Arts & Entertainment
Wayans Weighs In on ‘Haunted House 2’
B
orn in New York City on July 23,
1972, Marlon Wayans graduated
from the High School of Performing
Arts before matriculating at Howard Uni-
versity’s Film School. He started out in
Hollywood on TV as a cast member of the
Emmy Award-winning variety series, In
Living Color. Next, Marlon created and
starred in the hit sitcom The Wayans Bros.
Some of his other noteworthy screen credits
include: The Ladykillers, Scary Movie,
Scary Movie 2, Little Man, White Chicks,
Norbit, Behind the Smile and Dance Flick.
The versatile thespian also exhibited an
impressive acting range while delivering a
powerful performance as a drug addict in
Requiem
for
a
Dream.
More recently, Marlon starred opposite
Channing Tatum in G.I. Joe: The Rise of
Cobra. And last summer he appeared in The
Heat, a blockbuster featuring Sandra Bul-
lock
and
Melissa
McCarthy.
Here, he talks about his latest film, A Haunt-
ed House 2, a sequel spoofing the
Paranormal Activity franchise.
Kam Williams: Hi Marlon, thanks for
another interview.
Marlon Wayans: You got it, bro.
KW: Why did you decide to make A
Haunted House sequel?
MW: Because the audience really, really
enjoyed the first one. And I also felt like I
could find a nice, natural progression for
my character, Malcolm. Plus, comedically, I
‘ I knew I could match
or exceed what we
did in the original,
and make a bigger,
broader movie that
could appeal to a
wider audience’
knew I could match or exceed what we did
in the original, and make a bigger, broader
movie that could appeal to a wider audience
just by making some adjustments and by
adding a few pieces to the puzzle. One of
those pieces was Gabriel Iglesias, and
another one was Jaime Pressly.
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How
do you rev up a sequel so the faithful return
for more while simultaneously enticing
some newbies?
MW: I think you have to make sure you
have a little bit of the old, while adding
something knew. We kept Cedric the Enter-
tainer, Affion Crockett and Essence Atkins
and, like I said, we added Gabe and Jaime,
and also Ashley Rickards. I think you have
to stick with the integrity of the comedy or
lack thereof, and keep in stride with the
humor of the movie. I don’t believe you try
to sell it out. Instead, you just keep your
tone and your sense of humor, because
that’s what they bought into the first time.
It’s all about being authentic to whatever
that movie is, and not reaching too hard.
KW: Harriet also asks: Is there a remake
of a classic film you’d like to star in?
MW: I’d love to redo Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels.
KW: Paranormal facilitator Kate Newell
asks: Have you had any paranormal experi-
ence in real life?
MW: No, I haven’t, but I wish I had.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls
asks: Is it important to you not to get killed
off in the first five minutes, as so often hap-
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
pens to black actors in horror films?
MW: Yeah, it’s very important to me,
being I’m a black actor, and I don’t want my
black ass to die in the first five minutes.
KW: Irene has a follow-up. Is storytelling
in the horror genre different from story-
Marlon Wayans
See WAYANS on page 11
Book Reviews: Life Lessons, Cooking
The China Study: All-Star Collection
Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes from Your
Favorite Vegan Chefs, By LeAnne Campbell, Ph.D.
Things I Should Have Told My Daughter:
Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs, by Pearl Cleage
“In addition to being one of
the most popular living play-
wrights in America, Pearl
Cleage is a best-selling
author with an Oprah Book
Club pick and multiple
awards to her credit… In this
deeply personal work, Cleage
takes readers back to
the1970s and ‘80s, retracing
her struggles to hone her craft
amidst personal and profes-
sional tumult…
Lies, Lessons and Love
Affairs charts not only the
political fights, but also the
pull she began to feel to focus
on her own passions, including writing… as she grappled with
ideas of feminism and self-fulfillment.
In the tradition of greats like Susan Sontag, Joan Didion, and
Nora Ephron, Cleage’s self-portrait raises women’s confes-
sional writing to the level of great literature… This fascinating
memoir follows her journey from a columnist for a local week-
ly to a playwright and Hollywood scriptwriter whose circle
came to include luminaries like Richard Pryor, Avery Brooks,
Phylicia Rasha, Shirley Franklin, and Jesse Jackson.”
