How do you get a ghost to stop haunting you? You bring it back to life. This is the concept that started it all for Daniel Delpurgatorio and Anthony Williams. These Chicago-based filmmakers entered their idea into Clive Barker‘s “Real Fear” horror film challenge for Project Greenlight and Shudder amongst 1000 other pitches and were […]...
- 8/3/2017
- by Tony Wash
- bloody-disgusting.com
Earlier this year, Project Greenlight Digital Studios, the group behind the "Project Greenlight" series, and Shudder, AMC's rather excellent streaming service dedicated to horror and thrillers, ran a contest in conjunction with horror master Clive Barker.
Entrants into the "Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest pitched their horror movie ideas. The 1,000 entries were dwindled down by a group of judges, the 10 semi-finalists were put to public vote with the top 5 teams each receiving a budget to interpret and shoot a pre-written scene as a showcase of their abilities. Today it was announced that this year's winners are aspiring director Danny DelPurgatorio and writer Anthony Williams.
In addition to mentorship from Barker himself, the duo have also been awarded $300,000 [Continued ...]...
Entrants into the "Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest pitched their horror movie ideas. The 1,000 entries were dwindled down by a group of judges, the 10 semi-finalists were put to public vote with the top 5 teams each receiving a budget to interpret and shoot a pre-written scene as a showcase of their abilities. Today it was announced that this year's winners are aspiring director Danny DelPurgatorio and writer Anthony Williams.
In addition to mentorship from Barker himself, the duo have also been awarded $300,000 [Continued ...]...
- 8/2/2017
- QuietEarth.us
Aspiring horror director Danny DelPurgatorio and writer Anthony Williams' just got a stamp of approval from a master.
The pair are the winners of “Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest, which in addition to a mentorship from Clive Barker, also grants them a $300,000 budget to turn their project Wither into a feature film.
They won on the strength of a proof-of-concept video based on a pre-written scene the contest asked all of its applicants to re-create in different ways.
Here's the prize-winning scene:
And here's the logline for Whither: The film will follow Dr. Spencer...
The pair are the winners of “Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest, which in addition to a mentorship from Clive Barker, also grants them a $300,000 budget to turn their project Wither into a feature film.
They won on the strength of a proof-of-concept video based on a pre-written scene the contest asked all of its applicants to re-create in different ways.
Here's the prize-winning scene:
And here's the logline for Whither: The film will follow Dr. Spencer...
- 8/2/2017
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When autistic student Brandon Williams saw his classmate choking on an apple slice, he immediately sprung into action performing the Heimlich maneuver – a life-saving technique he learned in a surprising place.
Brandon, who is in a special-needs 12:1:1 class at Barnes Intermediate School in Staten Island, New York, told SILive.com that he picked up the maneuver from an episode of Nickelodeon animated series Spongebob Squarepants.
The 13-year-old said when he noticed one of the other students in his class, Jessica Pellegrino, "choking in her mouth."
"I'm at the foot of the table, and I had my back turned for a second,...
Brandon, who is in a special-needs 12:1:1 class at Barnes Intermediate School in Staten Island, New York, told SILive.com that he picked up the maneuver from an episode of Nickelodeon animated series Spongebob Squarepants.
The 13-year-old said when he noticed one of the other students in his class, Jessica Pellegrino, "choking in her mouth."
"I'm at the foot of the table, and I had my back turned for a second,...
- 11/8/2015
- by Lindsay Kimble, @lekimble
- People.com - TV Watch
(Cbr) Spoiler Warning: The following article contains minor spoilers for "X-Men: Days of Future Past" Fox's hit film, "X-Men: Days of Future Past," picked up on a cue from Marvel Studios' approach to movie making by ending with a post-credits sequence teasing the next film in the franchise. Set in Ancient Egypt, the scene showed a mysterious man with grey skin and blue lines on his face using his powers to build a pyramid while masses of people chant as four mysterious beings stand in the background. What the crowd is chanting is the key, as it is the name of this young mutant, En Sabah Nur, who will eventually be known as the X-Men villain Apocalypse. Debuting at the end of "X-Factor" #5, though the issue was written and illustrated by the creative team of Bob Layton, Jackson Guice and Joe Rubinstein, the character was actually invented by Louise Simonson...
