was born a man and identifies as a woman, worked at the legendary Chicago comedy club All Jokes Aside. The club became a “star factory” in the 1990s. The venue not only ignited Flame's star (pun intended), but also launched the careers of Steve Harvey, Dave Chappelle, Oscar winner Mo’Nique, Chris Rock and Carlos Mencia, among many others.

The All Jokes Aside comedy club is the subject of the book I co-wrote with founder Raymond Lambert about his life and how he made the unlikely leap from investment banking to show biz, “All Jokes Aside: Standup Comedy Is a Phunny Business.” 

Here are some outtakes from my interview with Flame that didn’t make it into the book:

Chris Bournea: Tell me about your experiences in the comedy industry and working at All Jokes Aside, in particular.

Flame: My story is a little bit different from everybody else because I was the first and only transgender comedian  to come through there and do stand up.

CB: I know Raymond was always respectful to you, but how were your interactions with the other comedians?

Flame: It was bittersweet. I worked for 10 years and nobody spoke to me in the green room - the male comedians and even some of the women. I guess it was some kind of stigma that if you were seen talking to me, people would think you like guys. A secure man is a secure man. I guess they had their own insecurities.

CB: What did performing at All Jokes Aside do for your career?

Flame: That was my home base. From there, I did [ BET's]  "Comic View" a few times.

CB: How did the audiences at All Jokes Aside react to you?

Flame: It was always shock value because I always dressed very provocatively. I left very little to the imagination.

CB: Did anyone ever heckle you?

Flame: I could always tell the men from the boys. The men would make a joke about it and move on; the boys would keep talking about it and not let it go.

CB: How did you respond to hecklers?

Flame: I always put hecklers on blast. ... I got a few angry patrons but nobody ever ran up on me. I never had an altercation. I always kept it light: "You know I was joking with you and here's my hotel room number, but, oh, you already have it!"

(This blog is part of an occasional series titled "What Does It Mean to Be An American?" about diversity.)