A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

Meanwhile, in the shaky world of magazine publishing, I've stumbled across a few new "quality" titles that are worth mentioning. This past Wednesday, I attended another Harlem-based party (sponsored by the up-and-coming-again area's Chamber of Commerce) for "JOLIE" Magazine, considered 'the ultimate beauty guide for women of color'. Vivica A. Fox is the "editor-at-large" for the magazine, which boasts a Kimora Lee Simmons cover this month. It's nice, glossy, and - to skim it - reads like a magazine that can compete with other more established brands out there, like "Essence". Also, I ran into a Morehouse brother with whom I graduated ('92) and he introduced me to another Morehouse brother who graduated the same year as Spike Lee ('79) and he is involved with a new magazine called "PULSE" (for the discerning, mature, gay man of color). Byron Barnes, known for creating the make-up formula that is IMAN Cosmetics, is the Editor-in-Chief of this project. Though he comes to the table with that aesthetic expertise (READ: not a journalist), PULSE is nice, glossy, and - to skim it - reads like a magazine that can compete with other more established brands out there, like "GQ". And "BLEU" and "BALLROOM ROCKSTAR" are two other titles on newsstands that have been out since the beginning of the year or thereabout. Both are for gay men of color but skew younger, hipper, and perhaps edgier than "PULSE". The latter features a story on me in its debut issue. It's titled "Superman". Again, both magazines - to my eye - are nice, glossy, and - to skim them - read like magazines that can compete with other more established brands out there, like "Details". The questions become "Is there room for them all?" or perhaps "Who will be the last new magazine standing?" as down-sizing, shut-downs, and shut-outs have been the more popular options of choice inside the tier of the magazine industry that targets people of color. We'll see; meanwhile, we'll root for them all to succeed and pay their freelance writers on time.

If TNT's airing of "The Black Movie Awards" is any indicator, Diana Ross might go missing in action. This week, "Lady Sings The Blues" received the 9th annual award show's "Classic Movie" nod, a big honor in the grand scheme of 'black Hollywood'. Though Ross was nearby (in that she supported youngest daughter Chudney Ross, who modeled in one of Los Angeles' Fashion Week shows), she instead was represented by her two acting offspring Tracee Ellis Ross ("Girlfriends") and Evan Naess Ross ("A-T-L") - both of whom acknowledged growing up as legacy pieces to the star of the project. Additionally (and perhaps most appropriately), Berry Gordy attended and accepted the actual award alongside the film's leading man Billy Dee Williams, the film's producers and screenwriters, including Suzanne DePasse, who too executive produced the awards ceremony. Since "Lady Sings The Blues" didn't win any Oscars (though nominated for five, including Diana Ross for Lead Actress), Berry pointed out that this was finally his chance to THANK all who helped to make this legendary film a reality when - against all Hollywood odds - it was quite an uphill triumph. And if I don't say so myself, it still holds up as quality cinema today.

Meanwhile, word on the street (at least via the Los Angeles Times) is that "DREAMGIRLS" - loosely based on a girl group like Diana Ross and the Supremes - could use an endorsement from the grand diva herself, who represents one vote on the Academy Awards voting committee. Though fictional, the behind-the-scenes drama of three young women of humble rearing -- who together come up through the ranks of a black-owned record company as the world fiercely embraces their look and sound -- is considered by many to be the unofficial Diana Ross story (with a few setting changes - the girls in the script are from Chicago vs. Detroit; without Ross' actual soundtrack of unstoppable hits; and accompanied with a shift in narrative arc that leaves the Florence-Ballard-like character, Effie, with post-group success, after she's kicked out. In the real world, Florence Ballard, at 32, died of cardiac arrest (and by most terms, a broken heart) as she was raising her kids just blocks from where she, Diana, and Mary Wilson came togther in the Brewster Projects of Detroit.). When the Broadway musical launched in December 1981, it was a huge hit. But as it received acclaim, Diana Ross - at the height of her solo success - chose not to "validate" the show by seeing it or endorsing it (to make sure - she says - it didn't give the impression that it was her "actual story"). Still, much success and adoration came to Sheryl Lee Ralph, who played Deena (the Diana-Ross-like character) and her fellow castmates Loretta Devine (who played Lorrell, the Mary-Wilson knockoff) and Jennifer Holliday (who - in her turn as Effie [READ: Florence] - brought ACT ONE to its close and the audiences to their feet everytime she belted out the hit "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"). During this time, lesser-known original Supreme, Mary Wilson, would seize the moment and give the musical her endorsement. Several years later, she'd go so far as to borrow its title (and some of its themes) for the first of two memoirs that chronicled her take on the "Supremes" years (neither of which were flattering to Ross or Berry Gordy, whose character compliment in the piece is Curtis, played by Jamie Foxx in the movie). 25-plus years later (since "Dreamgirls" was unveiled), the concern is that any bad press or rejection of the work (especially coming from Ross, a muse for the whole project) could put a bad taste in Academy voters' mouths and reduce its significance to be considered for Mr. Oscar). Perhaps the good news for "Dreamgirls" (the movie) is Beyonce is portraying the Diana-like "Deena" and has a reportedly good relationship with Ross to whom she's often compared as the superstar lead singer of her own girl group, "Destiny's Child". And we even hear that Ross was considered for a cameo in this film (and she reportedly even took a couple of meetings to explore the possibility). So, perhaps she's softened to the idea of "art imitates life" (with creative license), especially since it was the same kind of criticism that she received for her loosely-based portrayal of Billie Holliday in "Lady Sings The Blues", which was given the Hollywood treatment that veered further away from the "actual" story (though it landed on the "essence" and "spirit" of the story). Time will tell how sometimes mystical and mysterious Miss Ross plays this part... (and as the calendar goes, we're looking at about a month and a half to watch and see if she  shows up on that red carpet or in front of someone's camera - stating her case).