Gabrielle Union: 'Stop Calling Films Starring Blacks Urban Movies'

[Brian Damage]

Gabrielle Union has hit out at the 'urban' tag given to her new Christmas film The Perfect Holiday, insisting movies shouldn't be classified that way just because they star black people.

Union wishes "The Perfect Holiday," which has a predominantly African-American cast and will be released next week, could be thought of without race coming into it - like Vince Vaughn's recent festive hit Fred Claus.

She says, "No one calls 'Fred Claus' the white Christmas movie. 'The Perfect Holiday' is a movie about the holidays. It's not race-specific. If there's more than one black person in the movie, it's an urban romantic comedy, an urban thriller - it's just a flipping movie. The way kids think, the demographic they pander and chase - they don't care.

"The same way guys are like, 'Halle Berry's hot, Jessica Alba's hot' - they don't say, 'She's a hot black girl' or 'a hot Latina'. They notice trends, they buy movies they like, they Google people they like. It's not race-specific... Give me a break. It's an old-fashioned notion of marketing, and how they like to label things."


(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

[Dean Winchester]

I have to agree with her for the most part. A lot of "urban" movies seem to be marketed as niche movies, but a lot of them are universal. Tyler Perry's movies come to mind, I loved Diary Of A Mad Black Woman and enjoyed Madea's Family Reunion, they were good movies. Just because they were written by, produced by and starring African-Americans didn't mean that they should only be enjoyed by so. They were good, heartwarming, funny yet triumphant movies and I feel bad for people who avoided them because they were marketed as "urban movies", when the triumph of good overcoming evil is a universal thing.

I don't get why the racial divide is so much stronger now in movies and television compared to 15-20 years ago. In the 70's, black and white audiences alike loved Good Times and The Jeffersons and in the 80's, Cosby wasn't only the biggest African-American show on television, it was the biggest show period. Yet now, predominantly African-American sitcoms are only on CW and geared to a smaller market, I don't understand that

[TJL]

I am never prejudice when I look at a movie.

To me, Fred Claus and Perfect Holiday are all in the same catagory.

Movies I have no interest in seeing.

;)

[Janice]

Okay, I won't. Never heard the term urban movie. Never heard of Gabrielle Union either.

[Dean Winchester]

Okay, I won't. Never heard the term urban movie. Never heard of Gabrielle Union either.
she was a token "one episode love interest" on a Friends episode that Joey and Ross fought over (not to be confused with Aisha Tyler in the last season)

[Brian Damage]

Okay, I won't. Never heard the term urban movie. Never heard of Gabrielle Union either.


:lol:

[waichingliu81]

Okay, I won't. Never heard the term urban movie. Never heard of Gabrielle Union either.

she featured in 'bad boys 2', 'cradle 2 the grave' and 'all the right moves' with morris chestnut and jamie foxx

[isiahthomas]

The movie she did with Jamie Foxx and Morris Chestnut is called Breakin All The Rules. BrianDamage nice picture of Gabrielle. I love her. She is so cute. I'm gonna check out A Perfect Holiday this weekend. This is her 4th movie with Morris Chestnut. When i went to see This Christmas movie, i saw some white people in the audience and it was a black movie. White people can relate to some black films like This Christmas, A Perfect Holiday, Why Did I Get Married.

[waichingliu81]

The movie she did with Jamie Foxx and Morris Chestnut is called Breakin All The Rules. BrianDamage nice picture of Gabrielle. I love her. She is so cute. I'm gonna check out A Perfect Holiday this weekend. This is her 4th movie with Morris Chestnut. When i went to see This Christmas movie, i saw some white people in the audience and it was a black movie. White people can relate to some black films like This Christmas, A Perfect Holiday, Why Did I Get Married.

oh sorry i'm isiah. i apologise for getting the title of that movie wrong

[gidgetgrape]

I don't get why the racial divide is so much stronger now in movies and television compared to 15-20 years ago. In the 70's, black and white audiences alike loved Good Times and The Jeffersons and in the 80's, Cosby wasn't only the biggest African-American show on television, it was the biggest show period. Yet now, predominantly African-American sitcoms are only on CW and geared to a smaller market, I don't understand that

I don't understand this either! I wonder if it was oversaturation.

[Seth]

Okay, I won't. Never heard the term urban movie. Never heard of Gabrielle Union either.

"Urban" is basically the word that marketing/executive types use instead of the word "Black". "Urban movie" = "Movie exclusively targeted towards African-Americans"

[Janice]

Gabrielle should take that up with the marketing people because I saw a preview for this movie last night. They were showing clips, and Queen Latifah said something about it being an urban movie.

[friendsfan77]

she featured in 'bad boys 2', 'cradle 2 the grave' and 'all the right moves' with morris chestnut and jamie foxx
I think she was also on Jamie Foxx' sitcom. Didn't she play Fancy?

[friendsfan77]

I don't get why the racial divide is so much stronger now in movies and television compared to 15-20 years ago. In the 70's, black and white audiences alike loved Good Times and The Jeffersons and in the 80's, Cosby wasn't only the biggest African-American show on television, it was the biggest show period. Yet now, predominantly African-American sitcoms are only on CW and geared to a smaller market, I don't understand that
Progress is moving backwards instead of forwards, and that is just sad. There is no other way for me to describe it.

[isiahthomas]

The woman who played Fancy on Jamie Foxx Show, her name is Garcelle Beauvais.

[Dean Winchester]

Progress is moving backwards instead of forwards, and that is just sad. There is no other way for me to describe it.
it's so strange. Musically, r&b and hip hop music has been bigger this past decade than ever before, but yet with television shows, the network suits assume white people watch white shows and black people watch black shows, instead of shaking things up and assimilating shows together. It does go both ways tho, as we saw with the CW axing Reba, their #1 sitcom, because they didn't think it would play well alongside Girlfriends or Everybody Hates Chris, and I think that's all bull****. Cosby Show and Family Ties both had their strongest ratings when together.

I agree the sitcom genre is in general disarray period, but I don't see why Girlfriends or Chris is any worse than According To Jim and other crap sitcoms geared to a larger "white" audience on a better network. I honestly believe a show like Steve Harvey would've been a hit series if only white people even knew it existed pre-reruns and on a better network. Granted, WB worked well with teen dramas and sci-fi programs, but that was because that target market was aware of it, but with their sitcoms, it's always been a different story regardless of race.

[Janice]

^ I just discovered The Steve Harvey Show. I think it's a laugh riot. He's one funny guy.

[Ireneparalegal]

I love Bernie Mac. I never saw it as a "black" oriented show. I seen it as a family show. Very funny.