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The Sopranos was the premier gangster series and it changed television. The HBO show drew from David Chase’s memories, expertise, and love of mob movies of the past. The Many Saints of Newark has all those things, but it won’t just be a big screen version of the influential small-screen hit. It will be a fully formed gangster movie.

During an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jon Bernthal, who plays Tony’s father Giovanni “Johnny Boy” Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark, admitted he hasn’t yet seen the film, and couldn’t give too much away even if he wasn’t upholding the tradition of omerta. “What I will say is that it’s different,” Bernthal told Seth Meyers. “I think people are going to go in expecting The Sopranos. It’s not that.”

Set in 1960s Newark, The Many Saints of Newark explores...

Actor Joseph Siravo — who played Tony Soprano’s father on The Sopranos and also appeared in films like Carlito’s Way and numerous Broadway shows — died Sunday, NJ.com reports. He was 64.

Siravo died after a battle with cancer, having been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2017. He was later diagnosed with colon cancer and had part of his colon removed.

Although not necessarily a series regular, Siravo played a key role on The Sopranos, popping up as Tony’s father, Giovanni Frances “Johnny Boy” Soprano, in memorable flashback scenes scattered throughout the series.

Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano’s father on “The Sopranos” and starred in the first national tour of “Jersey Boys,” died Sunday after a long battle with colon cancer, his manager tells TheWrap. He was 66 years old at the time of his death.

Siravo is best known for his role as Tony Soprano’s father, Johnny Soprano, on HBO’s iconic drama “The Sopranos,” his part as Vinnie Taglialucci in “Carlito’s Way,” and Fred Goldman in Ryan Murphy’s “American Crime Story: The People Vs. Oj Simpson.”

“Our friend and colleague Joe Siravo has passed away. Joe was an excellent actor and a wonderful guy and he will be missed dearly,” Michael Imperioli said in an Instagram post tribute to his “Sopranos” co-star. “His performance of Johnny Boy Soprano was spot on and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s ‘The Wannabe.’ In my opinion...

Actor Joseph Siravo, whose many TV roles included Tony Soprano’s father Johnny Boy on The Sopranos, died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 64.

“I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse,” Siravo’s daughter Allegra Okarmus wrote in a private Instagram post quoted by the BBC. “We are both so lucky to be so intensely loved. I am so immensely grateful to have had him here on earth and I know that he hasn’t gone very far.”

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Joseph Siravo, best known for his roles as Tony Soprano’s father in The Sopranos, Fred Goldman in American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson and stage musical Jersey Boys, has died, according to family. He was 66.

Siravo died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. The BBC quoted his daughter Allegra Okarmus, who wrote on Instagram: “I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse. We are both so lucky to be so intensely loved. I am so immensely grateful to have had him here on earth and I know that he hasn’t gone very far.”

Siravo’s character in HBO smash The Sopranos appeared in flashbacks to the 1960s as Tony’s father, Johnny, with whom he had a difficult relationship.

On stage, he clocked up more than 2,000 performances as character Gyp DeCarlo in the first U.

“Sopranos” star Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano’s father, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 66.

Siravo’s agent confirmed the actor’s death to Variety, noting that he died on Sunday following a “long, courageous” battle with colon cancer.

Siravo is best known for work in television as well as theater. On HBO’s “Sopranos,” he played Johnny Soprano — featuring prominently in flashback episodes to the 1960s — and later portrayed Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman, in FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

Other recent credits include TV series such as “For Life,” “The Blacklist,” “Made in Jersey,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Law and Order.” In film, he appeared in the Adam Driver-led “The Report” and Meera Menon’s 2016 film “Equity, as well as “Motherless Brooklyn,” “The Wannabe,” “Shark Tale” and “Night Falls on Manhattan.”

Born and raised in Washington D.

Joseph Siravo, the veteran Broadway actor and educator who played Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, has died after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 66.

His friend and The Sopranos co-star Garry Pastore confirmed Siravo’s death in a post on Instagram on Sunday night. “Rip my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight. I will miss you. See you on the other side,” Pastore wrote.

