welcome to this edition of our world with blacken ter price. coming up, he's one of hollywood's busiest actors. we profile anthony anderson. plus reality television. and one woman's journey to see people hit hard by the economy. starting now. sglfrnlgts

>> the world knows anthony anderson by his movies and shows. there is more to him than meets the eye. i caught up with him of all places, on a golf course. >> thank you for being here with me brother. always good to see you. you looking good, man. >> thank you. >> i bumped into him the other day. >> don't say bumped into. >> speak about how we met. >> you ran up on me as a wide eyed -- i'm not going to say fan. admir admirerer -- borderline stalker. he ran past me to get to the front of the line. >> we have to wait in line to get to the front of security, you shot to the front. >> i was giving a lesson on

getting to the front of the line. >> i'm going to try it the next time. >> why are you streaming? >> we are outside. >> i don't have a mic on. >> not that close. it is a family show. >> what was your question? >> what are some of the projects you are working on? >> currently filming, "stream 4". my regular day job, "law and order" was cancelled we were sad to see that grow. that opens up the door for all of us to do other things. i enjoyed my two and a half seasons there. i love new york and we'll see what the future holds for me. >> i have seen you on saturday morning shows. i have seen you make the

transition and now you are doing a serious drama. what was that like? >> it has been my mission and plan you know, a lot of people had mistaken me for coming up in the stand-up world for the comedic films that i have been a part of and working with some of the best. working with eddy murphy and jim carey and jamie fox. before i got type cast as the fat funny guy. i took a stance, like let me create my future in hollywood. if they are not going to create and write dramatic roles for me i'm going to do that on my own. and i did. and my management and agent team, we sought out specific shows and movies. like "huddle and slow" and shows like "the shield" and "law and

order". and the stars were aligned and i send ended up getting what we went after and that opened up the doors for me. and you know, a lot of people a asked me is it hard for me to stay focused and keep a straight face when i'm working with a martin scorcesi and working on shows like "the shield"? the big part was me getting the chance to do that. they see you do one thing one way and that is all they see you as. i didn't want that to happen. >> how important is it for you to have the wider fan bass? i mean how is it to keep a foot in both communities? >> if you want to stick around, i believe it is things that you have to do. you don't want to get stuck in a certain genre of film and be

locked into a certain thing. a specific thing. um, that is why i hold a show on the golf network called "golf in america". that is why i do films like "the departed" and "life" and "big m mama's house" and others. and to create a broader fan base. that is what it is about. now, when you think about the time that you spent in hollywood and the transition, does it seem like there is a wider range of actors? does it seem like big box office successes? >> there is opportunity. i'm not going to say more, but there is opportunity for us? the door is open, only a select few are welcomed in. the rest of us have to kick the door down and you know make our

presence known. and that is what we do. there is opportunity for us to shine and you know, you look at what tyler perry has done with his film and shows and his studio and his business model. that gives other playwrites and actors hope. it is like if he did it then i can do it. yeah, more doors are open and we have more opportunities but they can be open wider and more opportunities than what there are now. >> you seem to be taking advantage of them. you are beginning to produce television shows like that as well. >> tell us about that. >> i had a short lived show on the wb called "all about the andersons" that i created, wrote and produced with my partner adam glass. i produced a documentary on black south african economics

called township to the stage. that will be on sun dance and other festivals this year. so it is about creating those opportunities. i tell talent and ac testifies it is about ownership and creating your own opportunities and vehicles because it may not be done for you. >> if you had one peas of advice to give the next generation of african-american actors and comedians what would it be? >> it goes back to creating their own opportunities about ownership and property. because that is where the real power is. let's forget about fame and money. let's talk about the power to be able to hire someone of color. the power to be able to put your show and bring your vision to life and have that air on the

network or on television or on the screen. that is what it is about. it is about having that power. the money and the other stuff asecondary. up next, what effect is reality television having on the black community? >> when people are competing for money and jobs all the crazy comes out.

foods rich in folic acid like white bread and leafy greens can help prevent some birth defects before you even know you're pregnant. ♪

it is the biggest craze in pop culture. reality tv. but is it doing blacks more harm than good? john murray entertainment reporter for the times morning show and kelly beatty former reality show. we see some of the biggest stars we know we know them from reality tv. >> i think it is cheap to produce. so people are suddenly flooding the markets. i don't think that it puts black people worse off. i think look at "jersey shore". it is a white cast. it looks just as bad as" contintiny and toya". >> there is variety.

you have serious shows and you have had shows like "harlem heights". and then you have flavor of love that run their course. we have to watch the good stuff so they can stay on the air. >> flavor of love had three seasons? >> five. >> we watched it. >> i saw that. i love new york, i saw -- i am the problem. i am not part of the solution. i watch it. why are we so attracted to the images? >> i think it is who we are at people. why does everyone slow down and watch the wreck on the highway. we enjoy watching other people's tragedies. i think it is exactly what you said. i'm guilty. i'm a reality television addict more than i care to admit. when you look at the ratings and

the numbers the stories want to make us close our eyes. >> i think about the charactes s in reyackity television. every year on "real world" there is an angry black guy. whether it is chris, or kevin powell. will collins on big brother. these are recurring characters. >> and he broke the stereotype. and then the fun-loving black guy. there are roles for the people on survivor. isn't that dangerous? >> i think it is not really reali reality. it is dangerous. when you are bret michaels on the rock of love tour sleeping with all of these women. i think these are roles that are cast and to go back to john o's point. what is the show?

