Mara Brock Akil - Girlfriend has Game!

December 2006
Mara Brock Akil - Girlfriend has Game!
By Marsha Gorodkin
Girlfriends premiered September 11,
2000 and has returned for its triumphant
seventh year. Wednesday, November 29,
they read, “Wrong Side of the Tracks”,
the 150th episode of Girlfriends. The
show provides an open, honest
exploration of the hot-button issues
about family, friends, relationships and
life facing women today. With
fearlessness and sincerity, it takes on
universal issues which interest all women.
Whether it’s learning to date after
divorce or balancing friendships and a
new marriage, Girlfriends treats them all
with tenderness, care and re s p e c t .
Girlfriends stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Golden
Brooks, Persia White, and Reggie Hayes,
and has found a home here at CBS
Studio Center on Stage 20. Girlfriends can
be seen on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m.
(PST) on the CW.
A 2006 episode of Girlfriends, entitled
“The Game”, launched a spin-off series,
The Game, which also resides at CBS
Studio Center on Stage 19. The Game
stars Tia Mowry, Wendy Raquel
Robinson, Brittany Daniel, Pooch Hall,
Coby Bell and Hosea Chanchez.
The Game was the first new comedy
airing on The CW network and can be
seen on Monday nights at 9:30 p.m.
(PST) following Girlfriends.
Mara Brock Akil is the creator and
executive producer for both of the hit
CBS Paramount Network Television
comedy series. Akil began her career in
the entertainment industry as a writer on
Fox’s critically acclaimed South Central.
She later moved on to write for UPN’s
groundbreaking series Moesha where she
became one of the series’ producers after
four seasons. Honored for her writing
talent, she received the SHINE (Sexual
Health in Entertainment) Award
presented by The Media Project in 1999
for an episode of Moesha entitled “Birth
Control”.
Mara Brock Akil with the cast Golden Brooks, Tracee Ellis Ross and Persia White
Later Akil served as super vising
producer on the comedy series The Jamie
Foxx Show. For the 2000-01 television
season she created her first comedy
series, Girlfriends, which was the fastest
growing comedy on network television
during that season. Now entering season
7, Girlfriends, has earned Akil a second
SHINE Award for “The Burning Vagina
Monologues” episode; 2002, 2003 and
2004 NAACP Image Awards nominations
for Outstanding Comedy Series; and a
PRISM Award for the “Blood is Thicker
Thank Liquor” episode for her accurate
depiction of alcohol use in an
entertainment program.
In 2005 she and her cast of Girlfriends
were honored with the Black Filmmakers
Hall of Fame award for their outstanding
performance, production, positive
influence and portrayal of AfricanAmericans in film, television and video.
In 2006, the show won a BET Comedy
Aw a rd for Outstanding Writing for a
Comedy Series.
Akil is listed among VIBE magazine’s
“Top 100 Hottest People”; Honey
magazine’s “Top 25 Hottest Women in
Urban Entertainment”; and she was
featured in Essence as one of the
“Outstanding Women Under 40”.
A native of Los Angeles, Akil was
primarily raised in Kansas City, Missouri.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degre e
in Journalism from the pre s t i g i o u s
Northwestern University and, while
there, became a member of the Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority.
Akil is married to writer/director Salim
Akil (Soul Food for Showtime/Paramount)
and enjoys mentoring young people,
especially aspiring writers. She and
Salim reside in Los Angeles with their
son, Yasin.
December 2006
Production
Schedule
Carla’s Café Commissary . . . . . . . . . . .5692
Car Wash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5042
Cellular Phones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5218
Client Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5099
Computer Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5218
Emergency Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5555
Grip Dept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5711
Hair Salon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6157
Internet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6221
Joe’s Gym . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5458
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5349
Notary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5837
Pager Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5218
Parking Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5670
Paint Dept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5396 or 5858
Safety Hotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6078
Sign Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5395
Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5671
Supply Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5001
Take 5 Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5979
CSI: NY
(CBS Productions/CBS)
Passions
(NBC Universal TV/NBC)
A c c o rding to Jim
(Touchstone TV/ABC)
Tell Me You Love Me
(Girl On Top, Inc/HBO)
Untitled Bill Engvall Pilot
(Very Funny Productions/TBS)
Wild Hogs (feature re s h o o t s )
(Wild Hogs Productions)
Days of Wrath (feature )
(Celia Fox Entertainment)
The Game
(CBS Paramount Network TV/CW)
Girlfriends
(CBS Paramount Network TV/CW)
Comedy Colosseum Pilot
(Vin Di Bona/NBC)
QUESTION
Which R&B artist performs the
Girlfriends theme song?
