Local's tale of 2 cities; Hollywood, Shreveport
Posted on January 7, 2004
He wasn't voted most likely to succeed.
But Marcus Morton is doing all right for himself.
You'll get an opportunity to see firsthand what the Shreveport native has been up to the past year and a half when his movie You Got Served premieres Jan. 30.
"You Got Served is, I think, the dance movie, I feel, of the decade," said the 1985 graduate of Captain Shreve High School who is its producer. "It's got the best dancing - modern dancing - you've ever seen in any movie. It's the story of the human spirit overcoming.
"(It's about) two friends (who) are using their abilities in dance to better their positions in life, not just for themselves, but for their friends and loved ones."
The movie includes musical group B2K, comedian Steve Harvey and others. .... and it has a cameo by Shreveport's Don Gibbs
(Alpha Phi Alpha), the man behind the microphone most evenings on KDKS radio.
Theirs is a friendship that dates some 15 years or so, to when both were in college - Morton at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Gibbs at Grambling State University in Grambling. Morton and Gibbs shared a love of music and radio.
They keep in touch to this day. And when Morton called Gibbs to ask if he would be in his movie, of course, Gibbs said yes.
"All of a sudden, one Saturday, he said what are you doing Tuesday?"
Gibbs had to work. Morton told his bud what he had in mind: Morton had already taken care of travel arrangements and wanted Gibbs to hop a plane to Los Angeles to play the part of a celebrity judge in the movie.
Said Gibbs then: "I guess I'll be heading to L.A."
Gibbs is not surprised Morton has managed to grab career success. "It was just a matter of time before Marcus would put himself in the right place."
Morton's journey to Hollywood began as a youngster in Shreveport, where he described himself as an average student who might have seen the inside of Principal Sandra McCalla's office a time or two.
He liked fast bikes and hot music.
"I didn't have a big break per se. I worked very hard while I was going to school and trying to get my education. At the very same time, I was working the music business side of things."
He landed a job at EMI Records- owner of Capital, Virgin, etc.- and eventually became vice president of rap music. After working with several artists to bring them from obscurity to worldwide fame, he was ready for another challenge.
He left radio and headed to film.
So you think you're just from Shreveport and there is no way you can follow your dream and do your thing?
"You can't give up and you can't let the naysayers talk you out of your dreams," Morton said.
He produced Molly in 1999 and Three Strikes in 2000.
This all may look glitzy, but it's anything but easy.
"A lot of times when you're looking at a situation, whether it's Hollywood or music or whatever, it looks daunting. But you have to remember that all the people that are inside there doing it started somewhere."
And so you can, too.
You Got Served.
Ya'll know I like to support my peeps, but I STILL dunno about this. I may give my niece more money for her birthday this weekend to go see this. Yeah, that's how I can support it.
This reminds me of Breakin', Electric Boogaloo and Krush Groove...
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