Arts & Entertainment
By Kam Williams
Special to Th e Skanner
News
S
inger-songwriter
Rhonda Ross is an Af-
rican Diasporic Wom-
an of the World. Bilingual
in French and English, and
raising her son to be fl uent
in 4 languages, Rhonda of-
ten connects with her audi-
ences through their native
tongues.
Her original music lives in
the gap between jazz, neo-
soul, funk and gospel. Her
lyrics live in the pause be-
tween life’s most important
questions and answers.
Rhonda has the entire
package — as an entertain-
er, as a poet, and as a human
being. She has great power
on stage and her refreshing-
ly personal and moving per-
formances set her apart from
other vocalists of her era.
Through Rhonda’s indi-
vidual and creative expres-
sion, the legendary Ross
infl uence continues to live
on and expand. Rhonda
headlined one of President
Obama’s 2nd Inaugural
Balls, and later performed
to standing ovations and
rave reviews at The Holly-
wood Bowl, the Montreal
International Jazz Festival,
Wolf Trap and The Theater
at Madison Square Garden.
Kam Williams: Hi Rhon-
da, thanks for the interview.
Rhonda Ross: Hi, Kam. I
am thrilled to talk with you!
KW: I told my readers I’d
be interviewing you, so I’ll
be mixing their questions in
with mine. First, let me say
congratulations on receiving
the Music Career Achieve-
ment Award at the Pocono
Mountains Film Festival.
RR: Thank you. It’s quite
an honor and a surprise. And
an insult! [LOL] I don’t feel
old enough to be receiving
a “Career Achievement”
Award, but I guess I am.
Oh well. [Sighs, and laughs
some more]
KW: Also screening at the
festival is Crackdown Big
City Blues. What interested
you in the fi lm?
RR: I was a really young
actress when I was cast in
Crackdown. I think I was
21. It was a huge challenge
to play a young lady who
was my age, but with so
much tragic life experience.
It taught me a lot.
KW: Larry Greenberg
says: You were on Cosby
back in 1997, but I’m not
Film Review: ‘The Walk’
Recreates Daredevil’s Stroll
between Twin Towers
going to ask you about that.
I’d like to know about your
role as a dancer in the cult
classic, The Last Dragon.
Is dance a passion of yours
and where did you learn to
dance?
RR: The Last Dragon
was a special fi lm for me
because I got to work with
my father. I also enjoyed
meeting Vanity, Taimak and
the late Leo O’Brien. Leo
and I became great friends
and stayed friends for years.
I have never studied dance,
but I love it. I love moving
my body in time with the
music and I even dance a
little during my music con-
certs!
KW: Reverend Florine
Thompson has two ques-
tions for you: Who or what
is your
primary source of inspira-
tion? And what achievement
are you most proud of?
RR: That’s easy. It’s the
same answer to both! My
son and my son! I am liter-
ally obsessed with being a
mother. It consumes my ev-
ery thought and weaves its
way into the songs and plays
I write—into everything.
And I am really proud of
the effort I put into it. Don’t
PHOTO BY LISA PACINO
Rhonda Ross: The “Pocono Mountains Film Festival” Interview
Rhonda Ross
get me wrong, I make a lot
of mistakes and have to re-
start every day. But I know
my intentions are pure and
I keep on trying harder the
next day.
KW: Judyth Piazza asks:
What was your most mem-
orable Motown moment
growing up as a child?
RR: I was born in 1971,
so all my Motown memories
are in LA, and they mostly
include my mother, my fa-
ther and the Jackson broth-
ers coming over and playing
and singing with us in our
home in Beverly Hills.
Read the rest at
www.theskanner.com
‘The Walk’
By Kam Williams
Special to Th e Skanner News
I
n 1968, Philippe Petit (Joseph Gor-
don-Levitt) a struggling juggler, mime,
magician and trapeze artist decided to
elevate his game, literally, by stringing his
tightrope between the tops of the Twin Tow-
ers. The World Trade Center was yet to be
erected, which gave the Parisian street per-
former a half-dozen years to plan and prac-
tice for his death-defying feat.
Finally, on the morning of August 7, 1974,
he pulled off the eye-popping stunt with
the help of a few friends sworn to secrecy.
They’d agreed to help rig the high wire, de-
spite breaking the law in the process.
You see, Philippe hadn’t bothered to ask
the authorities for permission, fi guring it’d
never be approved. And for 40 minutes, he
put on a heart-stopping show, during which
he danced a jig, saluted the crowd below
and even lay down on the wire to take a
brief rest.
Written and directed by Bob Zemeck-
is (who won an Oscar for Forrest Gump),
The Walk recounts the events surrounding
Philippe’s bold and historic stroll. However,
the fi lm takes a few liberties with the facts
along the way, ostensibly in deference to the
demand for the sort of romance and tension
found in the typical Hollywood drama.
Consequently, Philippe has a hand-wring-
ing love interest here, Annie (Charlotte Le
Bon), as well as several close calls while
hovering a quarter-mile above the ground
between skyscrapers. In reality, the relation-
ship wasn’t very serious and the only time
he feared for his life was when he fell down
a fl ight of stairs while being manhandled by
the cops who’d just arrested him.
The film takes a few
liberties with the facts
along the way
If you’re interested in an accurate, if less
sensational version of events, check out
Man on Wire which won the 2008 Academy
Award for Best Documentary. But if all you
care about is production values, stick with
this hyperactive, special effects-driven af-
fair guaranteed to keep you on the edge of
your seat until Philippe plants his feet back
on solid earth.
A heart-stopping spectacular which plays
fast and loose with the truth in the interest of
overstimulating entertainment.
Good
Rated PG for mature themes, peril, brief
nudity, drug references, smoking and mild
epithets
Running time: 123 minutes
Distributor: Sony Pictures
October 21, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7