- 5/27/2014
- by Brian Cronin, Comic Book Resources
- Hitfix
Since making its debut at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, Other has screened at more than 60 film festivals, including ScreamFest, Fantasia, Elvira’s Horror Hunt, and more. Now, the short film has been made available for free online and we have it for you to watch:
“Patrick is a brilliant doctor in an obsessive race to alter his own grim prognosis. During a series of unconventional experiments, he discovers a scientific loophole unlike anything he had ever imagined. In pursuit of this dark prize, Patrick will risk everything to ensure he sees his experiment to the end…even if it means accepting the sinister results.”
Other stars David Steiger and was directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio from a screenplay by Anthony Williams. To learn more or to purchase Other on Blu-ray/DVD, visit:
http://www.other-themovie.com/store.html
The post Watch the Short Film ‘Other’ appeared first on Daily Dead.
“Patrick is a brilliant doctor in an obsessive race to alter his own grim prognosis. During a series of unconventional experiments, he discovers a scientific loophole unlike anything he had ever imagined. In pursuit of this dark prize, Patrick will risk everything to ensure he sees his experiment to the end…even if it means accepting the sinister results.”
Other stars David Steiger and was directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio from a screenplay by Anthony Williams. To learn more or to purchase Other on Blu-ray/DVD, visit:
http://www.other-themovie.com/store.html
The post Watch the Short Film ‘Other’ appeared first on Daily Dead.
- 1/20/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
With his writing partner Jeannie Roshar, Gary Anthony Williams (known for providing the voice of Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks, for his work on Weeds and Boston Legal, and much more) has sold an interracial romantic comedy feature pitch to Lionsgate, titled I Own You. Centered on the peaks and valleys of an interracial couple, I Own You is said to be based on a 2008 short film of the same name that the duo also wrote and starred, with Anthony Williams directing. Whether Williams will also direct this feature film adaptation of the short, remains to be see. Currently, there's no director attached. It's not even a definite that Williams and...
- 10/30/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Trinidad & Tobago is a very small country filled with every race, as varied as the innumerable species of rice. "One quality we all share as humans is we are all different from each other," to quote Dylan Kerrigan. T&T seems like a microcosm of the world today at its best. I know I am not seeing the daily or the political problems the people must cope with in their lives, but I do have the privilege not to be a tourist but a participant in trinidad + tobago film festival, a seven year old event. Film, one of the seven new industries this oil-rich republic has designated for development, is vibrant and alive here. This country is not only a tropical paradise with its beaches and its forests, its music and its people of indescribable beauty, but its intelligence -- made of Amerindian, African, East Indian, Asian, Arabic, Spanish, French, British and American traditions as translated by the new generation -- is unique. The new and well-educated generation, as we all know, has a special edge over the old and the mainstream. What do I mean with these flaunting words?
I am astounded by what I have discovered here. The Caribbean multiplicity of island cultures, T&T's proximity to Latin America and how the film festival's founder and director Bruce Paddington sees the film industry developing from this pivotal point inspires me and everyone who attends this festival.
To wax a little bit more poetic: the solution to the "immigration problem" can be solved simply by relabeling the state of the world today as one of Diaspora. When I grew up I thought the word Diaspora pertained exclusively to the Jews. We went through numerous diasporas, from the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem to the expulsion from Spain, then from all Europe. I think that if the greatest thinkers of the western world had not perished in the Shoah, we would have found words and formulations to deal with the issues of immigration and integration we are facing today. The words immigration and integration are antipodes. Looking at Trinidad & Tobago, immediately apparent and a constant topic of discussion in the society itself, in music, art and film, is Diaspora. The entire human race is represented here as a product of Diaspora, not immigrants, but citizens of a society of people in Diaspora. And the Diaspora of Trinidadians in the world today mainly to Canada, New York, U.K. and Miami sees more Trinidadians outside than in the country itself. Diaspora is the new synthesis of the world today.
