V Magazine Fall 2008

How amazing does Patti Smith look here?

(Italian actress Valentina to appear in the new Spike Lee film)

(Subscribe to V Magazine)

Casting by Greg Krelenstein for Starworks
Out on Newsstands now.
J

A Barber’s Tale

What can I say about Nelson George? He’s a renaissance man. A confidant, mentor, writer, director, producer and muse to many great minds. He helped finance Spike Lee’s first film She’s Gotta Have It and toured with Chris Rock this summer for another doc under his belt. He’s published 15 books. Produced and Directed some films. His new TV show, Soul Cities, premieres on VH-1 this November 11 and takes us through a tour of the most historically soulful cities in the United States. Episode #1 is Philly with another 5 episodes/cities to come.

A BARBER’S TALE from Nelson George on Vimeo.

Jauretsi: Tell me about the inspiration for this beautiful short?

Nelson George: The monologue is an excerpt from a play I had written. I had a reading of the play over the summer and this monologue was incredibly well received. Reg E. Cathey who starred in Oz, The Wire and in an HBO film I exec produced Everyday People, did the role at the reading and wanted to reprise it here. I shot Reg E. in my office and the barber footage with two DV cameras.

On the closing bumper, I see “Urban Romances”. What is that exactly?

Urban Romances is the name of my production company and under that banner I produce Hip Hop Honors for VH1, American Gangster on BET and Soul Cities for Vh1 Soul.

Any more cool art shorts?

A Barbers Tale is the first of several shorts I plan to do in the next few months.

——————————-

To read more details of upcoming projects, read NelsonGeorge.net.

Yes We Did!

(Champagne in Harlem)

BARACK OBAMA SONG by Cocoa Tea

(PLAY THIS SONG LOUD IN YOUR OFFICE)

I’m still coming out of shock and processing all the feelings regarding my future here as an American. Not only is this a new day in terms of Presidency, but an enormous victory for the Civil Rights movement. Obama once said, “I STILL have a dream” right before his grandmother left to meet MLK in the afterlife. There’s too many things beyond our understanding here. Lets just give thanks.

Just to add another layer of frosting, I’ve been silenced by all the International support. Barack takes office on January 20th. Here’s how some feel about it:

South Africa
“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.”
- Nelson Mandela (South Africa’s Former President)

France
Called Mr. Obama’s victory “brilliant” and his campaign “exceptional.”
- President Nicolas Sarkozy

Kenya
“Your victory is not only an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, but it has special resonance with us here in Kenya” — the birthplace of Mr. Obama’s father and paternal grandparents.
- President Mwai Kibaki

European Union
Said it saw “the promise of a reinforced trans-Atlantic relationship” in Mr. Obama’s election

United Nations
Called Mr. Obama’s election a “historic opportunity” for a stronger working relationship with the United States.
- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Spain
“I am confident this opens a horizon of promise for relations between the United States and Spain”.
- Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

France
“American democracy has just lived through a marvelous moment, one of those major turning points that periodically demonstrates its vitality, its belief in the future and its trust in the values on which it was founded over two centuries.”
- The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner

Parliament London
Said that Mr. Obama had run “an inspirational campaign, energizing politics with progressive values and his vision for the future.” He then went on to say Barack was “true friend of Britain”.
- Prime Minister Gordon Brown

London
“They did it. They really did it.”
- Guardian Newspaper

Oh Yes We Did.
J

(The World Is Watching)

Source: New York Times

More Pics here:
Ohio Part 1
Ohio Part 2

More Ohio

(Obama Headquarters, Ohio)

It’s been 4 days here in Ohio. I’ve been working closely with the Obama headquarters in Cleveland and learning for the first time all the hard work that goes into these trenches. The city has been broken into quadrants, each section had a packet, each packet contained names/addresses of specific information that allowed us to know who voted (not to bug them), and who didn’t (so we can provide info on where they can vote early, or where their polls were on Nov 4th). Every night, the lists got widdled down less and less, tighter and tighter, thereby allowing volunteers to focus only on necessary homes to target.

(Obama City Grid Gameplan)

Also, today we saw long lines of early voters here in Cleveland — in the pouring rain no less. Today, our office, combined with others in Ohio counted that we all knocked on 1 million homes in this state today! I am with a great bunch of New Yorkers and Los Angeles folks from the creative industry who have all hopped airplanes to gather here to help win this state. If you’ve never done this work before, I highly encourage it to virgins on the next term. It’s a truly majestic experience.

(Door Knocking Grassrooting Efforts)

Just to add to the historical moment, I was fortunate enough to see Obama speak at a rally yesterday as the man traveled through Cleveland yesterday. Bruce Springsteen sang songs about America’s working class. Bruce explained that as an artist, he’s always measured his music between the “American Dream” and “American Reality”. He then went on to say that Barack is the same — and that Baracks actual LIFE and WORK has made Barack measure that line between the American Dream and the American Reality. Tons of people around me were photographing on their iPhones, and directly uploading onto their Facebooks. I was seeing other Facebook coverage/pics from other states on additional friends phones.

For fear of sounding of hokey, I’ll venture to say that I’m pretty proud of being an American today. I haven’t felt this level of national pride (and genuine love of our country) my entire life.

(Headquarters. Quadrant Packets)

Then Bruce introduced Obama. The crowd went nuts. The energy was all too contagious. After an elegant, strong, direct, uplifting speech, the rally ended and his people dropped Stevie Wonder’s “Signed Sealed Delivered, I’m Yours” out of the pumping speakers. The crowds peacefully disseminated out of the park while shaking their asses.

(Showing Residents Where Their Local Polling Stations Are)

(Crowds Arriving to Hear Obama Speak)

(Obama Speaks in Cleveland Yesterday After Bruce Springsteen Plays)

Things to watch out for tomorrow — Basically, the states to pay attention to is Virginia and Pennsylvania — Florida too. If it seems Obama has won those early in the race, then it might be smooth sailing. Of course this is no time to exhale or relax. ANYTHING can happen. I’m hoping you all know by now to vote. But take this moment to tell everyone else you know at work, play, or school. If they can’t go, drive them there. We need to SPRINT all the way through the finish line.

TIP: If you’d like to see minute-by-minute update on the Electoral projections — go to Electoral-Vote.com. It’s a smart layout. Check it out.

Tomorrow is the moment of truth.

Whatever you do, make your vote count tomorrow.

J

All Photos by Jauretsi

Cleveland for Obama

(Obama Office, Cleveland, Ohio)

Ohio is an important state for the election. Lots of interesting stuff happening over hear. East Cleveland has been my “beat” today so I spoke to lots of locals. Surprisingly, a healthy amount of residents have already gone out to vote early…. and more to come this Tuesday. Others from our team walked around the suburbs of Cleveland, sprawling large pieces of land, huge properties, McCain signs up in front yards. The race is definitely not won yet.

East Cleveland is drenched with poverty. Most of the residents on my list have moved (or been evicted as the landlords tell me) as I cross out name by name of people I was supposed to check up on. Others have died. Lots of RIP graffiti tags on boarded up homes, some are converted to crack houses. Having said that, I had several amazing conversations with other locals sitting on their porches today.

Obama seems to be a hero around here. Mr Barack himself is swinging through downtown Cleveland tomorrow so the entire city is awaiting one of his epic pep talks — baited breath.

Stay tuned…

If you’d like to see more photos of Cleveland homes, people, and places, visit Obama/Jauretsi/Flicker collection.
J

All Photos by Jauretsi