Shelby J. Jones (As Author)
See editorials by Shelby Jones.

Headline	Synopsis	Type	Date Published
Drumline : Nick Cannon - A Young Man with a Mission	Making his motion picture debut in DRUMLINE, from Twentieth Century Fox, Nick Cannon is about to propel himself directly into your hearts with his hip-hop class and firm understanding of art.	Features/Interviews	12/13/2002
Tat-TAT-Tat-TAT-Tat, TAT-Tat-TAT - BOOM! Drumline : Chatting with Director, Charles Stone III	“I consider filmmaking like this chaotic organism. We shot the film in 45 days and I tried to deliver a ‘sort of’ coming of age story full of emotion and spirit. Devin’s character encompassed all of that.”	Features/Interviews	12/13/2002
Denzel - Look Out Oscar : Here he Comes Again	In December 2002, Hollywood studios will unleash its slate of holiday blockbusters as well as the films that the creatives believe will make Oscar voters take notice.	Features/Editor	11/22/2002
8 Miles and Running	In March 2001, Eminem blazed the cover page of blackfilm.com as we recognized the amazing entertainment power that he and Dr. Dre had created with g-funk beats and lyrics that make people cringe.	Cover	11/08/2002
OH YES THAT DJ MADE MY DAY	The blackfilm.com crew is dedicated to the mission of film. But today this page must be dedicated to one of the Godfathers of the hip-hop generation, JAM MASTER J.	Cover	11/01/2002
HAVE WE MISSED ANYTHING?	After showcasing "Pandora's Box" in Chicago and Washington D.C., one thing we have learned is that the demand is very high for more films created by and for our community.	Cover	10/25/2002
Brown Sugar is Hip-Hop for Life	If you venture to the theater this weekend to see Brown Sugar from Fox Searchlight Pictures, you will be thoroughly pleased with this film.	Cover	10/11/2002
We Really Need To Know What You Think	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks...simply put, are they off-limits to jokes, ridicule and other comments from the entertainment community?	Cover	09/27/2002
Wednesday's Prime Time - Don't Miss It	When Russell Simmons started HBO'S "Def Comedy Jam" and Bob Johnson launched BET'S "Comic View," many high-brows in the community complained about some of the raucous behavior and language of the comedians.	Cover	09/20/2002
Just Do It	Celebrating the rich tradition of film is something that we take pride in at blackfilm.com.	Cover	09/13/2002
Thanks for the Support	We wanted to simply say thanks to all the wonderful e-mails we have received from our community and to those of you that continually help us to build.	Cover	08/23/2002
Cedric the Unstoppable	With an upcoming series on Fox, and providing the voice of The Rhino in the animated motion picture "Ice Age" (20th Century Fox), and co-starring with Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley in Paramount/Mandalay's feature, "Serving Sara, Cedric The Entertainer" can now be dubbed Cedric The Unstoppable.	Cover	08/09/2002
Civil Brand is on its way	After sweeping the awards at the American Black Film Festival in Miami this summer, Neema Barnette's wonderful film will be showcased in the Midnight Screening Series in Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C.	Cover	08/02/2002
Don't Doubt Mr. Smith	Just when it appeared that Will Smith was about to fade to black with "Wild, Wild, West," Big Will stormed back with a memorable performance as the Greatest of All Time.	Cover	07/12/2002
Bravo to Bet - Setting a New Trend	The much anticipated 2nd Annual BET Awards was certainly something to remember. If you missed it, it will be shown again on July 9th.	Cover	06/28/2002
Like Mike - Okay, I Can Deal with That	BOW-BOW…Let me here you holler, BOW-BOW. In “Like Mike,” BOW-BOW, formerly known as Lil Bow Wow steps off the mic and stars as the undersized Calvin Cambridge, an orphan hoping to find a family that will adopt him to start a new beginning.	Reviews/Film	06/28/2002
We Need to Talk About This	Minutes after we sent a letter from Malcolm Lee discussing Undercover Brother, we have been bombarded with TWO THUMBS UP responses to responses not so pleasant about Blaxpoitation type of theme	Cover	06/21/2002
An Interview with Sundy Carter	This Philly native packs a punch in appearance, drive and ambition. After a starring role in State Property, this young woman is just getting started.	Features/Interviews	06/14/2002
The New Talent	In an effort to show the world some new faces, we present our first New Talent star, Philly native, Sundy Carter.	Cover	06/14/2002