Speaking of Diaspora, the country's genius-created instrument, Pan, or the steel drum, the only new musical instrument created in the 20th century, is now a subject of study in most university music schools and has more adherents and orchestras abroad than in the country itself. Pan is compulsory in Finnish primary schools. In France it builds self-esteem and discipline in schools in rough neighborhoods. There are more steelbands in Switzerland (although they are smaller) than in T&T (where a small orchestra has 120 members). In African it is different. Johannesburg ensembles combine pans and marimbas. In Tokyo they are extensions of large corporations. Soon all will come to pan’s Mecca for a grand family reunion. During Carnival, 1,000 steel drum musicians converge here from all over the world where a giant parade and competition called Panorama transform T&T into a musical paradise. You cannot imagine the transformative power of a steel band orchestra (called "pan") unless you experience it first hand.
A grand transmedia project called Pan is now being planned for 2013 by the film and music producer, Jean Michel Giber (his recently completed Calypso Rose is a doc about a 70 year old Calypso singer) and written by Dr. Kim Johnson a noted authority on the pan in collaboration with story consultant Fernanda Rossi who has doctored films that went on to be nominated for Academy Awards®.
And yet another aspect of Diaspora: Canada whose citizens are also spread throughout the world in diaspora and who has the most coproduction treaties in the world is also here lending strong sponsorship support through its Rbc Royal Bank which has banks throughout the Caribbean and Flow which offers internet, telephone and tv throughout the region. This year's focus is on Canada which is celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and cultural and creative links between the two countries. Aside from the number of Canadian films screening and the number of Canadian filmmakers attending, Christian Sida-Valenzuela, Director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival is on the jury.
The film world here is developing on four levels simultaneously and by design. Inclusive of British, French, Dutch and Spanish colonial and slave-trading traditions, Amerindian, African, Indian, Arab and Asian diaspora communities here are working in film education, festival, production and distribution not only at home but throughout the region of the Caribbean nations, already represented in The United Nations in a 15 member Caribbean Community political consortium called Caricom.
The industry has come to ttff to tell of subsidies and coproduction opportunities, possibilities for marketing and distribution in the global marketplace, and to give immersion workshops on filmmaking and film criticism.
Ttff has formed alliances with Tribeca Film Institute, Cba Worldview -- Commonwealth Broadcasting Association aims to improve U.K. public understanding and awareness of the developing world via the mainstream broadcast and digital media. WorldView supports producers bringing the richness and diversity of the wider-world to U.K. audiences. Cba Worldview provides seed funding to producers to enable them to spend time in the developing world researching stories, identifying characters and locations and shooting taster tapes. Cba Worldview itself has alliances with Tribeca, Sundance and Idfa. Other ttff alliances are with Cuba's Icaic and the Havana Film Festival, Curacao Film Festival which is itself an extension of the Rotterdam Film Festival, U.S.'s National Black Programming Consortium, a part of the Public Broadcasting System and Acp which is the European Union's cultural subsidy arm (separate from Eurimages).
Acp has a fund of €12 million to grant in all areas of culture to reinforce and support access to markets, improve the regulatory environment and reduce unemployment, and it grants €10 million of this to cinema and the audiovisual sector. Acp's Director, Mohamed Ben Shabbaz gave their award to the feature which best epitomizes cultural diversity to the feature Stone Street. On presenting the prize, he reiterated Acp's motto, "No future without culture" and presented the prize on behalf of its membership of 79 countries and their 800 million people while encouraging filmmakers to submit projects which are eligible if produced by any member of the Caribbean, African and Latin American nations included in the Acp for grants.
Because Guadaloupe is French, it can access the French Cnc production subsidies and coproductions with them can share this. The BBC seriesDeath in Paradise has been such a hit that the BBC is renewing the series to the benefit of Guadaloupe's coffers.
Another incentive to make movies in this untapped and untrammeled region of the world is the 35% rebate on monies spent on production in Trinidad.
