DETROIT

Plot:

During the summer of 1967, Detroit, Michigan had experienced one of the worst racial riots this country had ever seen. In the midst of the devastating riot, on the night of July 25, 1967 another horrific event took place at the Algiers Motel. When one of the patrons fooling around with a starter pistols fires off some shots, the National Guard and Michigan State police assumed that they were under attack by a sniper. They set their sights on the Algiers Motel and surrounded the premise, but it is when the local Detroit police comes on the seen that things would take an extreme turn for the worst. The police led by a racist, trigger happy officer named Krauss (Poulter), would round up the guest only after he has shot and killed one young man. The group of young black men, consisting of Larry (Smith) who was a member of the Dramatics, and his friend Fred (Latimore), along with Greene (Mackie), who was caught in the room with two white women Julie (Murray) and Karen (Dever) were some of the victims to experience the graphic and brutal beatings at the hand of Krauss and his men, leading up to the murder of two more black men. This all took place while the National Guard and the Michigan State police, along with one black security officer Dismukes (Boyega) who came upon the scene stood by and did nothing. It was a night of horror for the group, inflicted upon them as the city burned with racial hatred.


Reel Talk:

This is one of those films that after seeing it you are left with a heavy heart. Any humane person, but especially a black person will be left with a feeling of unease. One because of the way that blacks were treated during that period of the riot, and although that was some fifty years ago we are still dealing with some of the same situations present day. Going into the theater you already know the outcome with regards to the riot and the effects it had on the people then, but to see it played out on the screen, is harsh. The relatively young cast did a good job in the portrayal of their respected characters. Will Poulter as the racist cop Krauss really put in a performance as well as Algee Smith as Larry, John Boyega as Dismukes, Jacob Latimore as Fred, Ben O'Toole and the ladies Hannah Murray and Kaitlyn Dever, just naming a few along with the talented director Kathryn Bigelow. This movie is definitely intense, with graphic and brutal violent scenes. Certainly not for the person with weak and sensitive feelings, but it is a film worth checking out. This is an interestingly good film, with a good cast and I recommend checking it out. Worth cashing out to see first hand the injustices of racism.

Starring: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacb Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben O'Toole and Anthony Mackie.
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Rated: R

I give it 4 corn dogs.

By: THE REEL HUSTLER

MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO WSG ANTHONY DAVID AT CHENE PARK

BACK DOWN NOT MEMORY LANE!

We are about in the middle of summer and the Wednesday Night Concert Series at Chene Park had been going consistently strong. The riverfront theater has hosted some memorable summer concerts and this one will probably be just as memorable, but not for the same reasons as its previous shows. On this Wednesday evening show, there was the multi talented, singer, songwriter and guitarist Meshell Ndegeocello with special guest Singer Anthony David. With David opening up to a pretty much half sold out venue, he threw down performing the songs that his familiar fans are accustom too from him. Then the lady that pretty much everyone had come to see and hear, came out for her set. Now there is no denying that this lady can play the bass guitar and jam because she has the songs to prove it. She just did not perform them last night. That's right she did not do any of the songs that her fans can notify her to, but rather song covers of other singers. Not even one of her hits were performed to the point that some of the people even began to chant "Sing your own songs". Despite the decent weather and the half sold crowd, it would still end up being a somewhat unfulfilled show because of the lack of Meshell Ndegeocello's giving the people what they wanted. There are still some some hot summer shows remaining for the Chene Park amphitheater, please go to www.CheneParkDetroit.com to check out the listing.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

PRESS CONFERENCE DAY FOR THE MOVIE "DETROIT"

PASS THE MIC!

It was during the summer of 1967 that one of the worst riots to erupt in a major city sweep the west side streets of Detroit. With the riot being so bad that the National Guard and the Michigan State police had to come in to help settle things. While tanks and heavily armed military men patrolled the streets of Detroit, an incident involving the local police, a group of black men and a couple of white women at the Algiers Motel would be one of the points for some of the bloodiest fatalities of the riot. The white officers who were investigating shootings in the vicinity would storm the motel and round up the occupants, shooting one dead immediately and then trying to coerce a false testimony out of the remaining members, to the point that they brutally beat them and also try to intimate a confession from the group. This intense drama is sure to get reactions from people who lived thru that period and those who grew up only hearing stories about that period like myself. Well in the city to promote the film prior to the red carpet premier screening, was two time Academy Award Winners Writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow both who collaborated to win those awards for films The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark
Thirty. Along with them were actors from the film, Laz Alonso, Anthony Mackie, John Boyega, Algee Smith, Will Poulter, Tyler James Williams, Peyton Alex Smith, Hannah Murray, Joseph David Jones, Kaityln Dever, Nathan Davis Jr., Ben O’Toole, Leon Thomas III, Malcolm David Kelley and Ephraim Sykes. They came in full force to sit down with local and national journalist, each sharing what it was like to work on such a riveting and thought provoking movie. From the conception idea from the writer and
director, to the creative input that each actor produced within their performance. It was great sitting in on the round table discussion with such a talented group of people. Especially with them coming to Detroit with such a strong promotion for their film "DETROIT" which is opening in theaters August 4, 2017.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

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ROY AYERS & FRIENDS AT CHENE PARK

JAZZING ON THE RIVER!

