7
I
••
•
I
•
n
•
•
LOS GE�S - For Ben
Vereen, one of America's pre­
miere entertainers, the role of
an Ethiopian nobleman offered
him • Ctianc:e to dd Tunisia
to the ·rapidly:�o ing number
of countri he . ited,
For Ri . Roundtree, the
of Se ., a Roman
gladiator, pro d a departure
from his ty�ting ''Shaft.»
For Bu a, the role
of ct, Roman ve and
tre . to th Emperor em,
offered the Ghanian-born prin­
ce a chance for international
t. dome
For thre , their exper-
. ence hile ftlming 'A.D."
(Anno Domini) gave e ch a
unique experience. The 12-
hour miniseries, pre ntation
of th Procter Gamble Com-
pany, will ha e a three-hour
premiere on Sun., arch 31,
from 7-10 p.m. (ST) on BC.
The remainder of this t vi-
'on e nt on prill .....
Vereen, an inveterate traveler,
had only three day before Las
� rehe fo his night-
bub act. But hen" D."
producer Vincenzo Labella cal­
led to offer th ro e of the
comical Ethiopian nobleman
meet and i baptized by Philip
th Gree, er. re dil)
ccepted,
Vereen quickly consul ed
profe r of Ethiopian guage
. order to pic up the sin -
ng dial ct he u d in the film.
Then one and 11 000
mile later, he in Sahar
de , perspiring under 20
pound of embroid red robe .
Th bapti m ne es
pl in pictur sque 0 .
near bes, Tunisi. In anti-
ip tion of getting me relief
rom th 127-degre heat,
Vereen 'd,' All I could think
about etting hit with
me nice cool water. But hen
Gary Brown, the actor ho
play me, it w like hot coffee.
So I said to myself, 'Oh well,
in ten hours I'll b in the air­
conditioned owroom in Las
Vereen d ngl d a ikon camera
under royal robe, and
between cenes would b off in
the streets with band of gig­
gling Bedouin children taking
ap ots.
"1 just love people, all sort
of people" ys Vereen. ' y
best education h been tr vel
and I'd SUgB that any sound­
thinking parent send their kids
off backpacking around the
orld before they nd them to
college. They'D come back more
mature and re dy to thin
riou y.
While Vereen had the luxury
of being an unrecognized tourist
in Tunisia, Richard Roundtre
not so lucky. ving
chie d international stardom
in "Shaft," "Shaft' Big Score"
and ''Shaft in frica," Round­
tree has become hero to
youngsters worldwide, especially
in Third orId countries.
E en after he d ved
his mustache for the role of
Serpenius, a noted Roman gladi­
ator who survived th aren
and went on to teach at Rome'
famed gladiator chool, Round­
tree could not alk through
the town of onastir, Tunisia,
where most of " D." wa
filmed, without gan of kid
running up to him yelling,
''Shaft, Shaft, Shaft."
''I have mixed emotion
about John Shaft," says Round­
tree. "I'm not ungrateful for
hat the character did for me,
but I'm 42 no and I'm 100 -
ing for something ith a little
more depth."
Serpentiu an actual his­
torical figure ho is depicted
in mosaic on the aIls of Rome's
Villa Borghe , Roundtree found
depth - and a fe thing he
HAD 'T been looking for. Whil
he kne ho to u hi fist
and orne nappy karate chop ,
oundtre was unprepared for
the Yen-pound ord handed
to him by the Italian stunt
coordinator. "I'm u d to going
out there inging," says the
burly ctor, ''but the Italians
choreograph every unt like a
ballet. You h e to tick with
the choreography or you can
really get hurt."
Roundtre practiced his
wordfighting for three weeks
prior to filming his part, but he
and the other tor playing
gladiator still would up with
their hands and arm co ered
with ord nic .
Ako ua Bu 'a, born into the
royal houshold of Ghana, had to
bare her anns - and b ck -
for the role of Acte, sta and
SATURDAY 6:30
I GO
MERCHANTS HALL
mi re of the Emperor ero,
played in "AD." by Anthony
Andrew. She alre dy in
Tunisia hen she learned that
there was a scene in which e
as to aepear partially nude.
"I have h d to..p up a
onto family audi nee 0
ne or te vision,. th t goo
taste would prevail."
In the love ne wi
dre , th earner chatches
only' a g1imp of Bu . , bar
oulders. She credits Andre •
dry Briti humor, with eep-
in her relaxed d gigglin
during these ne that ere
difficult for her. "The ide of
nudity m kes m
than orking movi
ar," the ctre
In ddition to Vereen,
Roundtree, B . and Dndre ,
"AD." sta CoIl n De hur t,
Av Gardner, John Hou m ,
Rich rd . Y, Jame a n,
Jennifer 0 eli and Su
Sarandon.
"AD." (Anno Domini) i
coproduction of Procter G
ble Productions, Inc. and Inter­
national Film Productions. Vin­
cenzo Labell i the producer
and co- riter with Anthony Bur-
e , and t dir tor i St
Cooper. Th director of photo­
graphy i Ennio Guarnieri,
A.I.C.; production de igner,
Enzo Bulgarelli; co tume by
Enrico Sabba�. John
artinelli, A.C.E.,· the line
producer and editor. Speci
visual ffects re by Albert J.
Whitlock and the music, per­
formed by the Paris Philhar­
monic Orche tra, is compo d
and conducted by Lalo Schi­
frin.
number of wonderful part be­
cau of the nudity thing,"
e said. ''In American fllm
language, 'nudity' means going
tople in scene but you can
wear panties. ell, I don't go
for that : and I panic ed. I
called the director, Stuart
Cooper, and he as very under-
nding. He told me what he
wanted w an 'illu 'on' of
nudity. 0 as ured m
that since 'A.D.' would b
Self -de cribed "a tourist
first and a performer cond,"
Silk Screen
&
Sports
"Quality & Service is our Goal"
'Orchards Mall 1101 Pipestone
Benton Harbor Benton Harbor
(616) 925-8410 (616) 926-1066.
BOYD AND ASSOCIATES LTD.
3018 Oakland Dr., Kalamazoo, Ml 49008
(616) 343-2332
"CREATING .. BUS/NESS FOR BUSINESS"
.. ;�.. 40 000 bumper sticker • c p
. ---< �.' f jack.ets • decals • cups
'-..l "t- hlrts. balloon • pen
�ROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS AT YOUR FI GERTIPS
FR EE Promotional Product Planning Service For:
• Corporations • Businesses • Schools
• Churche • Club • Organizations
C LL US • Bu I Gift. Awards. Sho
WHEN rou Giv Away • Safety Program
• Corporate Promotional Programs
NEED: • Fund Raising Programs
• Political Campaign Material
SOME OF
OUR CLiE TS
ARE:
b Ie • 7 .. UP • McDonald's
• Ro �. Michigan State Unlver-
tty Pepsi Cola .• Fisher Body
• Tt\e S t8 of Michigan • K ogg'
FOR YOUR FREE COLOR CATALOG
CALL COLLECT (616) 343-2332