Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 8-10-18

Entertainment
Common and His Mother Help Raise Funds for Public Schools Nationwide
Common and his mother, Dr. Mahalia A. Hines, are partnering with the company Burlington Stores and the non-profit or- ganization Adopt-A-Class- room.org to raise money for supplies for teachers and stu- dents nationwide.
The two kicked off the campaign by making a $10,000 donation to the or- ganization and visited a class in New York City where they spent time with the students. Common and Dr. Hines saw some of the students’ cre- ative works and learned what motivated them.
Common talked about his visit with students and said it reminded him of how important it is for students and teachers to get the sup- plies they need. He empha- sized his support for school when he said:
“My mother has been in the Chicago school system for more than 35 years, and I am honored to do my part to help teachers get the materials they need to help their stu-
Common and his mom, Dr. Mahalia Hines.
dents succeed.”
This is the second year
Common and Dr. Hines are working with Burlington and AdoptAClassroom. The campaign started in July and will continue through August 18th. According to a press re- lease about the partnership, shoppers at the Burlington Stores will be encouraged to donate to the AdoptAClass- room organization while they are at the register checking out items.
Director Gerard McMurray's ‘The First Purge’ Hits $121 Million Worldwide, Becomes Franchise Best Overseas
Director Gerard Mc- Murray's "The First Purge" has cleaned up making $121M globally, becoming the third film in the micro- budget franchise to reach the milestone. Through this week, The First Purge has also become the highest- grossing title in the franchise at the international box of- fice. It’s already the top of the four films in several offshore markets. The current over- seas total is $41.6M with $104.85M worldwide. The franchise stands at $423M global and counting.
McMurray Crafted a Horror Film About Being a Black Man in America
In one chilling scene, a peaceful group gathered to ride out the night at a local church are gunned down by a group of motorcycle-riding white men. It’s the kind of scene that purposely evokes the 2015 Charleston church shooting, and McMurray
GERARD MCMURRAY
pointed to that horrific inci- dent as the kind of thing he felt was important to refer- ence in his film.
“As a Black man, person of color, these are things where I’m just experienced, and I thought that was some- thing that I wanted to explore in the film,” McMurray said. “It was something I thought was important to show and not forget. ... For me, the things I show [in the film that] are scary, are scary
for me in real life. You see a man [running] and police be- hind him, that’s scary for me.”
Still, there’s a tremendous level of catharsis in “The First Purge,” which includes at least one guns-blazing shootout involving hood- wearing members of the KKK, plus an apartment- building battle royale be- tween Drug kingpin Dmitri and mask-wearing villains that seems built to make au- diences stand up and cheer.
“Those guys with the blackface masks and the KKK, they needed to be taken on,” McMurray said. “Hav- ing them fight off the oppres- sive government makes it really cathartic, it’s really thrilling to see that. People fight back and show resist- ance, and it’s hopeful. But also, it’s fun, because who doesn’t want to see someone oppressive or hateful taken down. ... In my head, this is my Revolutionary War film, you know?”
4th Suspect In XXXTentacion’s Murder Case Arrested
Fifty days after XXXTen- tacion's tragic death, the fourth and final suspect in the slain rapper's murder case has been arrested.
Trayvon Newsome, 20, was taken into custody by the Broward Sheriff's Office after he surrendered at his lawyer's office in Fort Laud- erdale, FL. just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 7). He's currently incarcerated in Broward Sheriff's Office Main Jail.
Newsome and three other suspects Robert Allen, Michael Boat- wright and Dedrick Williams have all been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the fatal shooting of XXXTen- tacion, born Jahseh On- froy. Newsome is also charged with robbery with a deadly weapon.
XXXTentacion was shot and killed in Deerfield Beach, FL. on June 18 shortly after leaving RIVA Motorsports, where he was shopping for a motorcycle. The assailants apparently planned to rob X and waited for him outside of
TRAYVON NEWSON
RIVA Motorsports, where they stopped his vehicle, shot him and then reportedly made off with a Louis Vuitton bag full of cash. This led au- thorities to believe the mur- der was the tragic result of a robbery gone wrong.
Dedrick Williams, 22, was the first to be arrested on June 21, just three days after X was killed. He has since pleaded not guilty, though authorities believe he was driving the vehicle that blocked X's car so he could- n't escape the RIVA Motor- sports parking lot.
The second suspect and possible gunman is Michael Boatwright, who was ar- rested on July 11. He was al- ready in custody for unrelated drug charges when Broward officials learned his connection to X's death and served him with the warrant for first-degree murder. In the month since, it's been re- vealed that there is some con- cern about his mental capacity, so experts have been appointed to meet with him to determine whether or not he is competent enough to stand trial.
Robert Allen managed to elude authorities for over a month before being discov- ered hiding out at his sister's house in rural Georgia. He has since been extradited to Florida to face his charges. He has also pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in X's murder.
All four are facing first- degree, premeditated mur- der. As the men are all in their early 20s and consid- ered adults under Florida law, they could face the death penalty or life in prison.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 17-A