All this bounty would stir me as a filmmaker anywhere in the world to hasten to find coproducers in these countries to make a movie out of the myriad of stories that exist here. Guadaloupe novelist Simone Schwartz-Bart's great novel written in collaboration with her husband, Andre Schwartz-Bart (Last of the Just), A Woman Called Solitude, one of the most emotionally moving novels I 've ever read, has yet to be made into a movie. Dominican writer Jean Rhys' Wide Saragossa Sea, the prequel to Bronte's Jane Eyre, has been made in 1993 and in 2006 and yet remains mostly forgotten. Perhaps it's time for a remake. Or how about the novels of Antiguan Jamaica Kincaid, Cuban Alejo Carpentier or Martiniquese Edward Glissant?
The winner of the Jury Prize for Best Caribbean Film by a non-Caribbean went to Canadian filmmaker Christy Garland for her documentary The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song, a documentary that had the strongest buzz here. The trailer alone moved the audience at the awards ceremony to a collective and spontaneous sigh of sympathy. What a fiction adaptation could be made from the stories these people have to tell.
Some filmmakers are already embedding themselves here. Trinidadian native Ian Harnarin comes from Canada and lives in New York. We met at Tiff this year in a mentoring program where he was one of four most promising new filmmakers. His short was executive produced by Spike Lee. He is now working on the feature length film of the short. "I'm extremely happy to be taking my film Doubles With Slight Pepper to the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival. The film was shot on location throughout Trinidad with a local cast and a lot of local crew. The film has garnered some amazing awards and screened at other festivals around the world, so Ttff will mark a homecoming for it. It's coming to be very special for the local audience to finally see it with the cast and filmmakers." This film is available on iTunes.
Alrick Brown, the director of Kinyarwanda, a hit of last year 's Sundance Ff, led the immersion workshops in documentaries with Fernanda Rossi, a New York based doc scriptwriter. Alrick also teaches at Rutgers and Nyu. Andrew Donsunmu, the director of Restless City which Ronna Wallace has been actively repping since Sundance (she just made a good digital deal for the film) and which will be released stateside by Affrm (as will Kinyarwanda) was part of a very interesting informal discussion which took place on the bus returning from our day at the beach about movement and the almost genetic styles of dance and choices of sports of the African diaspora...like why so many islanders can't swim, why they don't eat fish in Cuba, how Samba, Calypso, and a certain Jamaican dance use the same steps though to different beats. Such animated discussions of intercultural topics are frequent here and always fascinate and animate the participants and residents.
The filmmakers also participated in panels for the industry, sharing their motivation and modi operandi. Christy Garland, director of Bastards Sing the Sweetest Song, filmed in French Guyana spoke of how she enters an unknown culture with a vague idea for a subject and proceeds to draw people out until the story unveils itself to her. Patricia Benoit, director of Stones in the Sun which participated in Wroclaw's American Film Festival for films in post-production competition spoke of her dislike of people always talking of Haiti's "resilence" in the face of all its troubles and wanted to show the hidden wounds of Haitians with their own history while living in New York. The films title comes from the proverb, “Stones in the water don't know the suffering of stones in the sun.” You can read Indiewire's interview with her from Tribeca Film Festival here. Matias Meyer spoke of The Last Christeros, which showed in Toronto and is being sold by FiGa Films, wanting to show not the battles but the spaces between battles when a segment of the 90% Catholic population of Mexico waged war against the state in the 1920s when the government banned religion. American filmmaker Chris Metzler spoke of his film Everyday Sunshine: the Story of Fishbone as a wonderful tribute to failure. Another Trinidadian in Canada, Richard Fung talked of how when he grew up he loved dhalpuri roti and so set out to discover where this spicy flatbread was born in the film Dal Puri Diaspora. Next month Richard will present his film at Nyu. One entire panel discussion was given to The Jamaican Collective's New Caribbean Cinema collection of shorts all made Guerilla style in one day, Ring di Alarm. Shadow and Act covered this last month.