SPORTS vs. THE BOX OFFICE	Malcolm Lee's new film "Undercover Brother" certainly pulled its own weight in theaters this past week.	Cover	06/07/2002
MALCOLM IS BACK & MORGAN IS RUNNING THE CIA	It's here. Malcolm D. Lee's latest film "Undercover Brother" has arrived and ready to take on all comers.	Cover	05/31/2002
We Hear You Loud and Clear	Since the inception of Meet Martell @ The Movies and the Midnight Screening Series, we have received hundreds of requests from various subscribers wanting the series for their city.	Cover	05/03/2002
INDEPENDENT FILM - GROWING STRONGER	It is easy to forget about the independent film market when deciding on which films to see this weekend.	Cover	04/26/2002
The Rock - Pierre - One Week	The Rock and Michael Clark Duncan set things off this weekend with Scorpion King and Film Life returns to the big screen in Washington DC with the opening of the critically acclaimed, One Week.	Cover	04/19/2002
WHICH CITY WANTS BLACKFILM.COM TO VISIT THEIR TOWN?	Would you like to see the Martell Cognac Midnight Film Series in your city? Would you like to have a Hollywood Blockbuster screening in your city?	Cover	04/12/2002
Thanks LA, NYC & Washington DC	The blackfilm.com crew would like to thank the filmmakers, Martell Cognac, our sponsors and all of our wonderful subscribers that attended our screenings in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington DC.	Cover	04/05/2002
The Lincoln Center-New York City (March 29); The Historic Lincoln Theater-Washington DC (April 5th)	Next Friday, March 29, at The Lincoln Center in NYC, the blackfilm.com crew and presenting sponsor, Martell, will present The Best of The Best - a collection of delectable shorts for your palate.	Cover	03/21/2002
MARTELL COGNAC presents All About You @ The DGA - Los Angeles	Next Friday, March 22, at The Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, Martell Cognac presents "All About You" at the blackfilm.com midnight screening series.	Cover	03/15/2002
BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER	The blackfilm.com crew wants to see you in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia and other cities in the U.S. and abroad.	Cover	03/08/2002
Oh What A Night	At this years Academy Awards, one of America's most distinguished actors, Sidney Poitier, will be deservedly honored by the Academy.	Cover	03/04/2002
Halle, Halle, Halle	appears that Halle Berry's performance in Monster's Ball is still the hot-topic at parties, water coolers and shopping malls. In the African-American community, her sex scenes with Billy Bob Thornton have been hard to swallow.	Cover	02/22/2002
BLACK CINEMATIC VISIONS - A SALUTE TO MEMORABLE FILMS	For African-American women, gaining respect and appreciation on screen has been a challenge since the invention of the silver screen.	Cover	02/15/2002
Black History Month and Cinematic Visions	It is unfortunate that for decades past, African Americans were disregarded in the history books and films of America life. February stands alone as a month reserved to remember our heroes, champion our causes and All-Star Weekend.	Cover	02/08/2002
Martell Presents - the blackfilm.com screening series in The Windy City	The blackfilm.com crew is hosting its first Chicago Screening Series event at the magnificent Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago on Friday, February 1st.	Cover	01/25/2002
MAKING IT HAPPEN	So the first 2 weeks of 2002 are done. Gone. Yesteryear. Did you make it happen or did someone make you jump? Did you write your script? Did you edit your Film? Are you doing your thing?	Cover	01/11/2002
WILL 2001 MAKE 2002 BETTER?	The blackfilm.com crew is looking forward to this year. We are looking forward to seeing many of you grow as artists, entertainers and suits.	Cover	01/04/2002
WILL 2001 MAKE 2002 BETTER?	The blackfilm.com crew is looking forward to this year. We are looking forward to seeing many of you grow as artists, entertainers and suits.	Cover	01/04/2002
STUDIO SCREENINGS / SPECIAL FILM EVENTS	Congratulations to all of our subscribers that won tickets to...	Cover	12/21/2001
HAPPY HOLIDAYS	What an interesting and promising year for African Americans in cinema & entertainment. Will Smith was awarded the role of a lifetime, Denzel flipped the script on his usual good-guy character.	Cover	12/14/2001
WHAT IS OCEAN'S ELEVEN?	Answer: Danny Ocean and his hand-picked crew of specialists gather in Las Vegas to attempt the most extravagant casino heist ever.	Cover	11/30/2001