The BBC quoted his daughter Allegra Okarmus, who wrote on Instagram: “I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his ...

Joseph Siravo, the veteran Broadway actor and educator who played Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, has died after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 66.

His friend and The Sopranos co-star Garry Pastore confirmed Siravo’s death in a post on Instagram on Sunday night. “Rip my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight. I will miss you. See you on the other side,” Pastore wrote.

The BBC quoted his daughter Allegra Okarmus, who wrote on Instagram: “I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his ...

Ray Liotta – an actor all too familiar with gangster roles – has entered negotiations to join ‘The Soprano’ prequel movie, ‘The Many Saints of Newark’.

Liotta would join the likes of Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, Billy Magnussen, Corey Stoll, and Michael Gandolfini, who will play the Tony Soprano role originated by his late father James Gandolfini.

Terminator Genisys’ Alan Taylor will be directing the movie, he is no stranger to the murky underworld of the TV show. Having already directed a number of episodes on the series, he also won an Emmy for sixth season episode Kennedy and Heidi in 2007.

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The script, which is written by Chase and Lawrence Konner is said to be set during the Newark riots in the ’60s when racial tensions between the Italian and African American communities were at boiling point. It is...

David Chase is currently developing a prequel film to the hit HBO mob series The Sopranos. The movie is called The Many Saints of Newark, and Chase wrote the script for it.

The story for the prequel is set in the era of the Newark riots in the ‘60s. "That was a time when the African-Americans and the Italians of Newark were at each other’s throats, and amongst the gangsters of each group, those conflicts became especially lethal."

In case you were wondering, yes, some of the characters from the series will appear in the film. Obviously, they will be younger versions. It’s explained that "the time period indicates there will be room for Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni ‘Johnny Boy,’ the former captain of the Soprano crew (played in flashbacks by Joseph Siravo), and a younger version of his wife Livia (played indelibly in the show’s...

A few months ago we learned that New Line Cinema was set to produce a prequel film for HBO's The Sopranos called The Many Saints of Newark. Creator David Chase co-wrote the script for the film with Lawrence Konner and now Variety is reporting that Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor is set to direct. It makes sense to bring Taylor on board to direct because he actually directed nine of the 86 episodes of The Sopranos.

The film is set in the 1960s in Newark, New Jersey, amid conflicts between African-American and Italian residents. Over four days of rioting in July, 1967, 26 people died and hundreds were injured in Newark.

It was previously reported that the film is set during a "time when the African-Americans and the Italians of Newark were at each other’s throats, and amongst the gangsters of each group, those conflicts became especially lethal."

The...

The feature film prequel to the TV series The Sopranos, The Many Saints of Newark, has finally found its director in Alan Taylor.

Terminator Genisys’s Taylor is no stranger to the murky underworld of the TV show. Having already directed a number of episodes on the series, he also won an Emmy for sixth season episode Kennedy and Heidi in 2007.

The script, which is written by Chase and Lawrence Konner is said to be set during the Newark riots in the ’60s when racial tensions between the Italian and African American communities were at boiling point. It is also thought that a number of the original cast members from the show are set to return for the feature.

Also in the news – Scarlett Johansson to reunite with Ghost in the Shell director in Rub and Tug

It’s looking likely that Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni Johnny Boy, the...

It was earlier this year we learned that, following in the footsteps of Sex and the City and Entourage, another HBO series is getting the movie treatment: The Sopranos. Rather than taking the form of a sequel, considering its lead star has passed away, the film will be going the prequel route. After scripting The Many Saints of Newark, which takes place in the titular locale back in the 1960s, David Chase won’t be stepping into the director’s chair himself, but rather reuniting with director Alan Taylor.

While he hasn’t had the biggest success in Hollywood, taking on Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys, two franchise lows (though we’ll certainly hear arguments when it comes to the latter), Taylor is certainly comfortable in the world of everyone’s favorite mafia family. He earned an Emmy directing “Kennedy and Heidi,” the sixth season episode which found Tony killing off Christopher,...