In addition to this productive work of sharing business ideas and sharing the visions of over 120 feature-length and short films, there is the added bonus of being in one of the most amazing spots on earth. Island people, isolated from mainland civilizations and united among themselves by the water which also separates them, have opened their arms and invited us to join them these past few days in celebrating life. They have shared the natural beauty and the music and other arts of their island paradise And imagine the food-- a mix, (like the people themselves) of Caribbean, Indian, Asian, Arabian and African cuisine, all so fresh and with a homemade touch which rivals your own home cooking. Bake and Shark, a deep fried pita stuffed with delicious fresh and tender shark, or Roti, a variation of a curry dish found in India, Doubles, another street food well loved by the people. The economy, supported by its oil industry which contributes 60% to the Gnp, though 40% is Bp, a cause for some political dissension, does not need to rely on tourism for its sustenance. And though this is the wealthiest of all the Caricom countries because of its oil and natural gas, it still has the ubiquitous poverty seen worldwide including in our own United States of America. It is by no means perfect, but...
In Moscow this past June, the event Doors held similar discussions among 25 American distributors and Russian filmmakers about exporting their films and creating viable co- productions. After those three days in Moscow, we were rewarded with the most spectacular trip any of us had ever experienced, driving to St. Petersburg and Petershof, attending the Mariansky Ballet to see Sleeping Beauty and the star ballet dancer of Russia from the best seats in the house, taking a long cruise through St. Petersburg's canals during the White Nights, when the sun never sets. That trip which we were privileged to participate in (thanks to L.A.'s Russian Film Commissioner Eleonora Granata and her boss Catherine Mtsitouridze who hired us to organize) did not surpass the bonus tour ttff gave us industry-ites to Las Maracas beach where we rode the waves in warm water until a tropical rain storm and hurricane type wind, lightning and thunder drove us out of the water to huddle under a shelter until if passed, and the evening Leslie Fields-Cruz of the National Programming Consortium of PBS and I spent with Trinidadian film and music producer, Jean Michel Gibert of Caribbean Music Group, music scholar extraordinaire Tim Johnson and Nestor Sullivan, music legend, steel drum virtuoso and manager of the prize-winning 120 piece steel band orchestra Pamberi at a steel drum orchestra rehearsal for Carnaval. I can say with authority, this experience was on an equal par with the best Russia has to offer.
Validation of the genius of this country can be found in the story of one man, Anthony Williams, who invented the tuned steelpan, and in a discussion I had with another Trinidad filmmaker, Janine Fung, who won the People's Choice for Best Documentary La Gaita. Janine, as you can guess from her name, is of Chinese descent, though thoroughly international and Trinidadian to boot. Her grandmother's extended family lived in Trinidad. Recently the Chinese embassy called her to see if she might research and make a documentary about a Trinidad woman who brought western ballet to China. When they named her she realized it as her grandmother's first cousin who had left Trinidad to study ballet in London and when she toured to China, she captivated the audience and remained to establish western ballet in China. No one in Trinidad is aware of this and Janine now must make the documentary. I love stories like this. Nestor Sullivan whose father played in the same steel drum orchestra which is 70 years old, told me that his grandmother told him he was the spitting image of her father who came to Trinidad somewhere between 1840 to 60 after slavery had been abolished (1833). His father was a Yoruban prince who was never enslaved except when kidnapped and carried to the New World. Looking at Nestor, you know this to be true. His grandmother was born in 1888. When we did the math, I calculated this was around the same time that my own grandmother was born after her mother had come to USA as a bride in 1881.
Filmmaker, Faisal Lutchmedial (Mr. Crab, a delightful short film of a shy 10 year old boy who idolizes and fears his imposing father and hides and escapes into a dream world, where the frightening Mr Crab with his deadly sharp claws awaits him until he hears the real fear in his father's voice when he cannot find him) resides in Montreal, and tells of his family's home in a section of Trinidad which has, to this day, remained almost exactly as it was when his father was a boy in 1945. In fact, he took a photograph of himself standing in the same spot where his father stood as a child and the surroundings are identical. He was looking forward to going there to "lime" for a few days after the festival.
