Jump to content
JJFP reunite for 50 years of Hip Hop December 10 ×
Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince Forum

Will Smith Directed Episode Of "All Of Us"


Recommended Posts

finally the update I promised you guys!...looks like Jaden's in the episode as well(those of you that haven't, get to check out his acting chops)

Will Smith Directed Episode Of 'All Of Us' To Air On Monday, April 24 On UPN

Author: UPNPress.com

BOBBY'S BIRTHDAY BASH TAKES A SERIOUS TURN WHEN HE BLURTS OUT THE N-WORD, ON 'ALL OF US,' MONDAY, APRIL 24 ON UPN

Executive Producer Will Smith Directs and Keith David ('Crash') Guest Stars

'The N-Word' -- When Bobby innocently blurts out the N-word in the middle of his birthday party, Robert and Neesee struggle to figure out a way to help Bobby understand the impact and historic significance of the word, on ALL OF US, Monday, April 24 (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. Will Smith directed the episode from a script by Royale Watkins.

Meanwhile, after Bobby's outburst inspires one father, Randall (guest star Keith David), to spark a frenzy of debate amongst the adults at the party, Robert tries to save his son's birthday by bringing the discussion to an end.

Robert James Duane Martin Neesee James LisaRaye McCoy Robert James, Jr. Khamani Griffin Dirk Black Tony Rock Randall Keith David Penelope Wendy Braun Timmy MacKenzie Hannigan Mike Brian Howe Julie Wen Yann Shih Reggie Jaden Smith

source via google: http://www.manhunt.com/news/stories/2006/4...ril24OnUPN.html

I'll bump this thread up, closer to the air date if necessary :2thumbs:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

something I thought was interesting since we've had the "N" word discussion here a few times:

Will Smith speaks on directing sitcom

Saturday, April 22 2006, 15:32 BST - by Daniel Kilkelly

Will Smith has spoken about his decision to direct an episode of his sitcom All Of Us.

The episode features an African-American character questioning the meaning of the 'N word', and Smith agreed to get involved because he felt that the subject matter should be handled delicately.

"The revisionist perspective on the word is that we have taken the word and we have transformed it and we have turned it into a word, much like the gay community did with the word 'queer.'" he told WENN.

"We flipped it and threw it in the face of the oppressor, but there's also those who would prefer that the word go the way of most words - it just dies and goes away. The show doesn't follow one side of the other - it's very interesting."

source via google:http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds31956.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

another article about the episode:

'All of Us' shows grace, intelligence in dealing with N-word

By JOANNE WEINTRAUB

jweintraub@journalsentinel.com

Posted: April 21, 2006

It's no wonder the phrase "very special episode" is mostly used these days, when it's used at all, as part of a punch line. Comedies that set out to preach and action dramas that deliver sober messages usually turn out to be more cringe-worthy than praiseworthy.

UPN's family sitcom "All of Us," on the other hand, airs an episode this week that puts a graceful, original spin on a much-discussed subject.

The half-hour - which also marks the directorial debut of Will Smith, who created the 2-year-old series with wife Jada Pinkett Smith - opens at the eighth birthday party of Bobby James (Khamani Griffin). Thanks to mom Neesee (LisaRaye McCoy), who never met a lily she couldn't gild, it's a gala worthy of a little prince, complete with an exotic menagerie that includes a llama, an ostrich and a camel that has to duck just to get through the door.

The tony trappings make it all the more embarrassing for Neesee and dad Robert (Duane Martin, "Deliver Us from Eva") when Bobby, who's been ignoring the mini-zoo to play a card game with friends, is asked by one of the kids if he has any threes and triumphantly sings out, "Nope! Go fish . . . ," adding the N-word. The epithet is barely out of Bobby's mouth when Robert picks him up like a sack of potatoes and carries him out of the room.

Family friend Dirk (Tony Rock), the joker in the pack, is delighted: "This is karma - a high-class party like this busted up (by) Bobby (dropping) the N-bomb on a little white kid!"

