Maurice Jamal: My Favorite Things

By Keith Boykin, in movies
Monday, November 7 2005, 2:40AM

You may know Maurice Jamal as the lead actor, writer and director of the "The Ski Trip," the first black gay feature-length film on television, which now appears regularly on the Logo channel. But Maurice, whose directing credits also include Chappelle Show, is not resting on his laurels. Instead, he's gearing up for production of his next big film, "Dirty Laundry," with a much bigger budget.

Maurice is always thinking big. In January 2004, he set out to produce and direct his first feature film, "The Ski Trip," with only $10,000. For his new film, "Dirty Laundry," he's working with Loretta Devine, Rockmond Dunbar, Sommore and several other stars. He's even gotten me involved (not as an actor, of course). This week, Maurice and his executive producer Nathan Williams and I are launching a major campaign to raise $200,000 by the end of the year to help produce the film. That means we need 2,000 people to give $100 each. (More on that later.)

When I asked Maurice to tell me his five favorite websites, he sent me this response: "Wow. Five sites. That's a hard one. l am on the Internet all the time. From research to entertainment. The net is probably the best tool l have. Well, besides my laptop and my assistant Derrick l couldn't do anything without them."

But pressed to pick 5 sites, he did come up with the list below. I didn't ask him to mention my site, but he's the third person in the series to do so, and I don't know if they're just doing that just to flatter me or if they really like the site. Anyway, the point of the series is to introduce you to new web sites that you may not know, so from now on I'm not going to allow the respondents to mention my site. That said, here are Maurice's five sites.

Maurice Jamal's Five Favorite Websites

1. lMDB The Internet Movie Database
This site is the bomb! The online bible for anyone in film and TV. You can research any person, director, actor, film. It has great links and amazing information. Although they can take awhile to update profiles. As a matter of fact, they are supposed to be updating mine and haven't yet. Why did l list them first?

2. Adam 4 Adam
Let's keep it real people. l am sure that everyone wants you to believe they just use the net for Google and research papers, but we know that ain't true. As any self respecting gay men will tell you, a good "meet and greet" site is imperative! A4A has tons of guys, lots of pictures, every city. And many of the guys are simply seeking friendship or have just relocated and want new friends. But l'm single and a grown ass man so l don't care what anyone thinks (laughs).

3. Lloyd Boston.com
Big fan of Lloyd's. He does amazing things and his sense of style is wonderful. His men's book "Men of Color" is a staple for me. l am hoping he does another men's book soon. And did l mention how cute he is. Major yummy factor.

4. Keith Boykin
Yeah, yeah, yeah. l guess l have to say your site since you're interviewing me. (laughs). No but seriously, your site is great! The cross section of politics and lifestyle. Kudos! (And l want my cash for this endorsement son!)

5. Maurice Jamal.com
It won't be up for another month...but l have to say in all honesty (if not modesty) that this site will be something neither the Black or Gay community has ever seen. The kids aren't gonna be ready for this one.

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