St. John's Confidential File

HELLO AMERICA!—This past weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center sparkled with those who have a passion for television and film production. This realization became even more evident with the kind of first night "reception" organized by the U.S.-China Film & TV Expo organization, which was also supported by Variety. It was very clear that the entertainment industry is...

HELLO AMERICA!—It is always gratifying, even exciting when it is possible to introduce a new face to the motion picture industry. This is why the film “A Star is Born” has been replicated so many times as well as in so many exciting forms. Not long ago I was introduced to a young girl from Russia. Her name is Katerina...

HELLO AMERICA!—There has always been people of “inclusion” existing in the entertainment industry. I know because I was one of those young hopefuls who was lucky enough to have the door of opportunity opened to me continually through the years even before arriving in Hollywood. While attending college in Richmond, Indiana and attacked by the KKK, it was the...

HELLO AMERICA!—Every time I do an interview on TV or radio, I’m asked who influenced me most as a writer, journalist or as a radio host. I don’t have to think twice, the name Tony Brenna eased from my mouth with satisfaction. After all, it was Brenna who opened the door to genuine reporting and dealing with some of...

HELLO AMERICA!—Recently I spoke again with my dear friend Juanita Moore who was the third Afro-American to be nominated for an Oscar in a supporting role at the Academy Awards.  She is over 90 years old, but still eager and ready to face the camera or a theatre audience. MSJ: Juanita even after all these years I still hear that...

It Takes Work To Become Special – Bette Davis Was Right! HELLO AMERICA!—I have been receiving questions from young actors who are having difficulty in finding the "center" of the character they are to create. Believe me this is something quite normal for any performer, whether it is as an actor, musician or even as a painter. The bottom line...

HELLO AMERICA!─Attempting to get a bin Hollywood is often a crazy and at times is insane under the best of circumstances. One is forced to deal with egos and hidden submerged needs and frustrations of those who believe they were born to be watched and applauded for their god given talents. Very few can handle the pressure and the...

HELLO AMERICA!—She was born and raised in New York and proud of it, and her name is Scarlett Johansson. At age 13, she signed for a role in a film “The Horse Whisperer,” and it brought her critical acclaim. However, she makes it quite clear that she didn’t hop on a plane for Hollywood to make it big. “I prepared...

HELLO AMERICA!—It is quite exciting, I must admit, to meet someone of color who paved the way for so many extraordinary accomplishments. Shelby Jacobs is a mechanical engineer from the Apollo era. As Project Manager of the Apollo-Soyuz orbiter, Shelby designed instrumentation that would capture one of the most repeated images in space history: the separation between the first...

HELLO AMERICA!—Many-times honored for his work in films and television, Louis Gossett, Jr. speaks out about an industry he has loved most of his life and career. The actor made his debut on Broadway in Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" in 1959, since that time, there have been numerous other awards bestowed on Gossett. MSJ: Today, there...