But everyone else is mortified or angry, particularly an older friend, Randall (Keith David, "Barbershop"), who warns the Jameses not to allow their son to deploy however innocently, "the most consequential social insult in American history."

And Bobby is innocent - so innocent that at first he believes he was banished to another room because his parents thought he was cheating at "Go Fish."

"I thought it meant, like, 'friend' or 'homie,' " Bobby says of the word that caused all the fuss.

A tough call

Trying to explain to him why the adults were so upset, Neesee and Robert twist themselves nearly inside-out.

Dealing with this powder keg of a word, Robert admits, is harder than "sex talk" or even "the God thing."

Some familiar arguments are heard and some solemn declarations made.

At one point, Martin has to deliver this mouthful: "The bottom line is, there will always be a part of this word that will be the most hateful, ugly thing you can ever think about black people, but if we (forbid it), we're just preserving the word - we're putting it on a pedestal, making it sacred."

But before the episode is through, writer Royale Watkins - who says he wrote the episode after his own son raised the N-word question - abandons rhetoric for a genuinely touching, affectionately comic scene in which the Jameses and Dirk sit down to watch a "Roots" video.

To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, there's hugging and learning, but there's also an honest acknowledgment that some dilemmas can't be resolved in 30 minutes.

To underline that ambiguity, the episode ends with a sort of slide show, accompanied only by music, that's far more provocative than any dialogue could be.

It features images of American consumer products from the early-to-mid-1900s - long-vanished brands of soap, shoe polish, playing cards, golf tees and licorice cigarettes - with names that included the racial epithet and crude racist cartoons to match.

Following these shameful artifacts are images intended by their creators to be proud and defiant, album covers from the last few decades featuring variations on the same word as used by Richard Pryor, 2Pac, Jay-Z and the group N.W.A..

The last picture is of young actor Griffin's face, as fitting a symbol as any of a generation that will decide for itself how words may and may not be used.

source via google: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=417350

gonna be sure to watch sounds pretty interesting, there's also a preview clip @ http://www.upn.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this sounds very interesting and a great episode..I'm gonna be sure to watch it. :yeah:

Thx Miss Ashley :2thumbs:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well at least you may get to see it sooner or later Julie,I may not get to see it at all:

N-word drops 'All of Us' out of prime time

April 23, 2006

BY DAREL JEVENS Staff Reporter

A UPN sitcom episode about a child's use of the n-word has been kicked out of its Monday primetime slot in Chicago -- and might not air here at all.

WPWR-Channel 50 said Friday that "All of Us" won't air as usual at 7:30 p.m. because station executives fear the episode will violate community standards.

On the show, a grade-school student blurts out the n-word in the midst of his birthday party, prompting a discussion among children and parents about the word's impact and historical significance.

Pat Mullen, vice president and general manager of Fox-owned WPWR, said he became concerned about the episode's content and wanted to see it before airing it, but UPN refused to provide an advance copy.

So the station plans to preempt "All of Us," and a WPWR executive will watch the show as UPN feeds it to affiliates at 7:30. If it passes muster, it will air at 11:30 p.m. Monday.

"If it isn't appropriate in our view, we won't run it" at all, Mullen said.

Will Smith, wife directed episode

In either case, the situation also will affect UPN's 7 p.m sitcom, "One on One," which on Monday will shift to 11 p.m. An episode of "The Tyra Banks Show" will fill the 7 to 8 p.m. hour on Channel 50.

Rapper and film star Will Smith, who is an executive producer of "All of Us" along with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, directed the episode.

WPWR is in its final months as a UPN affiliate. This fall the network will dissolve and WPWR will get its prime-time shows from the new My Network TV.

djevens@suntimes.com

source via google: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-upn23.html

*I find this a bit ridiculous, if it was that bad I don't think it'd be airing anywhere

Edited by MissAshley
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...