Sopranos fans everywhere rejoice, for The Sopranos creator, David Chase, has sold his screenplay for a prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, to Warner Bros. New Line Cinema.

The script, which is written by Chase and Lawrence Konner is said to be set during the Newark riots in the 60s when racial tensions between the Italian and African American communities were at boiling point. Chase will also serve as a producer and will be involved in finding a director for the picture.

Also in the news – Exclusive: Check out the great new SXSW movie poster for Wild Honey Pie! starring Jemima Kirke & Alice Lowe.

It is said that some of the well-loved characters from the series will appear in the film, due to the timeline of the plot – which is being kept under wraps – it’s looking likely that Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni Johnny Boy, the former captain...

Following in the footsteps of Sex and the City and Entourage, another HBO series is getting the movie treatment: The Sopranos. Considering the show–perhaps the greatest to ever air on television, or stream on any platform, for that matter–concluded over a decade ago and a few of its stars, including James Gandolfini and Frank Vincent, have passed away, the proposed film will not take the sequel form, but rather go back in time.

Deadline reports New Line has picked up David Chase’s screenplay The Many Saints of Newark, which takes place in Newark back in the 1960s. It was a tumultuous time in New Jersey as Italians and African-Americans clashed and the gangsters fought it out in deadly ways. Although Chase scripted alongside Lawrence Konner, he will not be directing the project, which is disappointing news for those that admired his unfairly overlooked Not Fade Away. In...

Is there an Oscar in “The Sopranos”’ future? New Line has purchased “The Many Saints of Newark,” “Sopranos” creator David Chase’s prequel film to his seminal series, Deadline reports.

Set in 1960s Newark, N.J., “The Many Saints of Newark,” which is its working title, will revolve around the deadly riots between the city’s African-Americans and Italian-Americans residents. Though no characters have been confirmed, Deadline reports some familiar faces from the HBO series will be in the film, most likely young versions of Tony Soprano’s father Giovanni “Johnny Boy,” mother Livia and uncle Junior. Joseph Siravo played Johnny Boy in flashbacks on the series, while Nancy Marchand and Dominic Chianese played Livia and Junior, respectively.

See Emmys flashback: 10 years ago, ‘The Sopranos’ took its final bow [Watch]

Chase, who co-wrote the script with fellow “Sopranos” writer Lawrence Konner, will also serve as a producer.

“The Sopranos” won 21 Emmy Awards during its six-season run,...

David Chase is ready to jump into the mob world of The Sopranos again! He wrote a script for a Sopranos prequel film called The Many Saints of Newark and New Line Cinema just bought the screenplay!

The story for the prequel is set in the era of the Newark riots in the 60s. "That was a time when the African-Americans and the Italians of Newark were at each other’s throats, and amongst the gangsters of each group, those conflicts became especially lethal."

In case you were wondering, yes, some of the characters from the will appear in the film. Obviously, they will be younger versions. According to Deadline, "the time period indicates there will be room for Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni “Johnny Boy,” the former captain of the Soprano crew (played in flashbacks by Joseph Siravo), and a younger version of his wife Livia (played indelibly in...

David Chase is officially returning to the world of “The Sopranos.” Deadline confirms Chase and Lawrence Konner’s screenplay for their “Sopranos” prequel film has been purchased by New Line. The working title for the prequel is “The Many Saints of Newark.” Chase created the HBO series, which ran for six seasons, and Konner served as a writer.

“The Many Saints of Newark” is set during the 1960s riots in the New Jersey city between the African-American and Italian communities. The war between the cultural mobs turns especially lethal. According to Deadline, the prequel film will include characters that appeared on the HBO series, most likely younger versions of Tony Soprano’s father and mother, played in the original series in flashback by Joseph Siravo and Nancy Marchand. Tony’s uncle Junior is also expected to appear.

Chase will serve as producer in addition to co-writer. He’ll also be...