— Excerpted from Book Jacket
P
earl Cleage is the daughter of Reverend Albert Cleage
(1911-2000), the legendary Detroit cleric and founder of
the Shrine of the Black Madonna. The author of such
groundbreaking books as The Black Messiah (1968) and Black
Christian Nationalism: New Directions for the Black Church
(1970), he also spearheaded a seminal movement to reposition
Jesus Christ as a darker-skinned man of African descent.
Given the times and her charismatic
father’s prominence, it only makes sense
that Pearl would develop an interest in the
Civil Rights Movement during her forma-
tive years. In fact, she would become
fascinated with the tactics and philosophy
of progressive student organizations like
SNCC and SDS.
We are now privy to this because, begin-
ning in 1970, Pearl kept a detailed diary of
her intimate insights about her day-to-day
life. And like a lot of sisters, she had her
concerns about the patriarchal attitudes of
leaders which left females feeling marginalized.
For example, on March 27, 1970, she mused, “What a revo-
lution. Stokely [Carmichael] said the place of the woman in the
revolution should be prone.” So, it is no surprise that Pearl,
would eventually tire of such sexist subjugation, and reject
being relegated to second-class status in favor of a path of self-
fulfillment. Her ensuing transformation into a feminist writer
juggling marriage and motherhood is the subject of Things I
Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love
Affairs. The memoir is essentially a series of refreshingly-frank
journal entries recorded by the author between 1970 and 1988,
covering periods of both quiet reflection and tremendous
upheaval in what’s been a very eventful life thus far.
A revealing peek into the ever-evolving soul of an African-
American literary icon.
“In many ways, the
world has changed dra-
matically since The China
Study was released in
2005. Ten years ago, more
doctors thought the idea
that diet might solve seri-
ous health problems was
fantasy. Now I hear more
and more doctors actually
recommending a plant-
based diet to their
patients…
In over five decades of
biomedical research, I
have learned, in so many
ways, that a whole food, plant-based diet promotes optimal
health and the prevention even reversal, in many cases, of
heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune diseases,
and brain disorders.
I’ve received overwhelming feedback from people who’ve
seen incredible health results… But I’m still often asked…
‘What do I eat?’ In this follow-up, [my daughter] LeAnne has
gathered some of the most popular and influential plant-based
chefs to share their best dishes, all following the nutrition prin-
ciples laid out in The China Study.”
— Excerpted from the Foreword (pages 9-10)
W
hen I interviewed Russell Simmons last month, I
asked him what the last book he read was. His
answer was The China Study, which took a compre-
hensive look at the relationship between diet and disease based
on 20 years of research conducted in 100 Chinese villages.
That illuminating opus by Dr. T. Colin Campbell basically
extolled the virtues of vegetarianism while
warning of the risks associated with eating
meat and chemical-laced, industrial prod-
B OOK
ucts manufactured by agribusiness. Well,
R EVIEWS
now his daughter LeAnne has published
The China Study: All-Star Collection,
a companion cookbook for folks interest-
by Kam
ed in adopting a vegan regimen.
Williams
Its 150+ recipes come courtesy of a num-
ber of celebrated, natural food chefs,
including Ani Phyo, Christina Ross,
Christy Morgan and Tracy Russell, to name
a few. Each of the entries is accompanied
by a mouth-watering color photo refuting the notion that a
strict vegetarian diet has to be boring.
The offerings range from breads and breakfast food to appe-
tizers and entrees to soups and salads to sandwiches and
sumptuous desserts. Among the exotic dishes which piqued my
interest were Aloo Gobi, an Indian concoction containing pota-
toes and cauliflower, and Daikon Kimchi, a Korean side order.
Converted ex-carnivores might enjoy such faux substitutes
for flesh favorites as chickpea burgers, spaghetti and wheat-
balls, mock tuna and b-b-q Portobello sandwiches. And
gourmets with a sweet tooth are apt to be enticed by the pump-
kin chia pudding, coconut pillows and sweet potato and black
bean brownies with dark chocolate.
A tasty collection of healthy, easy-to-make recipes designed
for anyone interested in making the shift to plant-based meals.
April 16, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9