>> "tiny and toya". >> right. >> i promise you. wait a minute. you have to watch it. >> i have watched it. >> i wanted to go spend the weekend at her house. it was a great show. >> tiny starting ining a busin. she was showing life after an r and b group. >> i think it makes sense to ask the question what we consider to be bad images. a lot of what we considered to be standard. may or may not be the case. i think for society to say, we see that represented in television too. >> in some ways you did that. you chose to take on a show where a, "i love new york". you tockok a role.

what was that like? >> the apprentice is a great brand and i was lucky to be in season ten. it was different. so to come out and say i lost my job, that was a big deal. it gave america the opportunity to say what is the unemployed look like? i think if we have these conversations, that is what is important. you know, for me it was a great experience even being able to be here for this conversation. >> how much behind the scenes shapes what we see on the show? why don't you kiss that guy or have a fight? >> i lot of times they have producers and directors? you know that is saying neenee said this why don't you react? i think you saw that at the end

of "the hills". we don't know. a lot of it is staged and scripted and there is no reality in it. >> i was going to say i think it is important, there is variety within the reality television genre. there are some reality tv soap oprahs. when you look at the show i did. we were never propertied to do things. >> when people are competing for money and jobs, all of the crazy comes out. >> we are placed in environments that we would never be in real life. you want me to build a hotel in two days? oh, okay sure. you get the best of people when you tell them you are going to do this for two days. >> a lot of talk about amarosa in particular on "the apprentice". some saw her in negative light.

>> sure. >> was there pressure to respond or be different from her. >> i don't think so. for me, the pressure was to be kelly. >> when you are put in these environments, parts of you come out that you have never seen before. am i being true to who i am? >> amarosa is your girl but she has made a career off of being the villian. >> flavor flav, he played into that stereotype. >> once people see the money, they take it to the bank. >> she was aware of the role that she played. people come up to her and say you are really sweet and she says don't put that on twitter or facebook. >> this speaks to an obsession

two other people's business or lives. >> it is your job. >> we are in the business of access. we love people's rise and fall and a come back story. we want to relate to people, we don't need you all anymore. he can go right to the store. >> okay. we will do a reality show about it. >> thank you also much for being here. thank you so much. up next, fighting hunger one plate at a time. >> this takes the loss of a job, or a serious disability to take someone from middle income down to low income down again into poverty.

♪ welcome back. nearly 50 million people in the united states struggle to put food on their table. but one new jersey woman are making sure people don't go

hungry. she is our slice of life. ♪ this food bank sees a steady line of people hit by hard times. valerie tries to improve their situation. >> when people get laid off. we feel that in the food banking industry because this is where they are coming to put food on their tablings. valley runs the food bapnk of south jersey. of that 36,000 of them are children and 10,000 are seniors that are making the decision between paying for food or medicine. >> i know you are working with a limited budget. we don't have a budget at all.

>> 54% of people living in camden city are living below the poverty level. >> this food bank is making things easier. >> it has been a blessing to our family church for the members of the church and the community. >> this takes the loss of a job, or a serious disability to take someone from middle income, to spiral down to low income into poverty. >> to help keep people from starving, valerie depends on volunteers and financial support. >> we have reached out to the corporate community to help us. campbell soup has helped us for many years. >> she is a great spokesperson for the food bank and for hunger

relief. she is one of the key partners in the community and we couldn't be more pleased for the work we do with val and the food bank. >> i want to thank you on behalf for all of the people that will eat this thanksgiving for the work that you have been doing. >> we love you also much. thank you. >> despite the challengeths of the tough economy, valerie says her drive to help people will never change. >> we want to have enough food to feed people that are coming to us for food. number two is we want to teach them how to eat and what can we do to help people find s sustainable ways to improv their lives.

♪ ♪ >> thank you.

have you ever considered, i don't know, getting it waxed? waxed? yeah. bro, that's a little weird. i don't know, doesn't seem that weird to me. just keep shaving my back, ok? oh, dude, can i get a bite? what, with my spoon? that's disgusting.

that wraps it up for us here on "black world enterprize". thank you for watching.