Many inspiring stories have been told and written about Michael Jackson over the past few weeks--stories beyond the legend who never lived up to fans and the world's expectations and who left us with shadows and questions that may never be answered.

Perhaps, those questions should never be answered, because his life was not our business, and his evolutionary path was beyond our understanding.  How could we ever hope to know his psyche--when we know so little about our own?
 

By Catherine Ann Jones

In 1994, Quentin Tarantino wrote a fictional story about Mickey & Mallory Knox, a honeymoon couple who, as a perverse aphrodisiac, randomly shot and killed over 50 people. Oliver Stone directed the film and the week it opened, a real young couple in the Midwest went on a rampage killing 4-5 strangers. When apprehended by the police and asked their names, they replied that their names were Mickey & Mallory Knox - the fictional character’s names from Stone’s film. The film was Natural Born Killers, and this film made a difference. 

I wrote for a popular television series called Touched by an Angel. Among the fan mail one day, we heard from one viewer. This man had decided to kill himself. It was a Sunday night and he happened to have the television on CBS where he watched an episode of Touched by an Angel.Moved by the story, he wept then decided to give life another chance. He wrote to us and thanked us for making a difference in his life.

In case you have been living in a cave (though I’m guessing that even those hiding around the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan have heard the news) we have a new President! Barak Obama has been given the daunting task of repairing our crumbling infrastructure, revitalizing our sagging economy, restoring our relationships and image abroad and reducing, reusing and recycling government policies, personnel and expenditures. I’m very optimistic about President Obama’s intentions, his candor and am convinced he will lead our country out of the mess we are in. 

The January 18th issue of the New York Times featured an article entitled: “How the Movies Made a President” which paid tribute to the power of film to influence the consciousness of the nation. They stated that evolving cinematic roles have prepared the country to be ready for Barack Obama.

There is still much refusal to embrace black artists totally in Hollywood, but in the 47 years since President Obama was born, black men “have traveled from the ghetto to the boardroom, from supporting roles in kitchens, liveries and social-problem movies, to the rarefied summit of the Hollywood A-List,” witness Will Smith—who now is the number one action hero, plus an American savior and messiah in several films. 

Do we really create our own reality? Or is it all scripted out over at Universal Studios?  The debate has raged for as long as debates have been the rage, and I can provide no definitive answer either.

Certainly some really big blockbusters have come out of Universal recently - and more disasteroid scenarios and predicted for the near future. And yet, small independents continue to write and star in their own successful movies.

Dear Friends, I would like to share some thoughts regarding the potential power the media has to become a force for good in the world. Below is an article I wrote for the Hollywood Reporter last year that appeared in their Millennium issue. A Russian spy once told me that Communism was brought down by Dallas - the soap opera. We met by chance on the street in London. He knew me from a Moscow conference during the Gorbachev era. I had vaguely suspected that this "intellectual" was KGB. Now we could talk freely about why the Wall came down and the Soviet empire crumbled.

Television was misperceived in its early years, when it was seen as little more than a medium for stage plays. Early broadcasts simply placed a microphone at the edge of the stage and pointed the camera toward the actors. Advertisements consisted of slightly reconfigured radio ads. Only later did advertisers and programmers realize the medium not only allowed, but also called for new approaches. The internet today is at a parallel stage in which advertisers and content providers have yet to develop marketing and content that leverages the innate capabilities of the medium.

TIP #1: Carefully choose how you first reveal your main character

In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Indiana Jones (portrayed by Harrison Ford) is shown as a silhouette walking through the jungle followed by two other men. One of the followers pulls out a gun and aims it at Indiana, who turns and snaps his whip, knocking the gun from the assassin's hand. Only then is Indiana's face revealed in close-up.

In CASABLANCA, we hear about main character Rick (portrayed by Humphrey Bogart). By the way his employees talk about him, we know that Rick is liked and well-respected. Then, we see Rick's hands as he signs a document. Then, the camera moves up and reveals Rick's world-weary face.