Ciji McBride's Blog @cijimcbride - Tumblr Blog

klara-marie

Are you for real rn?!

I'm gagging.

Jandojebajyojebwjoejchbebsjjynxndjsj!!!!!

God created men and then sent Luke Newton as an apology.

Christmas Dinner is served! Merry Christmas, everyone!

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Imagine…

A thriving thoroughfare of commerce and culture in Los Angeles; a vibrant hub for live theater, weekly social events, an organic market, multi-unit residential spaces and plenty of parking.

A gathering place where Angelenos of varying stripes commune daily in neighborhood art galleries, stationary and book stores, boutiques, hair and nail salons, and other businesses; dining at varied restaurant offerings along pedestrian-friendly sidewalks dotted with inviting lighting, modern receptacles and benches shaded beneath native trees.

A spot where to dash into an indoor cafe for a cup of coffee and pastries as passengers hop on – or off – the Metro nearby; to spend time catching up with friends, or getting work done on a laptop.

This is the vision for Leimert Park Village: 2020. Read more from Janice’s piece on the proposed future for this otherwise overlooked African American business and arts community here.

- photo by Gary McCarthy

Basquiat at The Broad... (at The Broad)

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#ThrowbackThursday: Our actor’s table read for Lovers in Their Right Mind on May 30, 2015! A truly extraordinary day with some very talented SoCal artists…and our 2-year-old Nowruz fish, Cyrus, made it into the pic, too! (He’s the official production pet.)

Pictured, clockwise from top left: actors Caron Tate, Azadeh Khatibi, Angelle Brooks, Kirkaldy Myers, David Wyatt, Tara Gerami, Dale Crenshaw, LoversITRM co-writer/producer Barrington Smith-Seetachitt; actors Shervin Alexander Fazel, Ali Saam, and LoversITRM co-writer/producer Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn.

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This week, Barrington joined Janice and Navid in Instagramland! Now you can follow the LoversITRM writing-producing trio @barrington_ss, @janicerhoshalle and @navidnegahban, and follow our film adventures @loversintheirrightmind.

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Team LoversITRM: Writers-producers Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn and Barrington Smith-Seetachitt and actor-producer Navid Negahban.

About us: Over the years, Janice has dated whomever she pleased, be it an African American accountant, a Mexican florist, or a biracial attorney.

When she began dating an Iranian immigrant, the African American journalist and author discovered that some cultural lines are harder than others to cross.

Her “blersian” (Black and Persian) romance served as inspiration for this project. As the cinematic narrative was coming into focus, she met Barrington, a screenwriter and fellow USC alumnae who was in an interracial marriage and had a history of working with stories of characters with conflicting loyalties.

Together, Janice and Barrington spent the summer of 2013 breaking story and drafting an outline for Lovers in Their Right Mind. When Navid became aware of the project, the actor – fresh off his critically-lauded two seasons on Showtime’s Homeland – was enthusiastic about the opportunity to portray an Iranian who was a romantic leading man…and not a terrorist!

I remember coming to Vegas with my family as a kid, and looking out the windows of the Mirage hotel, watching them build the Excalibur. It was so far away from everything that we laughed, "Who wants to stay so far from the action?!" Look at the Strip now...