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RSVIP: Janet Jackson at Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" Premiere

Filed under: Events

Even a gritty film that offers viewers several full-force emotional kicks in the stomach deserves a glamorous movie premiere.

"For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" is a play, built from 20 poems, that first opened at a woman's bar in Berkeley, California, and won a Tony Award on Broadway in 1976. While director Tyler Perry has frequently worked with all-star, mainly female African-American casts, he has never attempted such challenging material--long, poetic speeches punctuated at times by eye-shielding violence.

Perry, right, wearing a distinct three-piece suit with broad pin stripes, said he didn't originally jump at the project. "I got a phone call about five years ago, he mentioned at the Ziegfeld in New York on Monday. "Somebody said, 'What about "Colored Girls"?'

"Whoopi Goldberg, who is in the cast, called him "a couple of years after that . . . somebody else called, somebody else called. . . . and I don't need a brick to fall on me," he indicated.

"I saw the original Broadway production," Phylicia Rashad, who plays a central character, told RSVIP. "It was disturbing. I'd never seen anything quite so raw."

And does Rashad, who was wearing a sparkling tunic, and bejeweled shoes by Beverly Feldman, think that Perry did a good job translating the landmark work to the big screen? Yes . . . and the poetry hasn't been sacrificed. He opens things up, so you can see as you listen and hear."

Macy Gray, who plays a role in one of the more disturbing scenes in the film, also performs one of the songs on the all-star soundtrack. "Tyler liked my song "Stand Up," which summarizes the film. 'No matter what happens, get back up on your feet and live and survive.'"

"I've already seen the film. And I thought it was fascinating . . . very heavy," said Gray who accented her eyebrows with small crystals. "But it's definitely a movie you should see. It's well-crafted, well-acted, and important."

"Janet makes me schvitz," offered fellow cast-member Kerry Washington, patting her face with a white handkerchief as she stood next to Janet Jackson.

Tags: CIA, For Colored Girls, For Colored Girls Soundtrack, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow i, janet jackson, macy gray, rsvip, Thandie Newton, tyler perry

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2009 Vintners Hall of Fame Dinner

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Wine

The 2009 Vintners Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. The hall of fame at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California honors those who have contributed to the California wine industry. This year's group includes wine journalist Gerald Asher, Gourmet magazine; Jack and Jamie Davies, founders of Schramsberg Vineyards; Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson Estates; U.C. Davis Professor and co-founder of Lagier-Meredith Winery, Carole Meredith; Justin Meyer, co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars; and Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Also Frederick and Jacob Beringer, who founded Beringer Vineyards, will be inducted as "Pioneers," a category for those those who made a significant contribution to the California wine industry and passed away prior to March, 1989.

You can take part in the day-long Celebration of California Wine and Food that ends with the Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Celebrity Chef Walk-Around Reception on March 14 at CIA Greystone. The morning includes a pair of food and wine salons followed by luncheons and tastings held at local wineries including Beringer Vineyards, Cardinale, Hundred Acre, Quixote Winery, Rudd Oakville Estate, Schramsberg and Viader Vineyards. The main event includes the chance to meet guest chefs Michael Chiarello, Todd Humphries, Christopher Kostow and Charlie Palmer at the reception in the CIA Greystone's Teaching Kitchens followed by the Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. A ticket costs $300 for reception and dinner ($150 is tax-deductible) or the full day package can be purchased for $500.

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Tags: chef, cia, culinary institute of america, CulinaryInstituteOfAmerica, wine