The Movie That Changed My Life

26. Vondie Curtis-Hall (actor, Passion Fish; director, Gridlock). "Sometimes the movies that have the biggest impact on you are not necessarily the greatest movies of all time. I was an actor on Broadway when I saw She's Gotta Have It. At that point you didn't see that many black actors and you certainly didn't see many black directors. To see Spike Lee get out and make a funny, innovative movie was really inspirational. The following year I went to film school. I thought I'd like to try to bring my experiences to the screen. So She's Gotta Have It definitely changed my life."

27. Lisa Canning (correspondent, "Entertainment Tonight"). 'The movie that changed my life was Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It. It wasn't an epiphany or anything, but it was one of the few females leads who I recognized as an African-American woman."

28. Russell Simmons (cochair, Def Pictures; producer, The Nutty Professor). "I have to say The Mack really had an impact on me. It made us all want to grow up to be pimps. I'm joking, but I really loved the fun and energy of that movie and the terrific cast of people like Richard Pryor and Max Julien."

29. Max Julien (actor, The Mack; author, Dark Clowns Kickin' Ass). "Probably the movie that had the most effect on me was The Birth of a Nation. I saw it when I was a kid and I was offended by it. My family taught us African-American history, so I was very upset by the film's inaccuracies of our history. The Birth of a Nation motivated me to want to alter things. After seeing it, I decided that when I grew up I was going to make films to help correct that."

30. Wynn Thomas (production designer, Mars Attacks!, Malcolm X). "At the tender age of 13, I saw Tennessee Williams's Summer and Smoke. It's a wonderful but sad story of Alma, the local preacher's daughter and town spinster, played by the brilliant Geraldine Page. She's in love with her neighbor across the lawn, the sexy and socially reckless Dr. John, played by the always moody Laurence Harvey. I was at the beginning of my insecure teenage years, and I completely related to the plain and sexually repressed Alma. I was shocked that a movie could convey such strong emotions, and that a movie could capture the very same emotions I was feeling at that time. That viewing of Summer and Smoke changed my life. I decided I had to be involved with a business that could communicate with people on such a stark and emotional level. It was at the age of 13 that I decided that I would one day work in the movie business."

31. Sharlette Hambrick (coordinating producer, "Entertainment Tonight"; producer, Ink). "The movie that affected me the most was Imitation of Life. Which version? I love them both. Watching the desire of that young woman who wants so desperately to fit in--and what that desperation costs her--brings tears to my eyes to this day. My mother and I used to watch that movie and cry like you can't believe. Years later, when I left to go to Hollywood, my mother's one piece of advice was, 'Be yourself.'"

32. Keith Jackson (actor, Reggie's Prayer; tight end, Green Bay Packers). "Imitation of Life showed that no matter what happens in life, you must always remember where you came from. Every time I see that movie, it makes me cry."

33. Tyger Williams (screenwriter, Menace II Society). "Star Wars was the first non-Disney movie that I saw, and it changed my life. I was amazed by the epic scope of it, and I was moved by the story of a conflicted hero and how the saga played out with his father. That movie made me say: 'I want to tell stories one day.'"

34. Lynne Moody (actress, "Knots Landing," Roots I and II). "I saw Peter Pan when I was a little girl, and it changed my life. I still haven't grown up, I'm still trying to fly, and I'm still looking for Never Neverland."

35. Reginald Hudlin (director, House Party, Boomerang). "Tommy by Ken Russell was the movie that tipped me over and made me think I had to make movies. When I was a kid, I listened to Motown records and wondered why they didn't make movies to go along with the music. When I saw Tommy, I thought: finally, someone made a contemporary music movie. It wasn't playing in my neighborhood in St. Louis. I had to take two or three buses to get to a suburban theater to see it. I even bought the album. It cost a lot, and it was a 'white' album, but I had to have it. I know that's not the typical movie that people study in film school. But I think a lot of filmmakers are living to make a musical. I desperately want to make a rock opera like Tommy."

36. Warrington Hudlin (producer, House Party, Boomerang). "Sweet Sweetback's Baud Asssss Song by Melvin Van Peebles is the movie that inspired me to become a filmmaker. When I sat in the theater in 1971 watching this film, two things struck me profoundly: one is that African Americans can make movies, and two, we can change what the movies say."

37. Preston Holmes (president, Def Pictures; producer, Malcolm X). "Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song changed my life in a couple of ways. When I saw it, I was in college debating whether to leapfrog into a career in the movie business. That film showed me it was possible, Melvin Van Peebles faced a lot of obstacles getting the film made, but he triumphed. He released it himself in a four-wall strategy, made quite a bit of money and he instigated the whole blaxploitation craze of the '70s. He proved there was an audience starved for films about black experience. Beyond that, the boldness and militance of the film's message inspired me."