Holiday Security Tips
The holiday season unfortunately tends to bring
forth an increase in theft. Employees and tenants
should take the fo l l owing pre cautions to help
ensure the security of their belongings.
• Do not leave wallets, purses or cash unattended
at any time.
• Secure laptop computers with a locking device
or store in a secure area when not in use.
• Offices and dressing rooms should be secured
when unoccupied.
• Do not leave gifts or valuables in offices or
dressing rooms overnight unless the items are
locked in a desk or cabinet.
• Do not hold security doors open for others.
• Do not allow unaccompanied delivery persons
or couriers to wander though offices.
• Re port any suspicious persons to Security
immediately.
Have a SAFE and happy holiday season!
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Marsha Gorodkin
DESIGN & LAYOUT: Elizabeth Gulick
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ANSWER on page 4
CALENDAR
December
12/15
12/21
12/25
12/26
12/31
Hanukkah begins
Winter Solstice
Christmas
Kwanzaa
New Year’s Eve
Holiday
Toy Drive
Please help support the Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles
DONATE A TOY!!!
Bins located at the
Main Gate and Carla’s Café
Thank you to everyone that made a
contribution to the annual holiday toy
drive sponsored by the Studio City
Chamber of Commerce. The toys will be
hand delivered to children in the rehab
floor of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
right before the holidays. Children on
the rehab floor spend anywhere from a
week to several months there, recovering
from accidents, burns, and illnesses that
have left them in need of rehabilitation.
In addition to the toys, the Chamber
takes lunch to the staff (donated by local
restaurants). Santa is also a part of the
festivities, helping to hand out toys and
reading to the children.
December 2006
Recent CBS Staff
Appointments &
Promotions
Christian Del Canto
Systems Administrator, IT
Department
Christian first joined CBS
in December 2004 as
an information systems
analyst. In April 2006 he
temporarily parted ways
with CBS Studio Center
until his re t u rn in November. During his
departure, Christian worked for ETS Express,
Inc. as an IT manager overseeing all aspects of
the infrastructure including desktops, servers
and network. In his new job Christian will
manage and maintain software and hardware
technology, supporting Studio departments
and tenants, including all aspects of PC
support, software installation, configuration
and implementation. He will also be
responsible for supporting end users by
maintaining all system upgrades and
managing server backup and recovery
processes. For fun Christian likes playing Texas
hold’em poker, tennis, and basketball, and
watching good movies.
December 2006
Special Congratulations!
Norma Anguiano
Financial Planning
20 years of service at
CBS
Neil Fuerst
40 years
Rana Platz
30 years
Congratulations!
Tracy Simpson,
Environmental Health
& Safety
On your marriage to
Maggi Elizondo
9-29-2006
Mike Skinner, Director
of Plant Services
On the birth of your
grandson
Micah Nolan
Hammersley
10-17-2006
Scott Dipanni
25 years
Marc Senate
25 years.
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December 2006
cbs employees and tenants
enjoy 30% off your check
everyday 11:30 am - 4:00 pm
(please present badge for discount)
12161 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, California 91604
818-985-1744
(does not include Loco Lunch, Alcoholic Beverages,
Take-Out or any other offer)
Happy
Holidays
from
ANSWER
To place an ad in this
publication, please call Marsha,
Client Services at 818-655-5099
Singer, s e l f - t a u g ht keybo a rd i s t, and
prolific songwriter, Angie Stone whose
first claim to fame was being the lead
vocalist on Ve rtical Hold's smooth
urban dance track "Seems You're Much
Too Busy." She is a native of Columbia,
South Carolina.
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