*Squeals!* After what seems like a million years since the previews and songs from the soundtrack and interviews of stars Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks started circulating, SPARKLE hits theaters today! I absolutely can not wait to sit front and center on Sunday afternoon with my girls so that we can watch the screenplay on which I based, “Sparkle: A Novel,” come to life. I promise you this: if Jordin (Sparkle), Whitney (Mama/Emma), Derek Luke (Stix), Mike Epps (Satin) and Carmen Ejogo (Sister) even remotely bring the excitement, drama, passion and, well, sparkle (1) I got from the screenplay written by Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends), this bad boy is going to be every bit as glorious as the original 1976 Sparkle, starring Irene Cara, Lonette McKee, Philip Michael Thomas and Dorian Harewood. Friends, I super duper ask this one favor of you: go to the movies this weekend and support this film. It’s being produced by black folk (Debra Martin Chase and T.D. Jakes), directed by a black man (Salim Akil), written by an incredibly talent black woman (Akil), and starring a bold cast of black actors and actresses—veterans and newbies. And I know it’s going to be delicious enough for you to want to eat it with a spoon! Plus, you’ll be helping to make a success the second movie on the big screen to be tied to a book I had my hands on (the first, Think Like A Man, was based on “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man,” the book I co-authored with Steve Harvey). I thank you in advance for the support—SPARKLE! In the meantime, check out some of the stories about the movie:
‘Sparkle’ update offers new take on history of soul music (New York Times)
Review: Give it time and it’ll ‘Sparkle’ (Los Angeles Times)
Vocalist Lonette McKee: ‘Sparkle’ Sister No. 1 (USA Today)
Whitney Houston’s Co-Stars Remember Her Final Acting Performance. (NBC Chicago)
Plus other MyBrownBaby Fresh Links…
A Love Poem for Single Mothers (Crunk Feminist Collective)
On Teaching What is Pretty (Clutch)
Are Disparities in School Discipline Harming our Black Students (Black And Married With Kids)
Halle Berry Tells Judge U.S. Paparazzi Unsafe for Daughter (Atlanta Black Star)
Gabby Douglas’ Father Wants Some of Her Money (Atlanta Black Star)
Back To School Week: Confessions Of A Former Class Parent (Mommyish)
White Denial and Black Middle-Class Realities (Part 1) (Huffington Post)
And I leave you with this, the trailer for Sparkle, and a video of Sister & Her Sisters, singing “Hooked On Your Love,” from the original Sparkle. Have a fantastic weekend, friends—I can’t wait to hear what you think about the new movie!
Denene Millner
Mom. NY Times bestselling author. Pop culture ninja. Unapologetic lover of shoes, bacon and babies. Nice with the verbs. Founder of the top black parenting website, MyBrownBaby.
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I thought Dreamgirls was the first movie connected to a book you had your hands on?
Sparkle is the second movie THIS YEAR that had a book tie-in to which I’m attached. Dreamgirls was my first, a few years back. Thanks for pointing that out!