ALI	Tell us what your expectations are or give us your thoughts on ALI, the man.	Cover	11/09/2001
ALI	We are interested in many of the holiday films, but we simply can't wait for "ALI," starring Will Smith.	Cover	11/02/2001
THANKS NEW YORK	The screening of "Cold Feet" in New York City was simply excellent. Our Presenting Sponsor, Martell Cognac provided our guests with fabulous cosmos and popped a few bottles of Cordon Bleu as Martell's Keith Harvey orchestrated a toast to Brian Evans in celebration of his work.	Cover	10/26/2001
JOIN BLACKFILM.COM AND ENJOY MARTELL COSMO'S @ THE LINCOLN CENTER	The blackfilm.com midnight screening series Presented by Martell is special to us and the community of film fans that have joined us for each event.	Cover	10/19/2001
BLACKPOPGO	For the blackfilm.com audience, we thought you would enjoy Vince’s weekly prose entitled,Blackpopgo: A Weekly Discussion Of Art, Politics, & Pop Culture And How It Affects The Black Diaspora...Or At Least One Member Of It.	Features/Articles	10/19/2001
WHO IS HOT? : BLACKFILM.COM SAYS LOOK OUT FOR THESE 22 PLAYERS	The 2001 season has offered filmgoers a great opportunity to see many African-American stars flourish and 2002 will offer even more. During this year, we have observed many fine performances and we think it will be hard to disagree with the people we have chosen for this list.	Features/Articles	10/19/2001
JOIN BLACKFILM.COM AND ENJOY MARTELL COSMO'S @ THE LINCOLN CENTER	Next weekend. We want to see you at The Lincoln Center for the fourth installment of midnight @ blackfilm.com Presented by Martell.	Cover	10/12/2001
Training Day Is In Session	Denzel Washington. What does that name mean to you? To me it means a man that has defined the fine art of film & stage acting for more than a decade. It is also no secret amongst my friends that I am still peeved that he didn’t win an Oscar for his gut- wrenching performance in “Hurricane.”	Reviews/Film	10/05/2001
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES	"So broad are the oceans, So high are the mountains." What does that statement mean to you? To most it may mean nothing, but what we hope you garner from this statement is that in the United States of America, the sky is the limit for its citizens.	Cover	10/05/2001
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?	... Tuesday's tragic events in New York City and Washington D.C. have dealt our nation a tremendous blow.And in the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "we've got some difficult days ahead." Difficult because it's tough to imagine entertaining the world while the United States is mourning and recovering...	Cover	09/28/2001
One Nation	Tuesday's tragic events in New York City and Washington D.C. have dealt our nation a tremendous blow.	Cover	09/14/2001
The Summer Is Done - Now Here Comes the Heat	With summer fading and an onslaught of quality films coming in the Fall, it's time to give credit to those who made a splash these last few months.	Cover	09/07/2001
OH YES - TWO CAN DEFINITELY PLAY	Labor Day is gone and the fall movie season is about to get it on. We, of course, have some special screenings, promotions and articles for you to devour over the coming months.	Cover	08/31/2001
Martell @ Midnight...Very Smooth	Martell Cognac and blackfilm.com have joined forces again - this time for the blackfilm.com midnight screening series at the world-renowned Lincoln Center in Gotham.	Cover	08/17/2001
Sequal Synergy…	The month of August appears to be the month of super-sequals. Last weekend, "Rush Hour 2" blasted the competition by grossing more than $66 Million at domestic cash-boxes.	Cover	08/10/2001
Let's Get It On...	Tim Burton's "Planet of The Apes" made a mad run at box-office glory last weekend and quite frankly, we were wondering how did that happen?	Cover	08/03/2001
Back it up and let's Rush it again...	The blackfilm.com crew is excited about Rush Hour 2 and so should you.	Cover	07/27/2001
Planet of the Apes : Too Much Monkey Business...	“Planet of The Apes,”…wow…wow…wow…!” It’s almost impossible not to be excited about this film. With scientist constantly discovering new theories on why apes are probably our forefathers, this film comes along at the right time to shed some possible theories on the issue...	Reviews/Film	07/27/2001
