Published: March 5, 3005
RAY SCREENWRITER JAMES L. WHITE RECEIVES TREE OF LIFE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SCRIPT
James
L. White was given special recognized at the 25th Annual Tree of Life
Awards for outstanding screenwriting for Ray at the black-tie dinner hosted
by the Friends of the Black Oscar Nominees on Friday, February 25th at
the Westin Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The master and mistress
for the evening were Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett, Jr. and popular
actress/choreographer Debbie Allen.
A native of Kentucky, White drew upon his southern roots to write the biographical drama of musical genius Ray Charles, starring Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx as the legendary Charles. A commanding wordsmith, White is proud of the authenticity of the story, which he toiled for over two years to create. With the deft hand of an artist, he penned a beautiful saga that captivates Charles’ life story with truth and dignity.
White received his first Hollywood writing assignment from Academy Award-winner Sidney Poitier in 1992 for a script entitled Red Money (a.k.a. The Better Half).
“I would like to publicly thank Mr. Poitier, who was the first person in Hollywood to take a chance on me as screenwriter. I am deeply honored to receive this award tonight because Ray was a real labor of love,” White said in his acceptance speech.
In 1994, the John Davis Company and Fox Television hired White to write The Bo Jackson Story. The following year in 1995, MGM (with David Ladd as the executive on the project, The Harlem Six) retained James to pen the screenplay. In 1997, the award-winning Danny Glover series American Dreamer hired White to write an episode of American Dreamer II for HBO.
White left Kentucky after high school and joined the U.S. Navy, achieving rank as a communications supervisor, serving on destroyers. After the military, White attended the University of Massachusetts in Boston on his G.I. Bill. In 1977 White moved to California to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. James currently lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Liz, their three children and cat, Neo. He is represented by ICM.
Other honorees accepting Tree of Life awards this year included Academy Award nominated actors Jamie Foxx and Don Cheadle, Ray costume designer Sharen Davis and Woman Thou Art Loosed producer Reuben Cannon. Films and/or filmmakers also recognized for outstanding achievement were Hotel Rwanda, Ray, Karolyn Ali and Afeni Shakur for the Oscar-nominated documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Hubert Davis for the Oscar-nominated short film Hardwood and Woman Thou Art Loosed.
The Friends of the Black Oscar Nominees celebration was started by Washington, D.C. business entrepreneur Albert Nellum 25 years ago after he was alarmed by the number of black film industry artists and films that were overlooked by the Academy. He felt that if the African American community honored these artists – not only would the rest of Hollywood sit up and take notice, the artists themselves would be inspired to continue their artistic outreach.
Once the Friends of the Black Oscar Nominees board was formed, the African American film industry artists began to look at the Tree of Life Award as being just as important as an Oscar nomination. The annual dinner also began sensitizing other Academy members on the work being done by actors and people of color in other industry crafts.
The members of the Friends of the 2005 Black Oscar Nominees Board are Maya Angelou, Jheryl Busby, Reuben and Linda Cannon, Bernie Casey, Toni Fay, Louis Gossett, Jr., Robert and Donna Guillaume, Charles and Ann Johnson, Quincy Jones, James Kelly, Debra Langford, Albert and Velma Nellum, Debbie Allen and Norm Nixon, Sidney Poitier, CCH Pounder and Cicely Tyson.
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