38. Mario Van Peebles (actor, Solo; director, New Jack City). "This may sound like blatant nepotism, but the movie that changed my life was my dad's movie, Sweet Sweetback's Baud Asssss Song. I acted in that movie as a kid. I carried cable. I was there when the whole crew got arrested because the authorities didn't believe that minorities could have camera equipment unless they stole it. I think that movie broke down barriers for the next generation. It showed a lot of us that we could be film-makers. Sweetback opened the doors for New Jack City and Boyz N the Hood, So it's important to me as a son, as a member of the human community, the African-American community, and the future filmmaking community."

39. Regina King (actress, Jerry Maguire, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate). "It seems timely that a movie that had a profound effect on me--both now and then--was Juice, which starred my friend Tupac Shakur. In the role of 'Bishop,' Tupac showed an energy and determination that was present both in his life and the lives of so many young men today. Juice exemplifies the daily struggles we encounter and the conviction that we need to over-come our obstacles."

40. Bo Jackson (actor, The Chamber, former baseball player, Kansas City Royals; football player, Los Angeles Raiders). "The Color Purple had the greatest impact on me. The final scene when Celie and Nettie are united and running toward each other in the flower field reminds you of the family connection and why family is important."

41. Rob Moore (actor, Jerry Maguire; wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals). "The film that changed my life was The Color Purple, for its sense of commitment, family, and most of all for its depiction of domestic violence--which ultimately shows a woman's strength and her ability to stand up for herself."

42. Eartha Kitt (singer; actress, Anna Lucasta, Boomerang). "What movie changed my life? Life changed my life! But I can say that Orson Welles's Citizen Kane had a tremendous effect on me. That film showed me that just because you're rich, you're not necessarily happy. My family is the most important pan of my life, and the movie's theme about materialism really gave me food for thought."

43. Tony Puryear (screenwriter, Eraser, founder, Black Rebel Digits multimedia company). "I saw Blade Runner 41 times when it came out. It's a great example of how movies can do things that novels can't, that television can't, that no other medium can do. Blade Runner made me want to make films."

44. Rose Jackson (actress, Dead Presidents, "The Crew"). "Although just a movie, Beaches reminded me of the importance of friendship. I saw it several years ago with a coworker, who from that day forward became my very best girlfriend."

45. Michael G. Moye (producer, DreamWorks SKG; cocreator, "Married...With Children"). "I'd have to say Dead Presidents. It brought home the old adage: 'We have seen the enemy, and he is us.'"

46. Bokeem Woodbine (actor, Dead Presidents, Edwards and Hunt: The First American Road Trip). "The Outsiders was one of my favorites when I was coming up. What endeared me to it was the fact that, although it had a tragic ending, the story gave birth to a new life for one of the characters. It makes you sad that a lot of Ponyboy's friends have died at the end, but even so, you're happy that he's going to be moving on to a better life."

47. Jaki Brown-Karman (casting director, Waiting to Exhale, Boyz N the Hood). "When my former partner Toni Livingston and I received the script of Stand and Deliver from producers Tom Musca and Ramon Menendez, I just flipped out. I said to myself. 'This is the kind of film I do this work for.' It was a Rocky story for kids in the 'hood, with a Cinderella ending. It changed my stand-ing as a casting director and gave me credibility in the industry. It's a film I will always be proud to be a part of--it changed people's lives."

48. Dolores Robinson (personal manager, Dolores Robinson Entertain-ment). "Well, I'm a strange bird and, also, a very biased bird, but two movies that moved me tremendously are Enchanted April and Sleepers. The very, very sweet Enchanted April is my favorite movie in the whole wide world. But I was also moved deeply by Sleepers--to see what those boys went through and then to see, ultimately, how it ended. I admit I'm biased: I do represent somebody in Sleepers [Jason Patric]. But whether I did or not, it's a very moving movie."

49. Holly Robinson Peete (actress, "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," The Jacksons: An American Dream). "The movie that changed my life was Blazing Saddles. One of the stars of that movie was the late Cleavon Little, who was a close family friend. When we were broke, he let my family live at his house in Malibu for free. It was at his home that I saw my first video--_Blazing Saddles_--and I must have seen it 100 times. Not only is it brilliant, but it makes me laugh. Mainly, though, it reminds me of Cleavon, who made a big difference in my life. For years, I used that movie as a litmus test for guys I dated. If they thought it was funny, then they were in. My husband, Rodney Peete, is the only person I know who loves Blazing Saddles as much as I do. Whenever we need a lift, we watch it together, and we can recite the entire movie line for line."

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