A few thoughts on tonight's The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story coming up just as soon as I do this pro bono to reintroduce myself to the public... The O.J. trial was simultaneously farce and tragedy, and it's to this series' credit that it manages to capture both of those tones without feeling like whiplash. An episode like "100 Percent Not Guilty" largely dwells on the circus of it all, with Bob Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran jockeying for control of the defense team, Faye Resnick putting out a book, the celebrity-obsessed Lance Ito being named judge for the trial, and more. And a lot of that stuff is fun, particularly in the rest of the Dream Team struggling to hide their bewilderment and/or contempt for Shapiro as he reveals just how unprepared he is for any of this. Yet the episode's able to turn on a...

"Now one told you to go rob the Blockbuster, you were on your own." Entertainment One has unveiled an official trailer for Nick Sandow's The Wannabe, starring Vincent Piazza as Thomas, a kid who set out to fix the 1992 trial of John Gotti. It's essentially a wacky little story about a kid who wants to be a part of the mob glory involving Gotti, and devises a crazy, bold plan to get himself in the center of everything. Patricia Arquette co-stars, Martin Scorsese executive produces; the cast includes Domenick Lombardozzi, Michael Imperioli, Doug E. Doug, Nick Sandow, Vincenzo Amato, and Joseph Siravo as John Gotti. This honestly doesn't look that memorable, but if you're into mob films maybe you should take a look. Here's the official trailer for Nick Sandow's The Wannabe, found on YouTube (via The Film Stage): Obsessed with mob culture, and desperate to fit in,...

Welcome to the seventh installment of our summer trip through "The Sopranos" season 1. When I revisited early seasons of "The Wire," as well as the whole run of "Deadwood," I did separate versions of each review for newcomers and veterans, but over time realized that the newcomers weren't commenting much, if at all, and that it therefore made sense to simply do one review. Any significant spoilers for episodes beyond the one being reviewed will be contained in a separate section at the end of the review; so long as you avoid that, and the comments, you should be fine. Thoughts on the seventh episode, “Down Neck," coming up just as soon as the clown gets arrested, too... "My son is doomed, right?" -Tony The morning after "The Sopranos" series finale aired, David Chase reluctantly got on the phone with me to talk about everything but his intentions for the final scene.

Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Blue Bloods" episode 13 of season 5. The episode is entitled, " Love Stories," and it turns out that we're going to see some very interesting stuff take place in this one as the team has to now look into a case involving the murder of a hitman that was actually on the job at the time, and more. In the new, 13th episode press release: Danny and Baez will investigate the murder of a hitman who is shot on the job. Press release number 2: Danny and Baez are going to investigate when a homeowner shoots an intruder, only to find out that the intruder is a hitman. Also, a young attorney will attempt to bring justice to his mother who Erin put away on a murder charge 12 years ago. Guest stars feature: Joseph Siravo (Nicholas Bianco), Kathrine Narducci Anna Bianco...

This week's event is set to feature the casts of The Phantom Of The Opera Jeremy Stolle, Jeremy Hays andMary Michael Patterson, Piece Of My Heart De'adre Aziza, Derrick Baskin, Bryan Fenkart, Linda Hart, Leslie Kritzer, Zak Resnick, Joseph Siravo, Teal Wicks, Carleigh Bettiol, Teresa Gattison, Shonica Gooden, Sydney James Harcourt, Jessica McRoberts, Ralph Meitzler, Harris Milgrim, Michael Milan, Heather Parcells, Gabrielle Ruiz, Amos Wolff, Mark Zeisler , Cinderella Paige Faure, Joe Carroll, Nancy Opel, Jill Abramowtiz, Stephanie Gibson andLaura Irion, Avenue Q Darren Bluestone, Sala Iwamatsu, Jason Jacoby and Veronica Kuehn and Bullets Over Broadway Zach Braff, Clyde Alves, Preston Truman Boyd, Jim Borstelmann, Casey Garvin, Dan Horn, Andy Jones, Kevin Ligon, Kevin Worley, Nick Cordero, Betsy Wolfe.

The Washington, DC engagement of Jersey Boys broke the box office record at the National Theatre for the third time. For the week ending Sunday, December 6, grossing $1,289,023.00. the musical broke its own record set in November, 2009.

