Triangle Today | Sunday

TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2018

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For a list of tonight’s TV holiday specials, see PAGE 2.

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DURHAM NATIVE ERNIE BARNES WAS AN ATHLETE AND ARTIST. AN EXHIBITION OF HIS WORK RUNS THROUGH MARCH 3.

Bridgette A. Lacy for Triangle Today Durham native Ernie Barnes might have been from a neighborhood called the Bottoms, but he propelled his way to the top using sports and art. He was nurtured by a mother determined to expose him to a larger world and by a supportive segregated black community.

Barnes, who would have celebrated his 80th birthday July 15, is being remembered through his paintings. “The North Carolina Roots of Artist Ernie Barnes” exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History through March 3.

The show features 37 oil and acrylic paintings, including a reproduction of his most famous painting, “The Sugar Shack,” which many people saw for the first time on soul singer Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” album cover and during the closing credits of “Good Times,” the television sitcom that ran from 1974 to 1979.

In addition, 20 of Barnes’ artifacts will be on display, including his painting palette, brushes and blocked letters he earned as a football player at Hillside High School in Durham.

Ernie Barnes Family Trust

“Although I never got a chance to meet Ernie in person, I was so honored to be able to work on this exhibit, because now I feel like I do know him,” said Katie Edwards, the museum’s pop culture curator. “He was a remarkable human being who defied odds and became a renowned artist. This exhibit is an amazing opportunity for the state of North Carolina. It’s a chance for visitors to see a number of Ernie’s works that he painted throughout his life and see the impact that the state had on him and his career.”

Edwards says the works are divided into three sections: Durham roots, his NFL career and his artistic journey.

EXHIBITION DETAILS “The North Carolina Roots of Artist Ernie Barnes” exhibition opens at the North Carolina Museum of History, 5 E E.denton St., Raleigh, runs through March 3. Admission is free.

For details, go to ncmuseumofhistory.org/ernie-barnes.

Chan Bush

Ernie Barnes Family Trust

Many celebrities bought Ernie Barnes’ work, including actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, comedian Flip Wilson and actor and political activist Charlton Heston. Barnes was official artist of the 1984 Olympic Games.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2018

A new comedy club opens with heavy-hitter comics on the lineup A new comedy club opened last week, adding to the Triangle’s live-entertainment landscape — Raleigh Improv, which is not actually in Raleigh, but we’ll get to that. Here are a few things you should know: Raleigh Improv is actually in Cary.

It’s in Parkside Town Commons, at 1224 Parkside Main St. And it’s called “Raleigh” rather than “Cary” primarily because of branding. “We’ve been doing research in Raleigh for years, looking for a place to grow in this market,” said Lofaro. “The town of Cary is a huge reason why we’re here now instead of two years down the road. Obviously, Cary is a great town with the statistics everybody wants. But at the end of the day, Raleigh is the anchor city.”

Raleigh Improv is part of a chain.

It’s a sizable one, too. Improv Live is part of the Levity Live organization and has more than 30 clubs across the nation, with more in the works for Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland and cities in Florida and Texas. “We have an aggressive growth platform, and the Southeast is part of the expansion plan,” said Robert Hartmann, co-founder of Levity. “I’ve always looked at Raleigh as a kind of meeting point between North and South, fitting nicely into the East Coast triangle with Nashville and New York.”

There will be competition.

Raleigh Improv enters a market that has long had a leading high-profile comedy venue, Goodnights Comedy Club, open in Raleigh since 1983. But the new club’s management downplays the competition angle. “This market is absolutely big enough for both of us, especially given how fast it’s growing,” said Hartmann. “Seems like everyone’s moving here. Orange cones dot the highway everywhere you go here.”

A restaurant and music club are in the works.

Plans call for a full-service restaurant and live-music club to open within the Raleigh Improv space sometime in the second half of 2019. The model is Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen, which is in five other Improv locations, with a capacity of around 200. “We are all about live,” said Hartmann. “In a world that’s so digital, one thing we need more of is something you experience that only happens one time. There’s that moment, it’s gone forever and every night is different.”

For details and tickets, go to improv.com/raleigh.

TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER

With ‘Second Act,’ Jennifer Lopez makes her own opportunity Lindsey Bahr AP Film Writer for Triangle Today Jennifer Lopez learned a long time ago that in the entertainment business you can’t just sit around waiting for opportunities, you have to make them for yourself.

It’s the simple reason “Second Act,” her first film in three years and her long-awaited return to the glossy, modern-day fairy tale, exists.

“I’m quite particular,” Lopez said on a recent afternoon in Los Angeles. “I’ve been offered a couple of movies over the past couple of years but unless it’s the right thing and I get the right types of opportunities, I’d rather create them. That’s mine and Elaine’s mantra.

We don’t force things, but we don’t wait around either … If no one is giving us the stories that we want to tell, then we’ll create them ourselves.”

