Stomp the Yard

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by AKA2D '91

http://www.aka1908.com/news/stomptheyard/

Thumbs up!

[jitterbug13]

Step Up

Not since Spike Lee released 'School Daze' in 1998 has there been a major motion picture to showcase Black college life. Because of that, anticipation for Sony Screen Gems' 'Stomp The Yard,' has been extremely high. One of the film's producers, William Packer, describes 'Stomp The Yard' as a "contemporary look at Black college life." And though "a story about a young kid who goes to a black college and gets uplifted and redeemed" aren't commercial themes in Hollywood, Packer said they were able to get the movie made because they "interweaved those themes with a lot of the traditional elements that work in Hollywood."

Despite its positive subject matter and a cast that includes Brian J. White ('Mr. 3000'), Darrin Henson ('Soul Food'), Meagan Good ('Waist Deep'), Laz Alonzo ('Jarhead'), Ne-Yo, Chris Brown and newcomer Columbus Short ('Save The Last Dance 2'), a few fraternities have raised concerns about the film being released without even having seen the movie.

Packer, who has also produced 'The Gospel,' 'Motives' and the 'Trois' series, wants to eradicate any negative buzz those organizations may be causing. "We have heard some people say this is a Hollywood film and that it is not about steppin', its about dancing, and the fraternities and sororities are not going to be depicted correctly. [They think] it was shot at [the University of Southern California] and its just some white Hollywood studio behind it. That's not true," Packer explained. "This is a film that originated with people; myself and my partner who produced the film, members of Alpha Phi Alpha, a Black Greek letter organization. [We] are both married to Deltas. We went to a [Historically Black Colleges and Universities]. Our director, his father is a Kappa. One of our main choreographers is a Kappa. We shot it at the AUC in Atlanta. We shot it at Morris Brown, shot scenes at Spelman, we shot scenes at Morehouse and we shot scenes at Clark Atlanta. Yeah, its loud and its big and its flashy and that's why people think its just a dance movie, but when you get in you're going to be in store for so much more."

Opening around the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend has served films like 'Glory Road,' 'Last Holiday,' 'Coach Carter' and 'Are We There Yet' well in recent years and Packer is hoping to impact the same way with 'Stomp The Yard.' "Anytime you're doing the right thing, you're not going to have everybody support you. We're hoping people will reserve judgment until they see the film because I'm confident that they're going to be pleasantly surprised," he concluded.

[DSTCHAOS]

LOL. Two points:

1. I guess people think that having members of BGLOs on the movie team and being married to other BGLO members means something. Yeah it gives the film more credibility than if it was done by a Hollywood studio with no background on BGLOs. However the larger point is that there are hundreds of thousands of members of BGLOs and many of them use their BGLO for some personal and professional gain. But having permission to use trademarks or present yourself as some type of representative or spokesperson is a different story.

2. My how the tables turn. I remember when people (some of whom are Alphas and AKAs) were acting like the Deltas had lost their marbles when President Rice's letter went out about the Black Sorority Project. Now the Alphas' and AKAs' national bodies are speaking out against Stomp the Yard and it's good that they are. Once again, this brings home the point that our organizations are bigger than the individuals who comprise them.

[ladygreek]

What I find interesting is that these guys are Alphas. Is this a trend? I already thought it ironic that A PHI A had issued a statement against the movie (considering the producers of the Black Sorority Project are also Alphas,) but to find out that these producers are also Alphas makes this even more crazy. What's even funnier is that Derek Fordjour was married to a Delta when he started BSP and used that as a justification for doing it.

Kudos to A Phi A and AKA for their stance. I hope they will support us in our stance against the Black Sorority Project. As stated, this issue of trademark infringement is bigger than our individual organiztions and a legal precedent needs to be set.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

What I find interesting is that these guys are Alphas. Is this a trend? I already thought it ironic that A PHI A had issued a statement against the movie (considering the producers of the Black Sorority Project are also Alphas,) but to find out that these producers are also Alphas makes this even more crazy. What's even funnier is that Derek Fordjour was married to a Delta when he started BSP and used that as a justification for doing it.

Well you know Alphas are always up in everyone's business because they think being the first makes them historians.

[SummerChild]

I wonder if Alpha Phi Alpha will seek a preliminary injunction to prevent debut of the movie.