Jersey Boys opened to rave reviews on Sunday, October 4 and it will play through Saturday evening, December 12. From there, the national tour will play Detroit from December 17 through January 23, 2010.

The cast of Jersey Boys is lead by Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Josh Franklin (Bob Gaudio), original Broadway cast member Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi), with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo.

The ensemble of Jersey Boys includes Candi Boyd, Sarah Darling, Christopher Deangelis, Graham Fenton, John Gardiner, Buck Hujabre, Leo Huppert, Michelle Knight, Brandon Matthieus, Denise Payne, Nathan Scherich, Brian Silverman, Courter Simmons, Ryan Strand, Kara Tremel and Kevin Worley.

Jersey Boys is the winner of the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award...

The Washington, DC engagement of Jersey Boys broke the box office record at the National Theatre for the week ending Sunday, October 11, grossing $1,259,040, beating the previous record of $1,138,472.50 set by Spamalot in July 2006.

Jersey Boys opened to rave reviews on Sunday, October 4 and it will play through Saturday evening, December 12. From there, the national tour will play Detroit from December 17 through January 23, 2010.

The cast of Jersey Boys is lead by Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Josh Franklin (Bob Gaudio), original Broadway cast member Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi), with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo.

The ensemble of Jersey Boys includes Sarah Darling, Christopher Deangelis, Graham Fenton, John Gardiner, Buck Hujabre, Leo Huppert, Michelle Knight, Renée Marino, Brandon Matthieus, Denise Payne, Nathan Scherich, Brian Silverman, Courter Simmons, Ryan Strand, Kara Tremel and Kevin Worley.

For tickets, visit http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/tour/washington.htm or telecharge.com.

Jersey...

The Boston engagement of Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, is playing at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, September 26. The cast of Jersey Boys will be led by Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Josh Franklin (Bob Gaudio) and Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi) as The Four Seasons, with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo.

Casting has been announced for the Washington, D.C., premiere engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, playing the National Theatre October 1 through December 12. The cast of Jersey Boys will be led by Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Josh Franklin (Bob Gaudio), and Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi) as The Four Seasons, with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo, a Washington native.

The Boston engagement of Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, is playing at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, September 26. The cast of Jersey Boys will be led by Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Josh Franklin (Bob Gaudio) and Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi) as The Four Seasons, with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo.

NEW YORK -- This latest CGI effort from Disney is all too indicative of the current glut of animated films. Lacking distinctive personality or humor and unfortunately coming across as an all-too-soon remake of last year's "Madagascar", "The Wild" is unlikely to achieve the sort of boxoffice numbers garnered by its predecessor, though its holiday weekend release should help.

Yet another tale of animals transported from the cushy environs of a New York zoo to the perils of the jungle, the film depicts the adventures of a lion (Kiefer Sutherland), a giraffe (Janeane Garofalo), a squirrel (Jim Belushi), an anaconda (Richard Kind) and a koala (Eddie Izzard) as they attempt to rescue the lion's cub (Greg Cipes) after he is mistakenly shipped to the wild.

Providing the emotional hook to the story is the lion having to come to grips with the fact that he has lived his whole life in a protected environment, and the struggle of his young cub to find his "roar." Oh, and there's a love story of sorts between the giraffe and the squirrel.

Directed in ultra-frenetic style by the aptly nicknamed Steve "Spaz" Williams, the film is a relentlessly loud and ultimately exhausting exercise only partially leavened by the usual heavy doses of wisecracking humor and visual gags. Despite numerous clever touches, the film isn't entertaining enough to lift it above its general air of familiarity, though tykes with short memories should find enough to amuse them.

The impressive animation is rendered in a more realistic style than usual, with the animals depicted in a down-to-earth fashion that only slightly conflicts with the fact that they're engaged in such activities as steering boats. But while their visual details are impressive, the characters lack the personality of those in such efforts as "The Lion King", the stage version of which gets a prominent plug in this film.