Partly what I do, will put me in a situation that I really can appreciate the opportunity of enjoying music in its pure form and last night was one of those nights. Another beautiful evening down on the riverfront of Detroit at the Chene Park amphitheater for one of the Wednesday jazz night series' concert. This night brought out a night of jazz legends, but before they took to the stage a talented young artist by the name of Justin Young performed and this cat was bad. He had the crowd jamming to a mix of uptempo songs that he played on his horn piece. Next up was jazz keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, then Tom Browne who would later be joined by Ronnie Laws for a jazz jam session. Closing out the night of the jazz musical feast was the man himself Roy Ayers who brought it all home with his legendary classic hits. He had the nearly sold out theater up and grooving as he took them on a trip back down memory lane. Oh what a night! There is nothing like a beautiful night concert at Chene Park and if you have not indulged yet, there are still some hot shows to catch. Go towww.CheneParkDetroit.com to get the listing of upcoming shows.

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

DETROIT RED CARPET PREMIER FOR FX'S SNOWFALL

SNOWFALL IN THE SUMMER!

Normally you all know your boy THE REEL HUSTLER is covering red carpet events or behind the camera, but this time I was working helping my friends from the 135 Street Agency with their promotional screening for the premier episode of the new FX series "SNOWFALL". The new series which is a look back into the days of the early 80's when the crack cocaine became a major epidemic in Los Angeles. In town for the red carpet premier screening was writer, director and executive producer John Singleton, Writer and executive producer David Andron, actors Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Michael Hyatt, Isaiah John and Angela Lewis from Detroit. After the screening the capacity filled theater was awarded the opportunity to partake in a O&A with the talent that was moderated by WJLB radio personality Bushman, to get the motive and input for filming the series before they took to the red carpet for pictures and interviews. As I mentioned earlier I was assisting the promotions team, so my reel partner Shenelle Freeman was on hand to capture the moments. It was a busy, fun and enjoyable event. So if you missed it, I hate that you did!

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

Pics courtesy of Shenelle Freeman

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DAMIEN ESCOBAR WSG MARCUS ANDERSON AT CHENE PARK

STRINGS OF LIFE!

OK, I am a few days behind but I had to post about my episode on Wednesday night at the Chene Park amphitheater. It was one of the installments for the Wednesday Jazzy Nights Series and for that night, it started off with saxophonist Marcus Anderson. Now you know the weather was nice and that made being down on the Detroit river waterfront that much more enjoyable. Marcus took to the stage and jammed playing the sax, then having his twin brother come up and sing a few songs before he closing his set with a saxophone tribute performing some Prince covers. Then after the brief intermission, Damien Escobar made his way to the stage and began playing the mess out of his violin. Now i have to be honest and say that prior to this I had not even heard this guys music, but I was instantly amazed at how bad (meaning good) this guy was. He had the close to sold out theater grooving as he stroked and played the instrument with blazing sounds that had everyone dancing. As always when you have good weather, good music and a great venue, you will have one enjoyable night. Check out the website link below to see what other shows are available at the Chene Park amphitheater and not just on Wednesday nights.

www.CheneParkDetroit.com

This is my life, the life of THE REEL HUSTLER!!!

XSCAPE / NEXT / TOTAL AT CHENE PARK

NO ESCAPE!!!

It went down in the "D" last night as I hung out with one of my radio co-hosts Dutchess from The Billy T Detroit Radio Show. Yes it went down at the Chene Park amphitheater that sits on the Detroit riverfront, for a sold out capacity crowd. This was the second night for the sold out venue that featured the Xscape reunion tour. The show started out with the girl duo group Total. The two ladies Pamela long and Kima Raynor Dyson sang all the hits that made them a stand out act under the Bad Boy label from the 90's til now. Next up on the stage was the all male group Next that consist of Terry "T-Low Brown, Rapheal "Tweet" Brown and Robert "R.L." Huggar. The trio sang all their classic hits that had the mostly women populated audience into a frenzy. Then to close out the show was the main attraction, Xscape, with Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and the Scott sisters, Tamika and LaTocha. The ladies started their set off with some of their hype jams from their extensive catalog. While taking a break the ladies allowed local artists Sino, KashDoll and Neisha Nesha perform to continue to stir the crowd. After mellowing it down, the ladies would take time to acknowledge their significant other by bringing to the stage, and the crowd went wild when to the audience's surprise T.I. came out on stage carrying the couples baby girl. They (Xscape) had the place turnt up and all the while had the network station Bravo in the house filming for a new series showcasing the girls reunion under the watchful eye of boss lady, media mogul Mona Scott-Young. Some of everyone was in the place, like Tiny and T.I.'s kids ton Tiny's best friend and hair stylist Shekinah Anderson. And of course the weather was a beautiful night so it made for a great show down at the Chene Park amphitheater. There are still some hot summer shows lined up for the water
front venue so go to the website below and pick the show that suits you and hopefully THE REEL HUSTLER will see you there.

www.CheneParkDetroit.com

This is my life, the life of The Reel Hustler!!!