Appreciating the Independent Spirit	The blackfilm.com crew is extremely pleased to bring you the midnight @ blackfilm.com summer series.	Cover	07/20/2001
Hill Harper is Fearless in the Active State of Being : A Q&A with Hill Harper	If you have seen his work in LOVING JEZEBEL, HE GOT GAME or THE NEPHEW, then you know Hill is thorough at his craft. For those of you that have not seen him perform, don't miss him in THE VISIT from Urbanworld Films.	Features/Interviews	05/01/2001
Movie Rules - 9 thru 22	For rule Number Thirteen, I must pay homage to the original FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH - the simple rule is that it is the horror champ. Jason was never as scary as his knife-wielding deranged soccer mom.	Features/Articles	04/13/2001
Movie Rules - 1 thru 8	Even if the bad guy weighs 350lbs and is seven-feet tall, he will lose in a fist-fight to our 150lb hero…you do recall that Rocky beat Apollo Creed?	Features/Articles	03/01/2001
A Q&A with Branford Marsalis	Branford Marsalis is playing the Sax - Listen up. "My first performance was at a club called the Horse in New Orleans in 1974. We had an R&B band called The Creators. We played on a Monday night for the door, and made 75 cents each. We used it to catch the bus home."	Features/SoundGarden	03/01/2001
Any Given Sunday	The point of the flick is to bring the "stuff" up, to open the can of worms and see what happens. You know, that thing that Spike Lee does all the time when he brings up all the tough issues without pointing you toward any resolution.	Reviews/Film	05/01/2000
Oscar Commentary	Except for Michael Caine's classy acceptance speech, a couple of jokes by Crystal and various pieces of eye-candy, what a snooze-fest. I was waiting for Jennifer Lopez to walk out any minute and save the show. Oh well, maybe next year.	Features/Oscars	05/01/2000
The Hurricane	The fact that Carter spent his best years in jail is an absolute travesty, and for Blacks it is one round in a 400-year struggle for justice. I am sure that Mr. Carter is absolutely pleased that anyone helped him, but why are these credit seekers unhappy?	Reviews/Film	05/01/2000
Ghost Dog	Get at me Dawg! Whassup Dawg? Deputy Dawg! It seems the terms dog, dawg and dogg are tossed around like the Washington Wizards. Excuse me Mike but you know what I'm sayin.	Reviews/Indie	05/01/2000
Love and Basketball	This film is special. Basketball films have been entertaining us for years. There was Hoosiers, He Got Game, Above The Rim and many more, but rarely have we seen a film that investigates the lives of African-American teenagers from the burbs who've got game just like the kids from the streets. Just like The Wood and The Best Man, it delivered truly refreshing images of African-Americans.	Reviews/Film	05/01/2000
Next Friday	The real treat of this film besides the quick-hitting humor is that the filmmakers did not deal "too much" in trying to use many of the gimmicks and tricks of the original.	Reviews/Film	02/01/2000
The Rev. Do Wrong Ain't Right	In Do Wrong, all of the worst characteristics are thrown into a mixing bowl and voila, we are delivered a permed out, craps-shootin pimp as a Preacher. And I must admit I laughed quite often as Bibbs delivered the character quite comically.	Reviews/Indie	02/01/2000
The Wood	More often than not, classic teenage films like Animal House, Clueless and Fast Times at Ridgemont High rarely tell the story from a black teenager's perspective. It was great to see our teenage foibles and embarrassments on screen.	Reviews/Film	08/01/1999
Dorothy Dandridge	Bravos to Berry and HBO for telling this story. By Shelby Jones	Reviews/Cable	08/01/1999
Blade	Can an African-American superhero generate success at the box-office? When Blade, the action-thriller starring Wesley Snipes and distributed by New Line Cinema, first hit movie theaters it aimed to take a bite at that very question.	Reviews/DVD	07/01/1999
Summer of Sam	Hollywood should take notice that Lee utilizes the cast very well and spurs them to deliver fantastic performances. This is a film that truly takes you to the "Summer of Sam".	Reviews/Film	07/01/1999
Interview with Clifton Taulbert	After an article was written about the book in the Boston Globe, I was besieged with calls from Hollywood about making a film, but upon reading the book, many felt it was somehow 'too soft.' It was embraced-but it was not thought to have 'the edge' needed for Hollywood.	Features/Interviews	07/01/1999

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