The voice talents generally get the job done. Sutherland's impressive tones provide the proper gravitas as the loving lion father; Garofalo gives her giraffe an amusing air of exasperation; Belushi scores laughs with his love-struck squirrel; and William Shatner bellows with gusto as a wildebeest. The funniest contributions come from Izzard's wittily acerbic koala and Lenny Venito and Joseph Siravo's Brooklyn-accented alligators.

THE WILD

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Walt Disney Pictures presents

a Hoytboy Pictures and Sir Zip Studios production

a Contrafilm production

Credits:

Director: Steve "Spaz" Williams

Producers: Clint Goldman, Beau Flynn

Screenwriters: Ed Dector, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin

Story by: Mark Gibson, Philip Halprin

Production designer and art director: Chris Farmer

Editors: V. Scott Balcerek, Steven L. Wagner

Composer: Alan Silvestri

Supervising character designer: Erich Rigling

Cast:

Samson: Kiefer Sutherland

Benny: Jim Belushi

Nigel: Eddie Izzard

Bridget: Janeane Garofalo

Kazar: William Shatner

Larry: Richard Kind

Ryan: Greg Cipes

MPAA rating G

Running time -- 85 minutes...

This debut feature scores major points for its stylistic audaciousness alone. Forgoing sex, violence, mayhem and indeed even a defined plot, "A Day in Black and White" explores race relations in America through that rarest of commodities in today's American (even indie) cinema -- conversation.

A sort of "My Dinner With Andre" as influenced by Spike Lee, this uneven but provocative film marks the emergence of a new talent in writer-director Desmond Hall. The feature was recently showcased at the Nantucket (Mass.) Film Festival, where, because of the festival's emphasis on screenwriting, it was a particularly apt selection.

The director's playfulness is most apparent in a well-shot scene in which a black teenager is seen running desperately down a New York City street carrying a bag, with two white teenagers in hot pursuit. The resolution of the situation is not what one would expect, and it garners a delighted reaction from the audience.

The film largely consists of a series of conversations between mostly undefined characters who talk about various aspects of race relations. Setting the talks in motion is an impending speech about race that is to be delivered by a young black man (Harold Perrineau of TV's "Oz") at his schoolteacher girlfriend's high school. He asks a white friend (Anthony DeSando) for advice, and soon the pair are involved in a free-wheeling conversation that touches on, among other things: the lack of black quarterbacks in the NFL, gangster rap, the word "nigger" and, of course, O.J.

As the film progresses, we are introduced to other characters, including a pair of black women Lisa Louise Langford, Jozie Hill) at a cafe who talk about black women who "act white"; a white cabby (Joseph Siravo) who discusses interracial dating with a black female cook (Stephanie Berry) he's attracted to; a black teenager (Sharif Rashed) who visits his white father (Tibor Feldman) at work, interrupting his argument over affirmative action with two colleagues, (Lonette McKee, DeSando); and a militant black man (Ron C. Jones) who debates the speechmaker on what it means to be black.

Ultimately, the film's lack of a narrative deprives it of any momentum, and Hall's dialogue -- though generally believable and well-written -- lacks the true depth or wit that would lift the film to another level.

But "A Day in Black and White" is invigorating for its courage in abandoning formulas and for not condescending to the audience. The acting is fine all around, with the performers more than up to the challenge of delivering the extensive dialogue.

Tech credits for the low-budget exercise are fine, and Spike Lee fans will get a kick out the scene spoofing that director's distinctive camera movements.

A DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE

Director-screenplay: Desmond Hall

Producer: Jon Gold

Director of photography: Peter Konczal

Editor: John Laskas, Colby Parker Jr.

Music: Loris Holland

Production designer: Catherine Wint

Color/stereo

Cast:

Afro-Centric Man: Ron C. Jones

Black Man: Harold Perrineau

White Man: Anthony DeSando

Black Woman No. 1: Lisa Louise Langford

Black Woman No. 2: Jozie Hill

White Cabby: Joseph Siravo

Black Cook: Stephanie Berry

Black Woman in Office: Lonette McKee

Running time -- 86 minutes

No MPAA rating...