SC

[PinkPop]

Has anybody actually seen the movie? I think if there are images of A Phi A then they should be removed.

IMO, it's just a movie. A work of fiction and while I understand it may associate Black Fraternities and Sororities with stepping, black people aren't so simple that we can't differentiate fiction from real life... and believe it or not, there are some people who can go see a movie just for entertainment purposes without trying to connect what they've seen to real life

This is a small movie that will make $15M top at the box office, half the people going to see it are probably already in BGLO's so we already know the deal and any youngins who see this movie who then go to college and think it's all about stepping will get a dose of reality day one when they go out for said frat/sorority.

So if the boycott is because of trademark infringement, I hope the filmmakers remove all trademarks and then we can all ban together and support black filmmakers in an industry that really doesn't want them.

Just think, if people had boycotted Animal House the world may have never gotten to know Jim Belushi or John Landis who both went on to contribute greatly to the cinematic world. Since most of us have never seen the movie we don't know what this movie has to offer...

[SKEEphistAKAte]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

I wonder if Alpha Phi Alpha will seek a preliminary injunction to prevent debut of the movie.

SC

This is what I was thinking. The lawyer in us... tee hee.

[mccoyred]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Kudos to A Phi A and AKA for their stance. I hope they will support us in our stance against the Black Sorority Project. As stated, this issue of trademark infringement is bigger than our individual organiztions and a legal precedent needs to be set.

Here is the rub. While I have since found out that Alpha Phi Alpha is supporting us in our issue with BSP, where was AKA when all of this started? Does AKA think they can get something for their 100th from these jokers or what? It seems that AKA jumped to the support of Alpha, their 'brothers' but is ghost when it comes to DST. After all, DST and AKA have a shared history. I guess we will see what happens when "BSP:The Genesis" is released....

Frankly, I think the BSP issue is much bigger than STY. After all, STY is a fictionalized account where the appearance of the trademarks is incidental to the movie whereas BSP is purported to be a documentary about a specific organization which is directly in violation of copyright and all other applicable laws.

Also, I don't hear anything from NPHC on these issues. I know that NPHC won the suit against converse but why not support the individual organizations that are battling this same issue? If there is information out there, please share because I haven't seen it!

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by mccoyred

Also, I don't hear anything from NPHC on these issues. I know that NPHC won the suit against converse but why not support the individual organizations that are battling this same issue? If there is information out there, please share because I haven't seen it!

Has the NPHC or the Council of Presidents met since the lawsuits were filed? If not then there wouldn't be statements of support until that happened and it was voted on.

[DSTCHAOS]

So this is the same as "The Yard" movie that I just saw the commercial for? Seems like a "Drumline" for stepping.

Just like with "Drumline," I'll wait for people to see it and tell me it's good. Then I'll catch it at the dollar cinema or DVD. I waited FOREVER to actually get over my skepticism and watch "Drumline." Good movie but I'm glad I caught it at home instead of at a regular theater.

[SKEEphistAKAte]

Originally Posted by mccoyred

Here is the rub. While I have since found out that Alpha Phi Alpha is supporting us in our issue with BSP, where was AKA when all of this started? Does AKA think they can get something for their 100th from these jokers or what? It seems that AKA jumped to the support of Alpha, their 'brothers' but is ghost when it comes to DST. After all, DST and AKA have a shared history. I guess we will see what happens when "BSP:The Genesis" is released....

AKA owes DST naught.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by SKEEphistAKAte

AKA owes DST naught.

"Naught" is the best word ever, especially at 3:28am on the last night of convention. lol

[GIJANE]

Originally Posted by SKEEphistAKAte

AKA owes DST naught.

I don't believe she said AKA owed Delta Sigma Theta anything, nor does DST owe Alpha Kappa Alpha anything. The issue is lending support to your fellow NPHC member organizations when an issue arises that threatens the validity, purpose and history of the organization. The Black Sorority Project is a prime example of someone doing what they wanted regardless of the wishes of the governing body of the organization. My interpretation of her comment is what will happen if the Genesis project comes out and your governing body is not happy with what is depicted?

[nonchalant]

Originally Posted by SKEEphistAKAte

AKA owes DST naught.

WOW!!! Also wow@mccoyred concerning the shared history. It's not like it was the greatest.