Elaine is Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lopez’s longtime friend and producing partner who’ve worked together on projects like “The Boy Next Door” and “Shades of Blue.” ‘‘Second Act,” which hits theaters nationwide Friday, was her idea. She thought that Lopez would be the right woman to play the 40-year-old big box store worker with business savvy but no degree who gets a chance to prove herself to Madison Avenue’s elite. A little bit “Working Girl,” a little bit “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it was right up Lopez’s alley.

“We’re stuck on these movies because we know, we grew up on them and we know. They’re necessary.

People need inspiration. They need to believe in a fairy tale,” Lopez said. “I think that is the evolution of the romantic comedy. It’s not so much about falling in love with Prince Charming, it’s about falling in love with yourself and your life and realizing that you have to be the love of your life.”

Lopez, 49, said she even cried describing the story in a pitch meeting to STXfilms Chairman Adam Fogelson (“Our great champion,” she said), who agreed on the spot to make the movie. “(He) believes in these types of movies and believes in women producers,” she said.

They signed on a director, Peter Segal (“50 First Dates”), carved out some time in Lopez’s busy schedule (“I literally think she’s the busiest person on the planet earth,” Segal laughed) and got to filming

Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez appear in a scene from “Second Act.” In the film, Lopez’s business savvy character gets a shot to prove herself to Madison Avenue’s elite thanks to an embellished resume. Barry Wetcher/STXfilms via A in New York City, which proved to be its own kind of challenge.

“It was crazy shooting in New York with her,” Segal said.

“I remember one scene we’re in Central Park, going down the mall, the promenade with her, you know the same one of ‘Kramer vs Kramer’ and ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and there are all the vendors who are selling caricatures, and their sketches are like Michael Jackson and Barack Obama and Jennifer Lopez! It’s like, ‘Hey can we turn those around?’ She’s everywhere.”

Then there were the ever present looky-loos and paparazzi, some of whom they had to digitally erase from shots in post-production.

It’s just part of doing business with Lopez, an industry unto herself. She knows she is tough to pin down, but always makes sure to give her all when she’s there.

“Everyone who gets in business with me has to bear with me a little bit because I do so much and I always want to be great when I’m in front of you,” she said.

“Once you get in the rhythm of that, you’re like, ok she’s going to show up. It may take her a minute for me to get her but when I get her, she’s going to be 100.”rve to have a good life and I do deserve to have love… We all are our own activists, we all are our own change, we all are our own vessel to have the life that we deserve but we have to believe that we deserve it.”

Read the full story at triangletoday.com.

TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Durham gets a new pizza restaurant, while a beer hall is added to Namu Drew Jackson for Triangle Today Sofia’s Pizza is now open in East Durham, built in a former cab stand and garage.

The pizzeria is owned by Jorge Gonzalez-Pena and Emily Berkeley, East Durham residents who also own the El Rey del Taco food truck, which is often parked in Raleigh.

Glass walls replace the cab stand’s previously open pull-throughs, housing the 40-seat dining room and kitchen. The former garage a few steps away is now the prep area, with Raleigh architect Matthew Konar behind the renovation. Gonzalez-Pena said he plans to add outdoor seating for the warmer months and a bar in the near future.

“This is our neighborhood, and we thought there was a need for pizza,” Gonzalez-Pena said.

Sofia’s serves hand-tossed pies and offers pizza by the slice, plus salads, baked wings, garlic cheese bread and a menu of subs. The pizza shop has a half-dozen creative pies, including the East Durham, with bacon, collard greens and hot peppers; and the Mexican, with chipotle added to the red sauce base and toppings of chorizo, sweet corn, hot peppers and pumpkin seeds. Drinks include sodas and a short list of local beers.

Gonzalez-Pena and Berkeley each got their starts in the industry through pizza shops two decades ago.

A publication of The McClatchy Company 421 Fayetteville St., Raleigh, Ste. 104 800-522-4205, newsobserver.com Sara Glines, President and Publisher 919-829-4659 sglines@newsobserver.com

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2018

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Sofia’s is at 2201 Angier Ave., opening last week after a two-year renovation. It’s now open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Go to sofiaspizzadurham.com.

EXPANDING NAMU ADDS A BEER HALL Korean food and coffee bar concept Namu continues to evolve, this time adding a beer hall to the Straw Valley refuge off of Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard.

Namu opened last year as a collaboration between two popular food trucks, Joe Choi’s Bulkogi and Bo Kwon’s Bo’s Kitchen. The pair serve traditional and inventive Korean dishes for lunch and dinner, as well as a highly regarded coffee program for the mornings.

For customer service regarding delivery, please send email to deliveryissues@newsobserver.com For information about advertising, contact Kaki Berkeley, 919-836-5997, kberkeley@newsobserver.com

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