Page 14
The
Portland Observer Black History Month
February 17, 2010
ENIEMAINMtM
Common Ground with ‘Precious’
Screenwriter’s
life akin to girl
from Harlem
Nightmare at the Office
Portland Center Stage reminds you that the office can be a
nightmare in ‘The Receptionist, ' the comic exploration of the
horrors beneath the surface of the most boring office rou
tines. Now playing through March 21.
Dixion k Rib Pit
between 19th & 20th on Alberta Street
503-753-0868
X
H ours
11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Tueday thru Saturday
Sunday after 3:00 p.m.
(AP) — Geoffrey Fletcher was
stunned this month when he was
nominated for an Academy Award
for best adapted screenplay for “Pre
cious: Based on the Novel Push’
by Sapphire,” the story o f a semi
literate teen girl from Harlem.
Precious is physically and sexu
ally abused from infancy by her
mother and stepfather. After Pre
cious becom es pregnant again,
she’s forced to leave school, her
mother demanding she go on wel
fare.
But Precious resists. She wants a
better life, one filled with education
and love. With the help o f a devoted
teacher at an alternative school and
%
Geoffrey Fletcher
a caring social worker, she weaves
a new life from the tatters o f her
previous one.
The film has been nominated for
best picture. Gabourey Sidibe is a
best-actress nominee, M o’Nique,
best supporting actress, and Lee
Daniels, best director.
Fletcher finds much comm on
g ro u n d w ith “ P re c io u s .” His
struggle to enter the entertain
m ent in d u stry re se m b le s her
hum ble beginnings. And through
dedication, they both found their
true calling.
Fletcher said he fell in love with
“Precious” from page one.
He was drawn to a story that
touches on the m any com m on
threads that connect all people.
“I love stories that have such
specific characters and specific
places, yet are about things that are
so universal,” he said.
Fletcher loves Precious — the
character and the fi lm — because he
understands being invisible, an
overarching theme in the story.
Before “Precious,” his career was
largely o ff the radar in the entertain
ment world. “I was searching for my
voice and my place in the film indus
try,” he said. “In large part, she
reminds me o f myself.”
Fluid
Movement
White Bird presents the eagerly
awaited return o f Hubbard Street
Dance Chicago in a dazzling pro
gram.
The Tuesday, Feb. 23 perfor
mance at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene
Schnitzer Concert Hall is substitut
ing for Lyon Opera Ballet, which
Dinners $9.50
Sandwiches $8.50
And Soul Food
Try us once you'll come back again
THE
■
-M
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
SPINACOLUMN
An ongoing series of questions and answers about Amenca’s natural healing profession.
Part 24. Osteoarthritis: you needn’t be
frightened about a frightening problem anymore
: I have been having a lot has been found that pain and osteo stresses. O ur ch ief purpose then
o f pain in my neck. The arthritis are both caused by the same is to rem ove the stress or irrita
doctor said that it was osteoarthri problem. Mechanical stress on the tion from the jo in t (and nerves)
tis and that I would have learn to bone and joints is the biggest cause - not only to reduce pain but to
live with it. What is your opinion? o f pain and also the cause of that allow the bones to be as healthy
: As you m ight know , deformity of the joint your doctor as possible as well. If you have
th ere is a trem en d o u s calls osteoarthritis .
jo in t pain, is n ’t it tim e you
amount o f health research going In Chiropractic we evaluate stepped up to , effective Chiro
on today Much relates to the spine where the jo in t and bones are practic?
and nervous system. You might
ask your doctor if he has read the
latest study on osteoarthritis. The
2124N.E. Hancock Street
study showed that there was no
correlation between the amount
Portland Oregon97212
o f osteo-arthritis and the amount
P h o n e: ( 5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 * 5 5 0 4
o f pain a person suffers. In fact it
A
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
• ‘ 1 » » • <
The Hubbard Street Dance Chicago returns to Portland for a
dazzling program.
announced in November that they
had to cancel their North American
tour.
When White Bird last presented
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in
November 2005, the audience re
sponded with thunderous applause
to their diverse and captivating pro
gram. The Chicago Sun-Times has
declared, “The troupe can dance
anything and everything... with
fluid brilliance and understated vir
tuosity.”
Hubbard Street Danoe Chicago
will bring a special program to
Portland that features the dazzling
w ork W alk in g M ad, c h o re o
graphed by Johan Inger, form er
A rtistic D irector o f Stockholm ’s
Cullberg Ballet, set to R avel’s
“B o lero .” The evening also in
cludes Tabula Rasa, a m asterwork
by O had N ah arin o f I s r a e l’s
Batsheva Dance Com pany, and a
new piece, Bitter Suite, by Jorm a
Elo, whose thrilling Red Sweet
closed Aspen Santa Fe B allet’s
program in October.