JET (November 22, 1999)

Vanessa L. Williams, Usher And Forest Whitaker Star In Film Of Courage And Survival ´Light It Up´

When students´ pleas for a better education fall on deaf ears by school administrators at their decaying high school, the teens take matters into their own hands by staging a protest that sets things ablaze in the recently released flick Light It Up.

Singing sensation Usher Raymond makes his fim starring debut in the drama of courage and survival, which also features Vanessa L. Williams, Forest Whitaker and Rosario Dawson.

Usher portrays high school basketball star Lester Dewitt. Like the other students as his run-down Queens, NY, high school, Lester is fed up with the overcrowded classrooms, lach of qualified teachers and lack of textbooks.

The only bright spot at school for Lester and his counterparts, Stephanie (Dawson), Ziggy (Robert Richard), Rodney (Fredo Starr), Rivers (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Lynn (Sara Gilbert) is history class. It is that their young, compassionate teacher Mr. Knowles (Judd Nelson) listens and empathizes with their desire to obtain a quality education.

But when Mr. Knowles is suspended for attempting to make things elsewhere for a comfortable learning environment, the group of fearless teens, led by Lester, band together to say enough is enough. They become compelled to stand up and be heard so that they won´t get lost in the educational system.

The teens ignite things when they barricade themselves in protest inside the school. The reluctantly take as their hostage the school´s police officer, Dante Jackson (Whitaker), who is accidentally injured during an altercation.

With all eyes focused on them, the students realize that for the first time their voices can be heard. And, for the first time people are really listening to them. They then use their negotiating power to demand a quality education.

Vanessa L. Williams portrays Audrey McDonald, the tough hostage negotiator who is called in for the case. Veteran actor Glynn Turman plays Armstrong, the principal of the troubled school.

The movie´s powerful message made quite an impression on its lead character.

"It really spotlights the problem in our inner-city schools and the need for change," revealed Usher, who´s appeared in the movies The Faculty and She´s All That.

He said the movie´s title speaks to that call of change. "In order to see the light, you´ve got to ´light it up´-make people aware that we need to make changes in the world today. We need to fix the schools. Let´s see what we can do to make a change...´light it up.´"

Whitaker, who´s won acclaim as a director with the movies Waiting To Exhale and Hope Floats, was so impressed with the movie´s story line that he welcomed the chance to get back in front of the camera.

"It seemed like a film that could really have some impact because we´re dealing with kids and their points of view," explained Whitaker. "It deals with the lives, dreams, points of view, struggles and pressures teens go through on a daily basis that we don´t really get to see on film that often to really understand teh magnitude of what some of those issues are."

Doing a movie from the points of view of the students was must for its writer-director Craig Bolotin.

"I thought that that perspective would be interesting," he noted. "In most films set in a high school, the adult is the protagonist-a principal or teacher who comes into a troubled school and changes the students´ lives. In Light It Up the students take responsibility for their actions."

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds executive-produced the movie. His wife, Tracey Edmonds, served as its producer.

Tracey Edmonds, who made her motion picture-producing debut on the hugely successful film Soul Food along with her husband, likens the movie to "an urban Breakfast Club." And, with Breakfast Club star Jud Nelson playing the compassionate teacher, that added the perfect finishing touch to the message-filled drama.

"The story covers a lot of important issues," said Tracey. "It deals with the importance of education, the disparity of the educational system and says that kids should not have to fight to get a decent education."

Whitaker believes that adults should take heed to the film´s important message. "I think it´s a statement on supporting and listening to the youth of today. Its charaters are saying, ´We want your support and we also want our own voice. And if you allow that, then we´ll be able to do something great.´"