Hot Like ‘Fire’ Sebastian Telfair is the subject of
'Through The Fire,' an inspirational documentary –directed by
Jonathan Hock—opening today in select theaters.
The near-two-hour flick follows the Coney Island, Brooklyn native’s year-long journey from high school basketball stardom into the big leagues -- gracing the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’ while courting colleges, signing a multi-million dollar deal with Adidas and being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers. “We went into the Coney Island projects to shoot Sebastian for a short TV feature when he was in 11th grade,” Hock, an eight-time Emmy-award winning producer and director, told Black Voices yesterday. “It was going to air on the
Bob Costas show on HBO the night
LeBron James was being drafted into the NBA. LeBron changed the game - the whole landscape of sports and culture and youth had changed. Now here was another kid with game that had a chance to be the next big thing, so we went out to see him. We got way more than we expected.”
Produced by Hock Film and distributed theatrically by Cinema Libre and ESPN, the film has toured the festival circuit over the past year winning honors at the American Film Institute (AFI) Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and The Urbanworld Film Festival, respectively. “People hear about the film and expect a typical sports film,” he added. “Then they see it and say, "Wow, that wasn't really a sports movie. That was a real movie!’ Telfair, who hit the courts of the Surfside Housing Projects at age nine has been winning people over for years. Rap mogul
Jay-Z
who owns a stake in the New Jersey Nets is also the owner of Telfair’s summer-league team, and appears in ‘Through the Fire,’ which uses his music in the opening credits.
“He’s the guy next door,” ‘Fire’s’ Director of Photography/Co-Director
Alastair Christopher said. “Everybody knows a kid like Sebastian, he’s the guy so focused on his dream that you know him by that dream. The guy you walk by everyday saying what’s up to. Knowing whatever it is, he’s going to make it.” Telfair, the estranged cousin of New York Knicks star
Stephon Marbury and the adoptive brother of European basketball player
Jamel Thomas, is also the subject of
Ian O’Connor’s critically acclaimed book ‘The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball,’ which became available in paperback this month.
Image Awards Set, Taylor Honored'Essence'
magazine’s
Susan L. Taylor will be the recipient of the 2006 President's Award during the February 25 taping of the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast on March 3 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT) on FOX. "We are delighted to bestow Ms. Taylor with this honor," said
Bruce Gordon, President and CEO of the NAACP. "For the past three decades, Ms. Taylor has been the driving force behind the most celebrated African American owned business success story and she has moved and inspired the African American community not only with her words but her actions as well." On Jan. 10,
Randy Jackson, Aisha Tyler, Kimberly Elise, James Pickens Jr., and
Kevin Frazier joined Gordon to announce 38 categories, which included a new award for Directing. Among the nominees, ‘The Bernie Mac Show,’ ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and ‘Half & Half’ led the Television Comedy category with five each while ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ received four, and the
George C. Wolfe directed ‘Lackawanna Blues’ received seven nominations – the most of any television program.
Paul Haggis’ racially charged drama
'Crash' led the movie category with six nominations including Outstanding Motion Picture.
Kanye West, Alicia Keys and
Mariah Carey
led the Recording category nominations, with four nominations each including Outstanding Song and Outstanding Album. Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.
Doctor’s OrdersMekhi Phifer is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate degree on Feb. 11 from Nigeria’s Olabisi Onabanjo University, the school’s Vice Chancellor,
Professor Afolabi Soyode announced this week. According to a rep for the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ actor -- who is currently in South Africa shooting episodes of ‘ER,’ he will travel to Nigeria to support The Vine Group Charity, of which he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. The organization’s mission is “poverty reduction through quality education,” dedicated to bringing materials and financial resources to schools in Nigeria. A new facility at the Polytechnic, in Ibadan, has been christened the Mekhi Phifer Research Center -- a state-of-the-art technology center which he helped fund through philanthropic endeavors.