When the two part France TV feature Toussaint Ouveture won two prizes, one for Audience Award for Best Narrative and the other to Jimmy Jean-Louis for Best Actor in a Caribbean film, Jimmy,whose stunning presence is as sweet as his beautiful face, and who is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Creole, spoke sponteously of Haiti's continued plight and of the fact that this historical epic deserves to be seen as widely as possible to remind the world that Haiti was the first nation to liberate itself and its slaves from its colonial masters 200 years before most other Caribbean nations declared or were granted their independence.
One other discovery I made was of Dana Verde of 3Ck Media (meaning 3rd culture kids, a term coined in the 50s by cultural anthropologist Ruth Hill Useem). Dana Verde is a Cuban-Jamaican filmmaker who enjoys telling stories from the Latin American and Caribbean Diaspora. After receiving her Ma in Filmmaking from the London Film School in 2008, the Brooklyn filmmaker returned to New York to work as an independent filmmaker – writing and directing spec commercials, music videos and short films. Currently she divides her time between New York and Los Angeles and is venturing into directing feature films that encapsulate a crosscultural perspective. Check out her short Lock and Key on Facebook.
In summation of this whirlwind 4 day trip, it was well worth the 8 hour flight. So immersed was I that I find I must return, and much as I hate to reveal this new untrammeled festival and country, I must tell about it. I was the only press there, but I'm sure it will catch the eye of then rest of the world soon as it is a growth area for film invention and innovation on all fronts, from education (Bruce Paddington who teaches film at the University of The West Indies along with Christopher Meir, a native of Buffalo, New York).to production to marketing and distribution under the aegis of T&T Film Company. Although in the 50s Robert Mitchum filmed The Fire Down Below and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison in T&T and you can be sure he had a blast there, still I feel like I have discovered it anew!
The awards themselves reflect the complexity of a society which, when its own special voice is raised in unison by its citizens, has the grandly unique and harmonic sound of the music of its own steel band. The gala awards ceremony of the ttff/12 took place at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain. Here is a full list of the winners which can also be found here.
Jury Awards: Best Films
Best Narrative Feature: Distancia, directed by Sergio Ramirez from Guatemala
Best Documentary Feature: The Story of Lover’s Rock, directed by Menelik Shabazz
Best Short: Peace: Memories of Anton de Kom, directed by Ida Does
Best Caribbean Film by an International Filmmaker: The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song, directed by Christy Garland
Special mentions in the best film category:
Best Narrative Feature: Choco, directed by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza
Best Documentary Feature: Broken Stones, directed by Guetty Felin
Best Short: Awa Brak, directed by Juan Francisco Pardo
Jury Awards: Best Local Films
Best Local Feature: Inward Hunger, directed by Mariel Brown
Best Local Short: Where the Sun Sets, directed by Ryan Latchmansingh
Jury Awards: Acting
Best Actor in a Caribbean Film: Jimmy Jean-Louis, Toussaint L’Ouverture, directed by Philippe Niang
Best Actor in a Local Film: Christopher Chin Choy, Where the Sun Sets, directed by Ryan Latchmansingh
Best Actress in a Local Film: Terri Lyons, No Soca, No Life, directed by Kevin Adams
People’s Choice Awards
People’s Choice Award: Narrative Feature: Toussaint L’Ouverture, directed by Philippe Niang
People’s Choice Award: Documentary Feature: La Gaita, directed by Janine Fung
People’s Choice Award: Best Short: Buck: The Man Spirit, directed by Steven Taylor
Other Awards
Film in Development Award: Cutlass, Deresha Beresford & Teneille Newallo
WorldView/Tribeca Film Film Institute Pitch Awards: Ryan Khan, Joaquin Ruano, Natalie Wei
Rbc Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion Pitch Award: Michelle Serieux
Film that Best Epitomises Cultural Diversity: Stone Street, directed by Elspeth Kydd
Film Criticism Award: Barbara Jenkins, “Three’s a Crowd”, review of Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy
Film Criticism Special Mentions: Dainia Wright, Renelle White
Best Student, University of the West Indies Film Programme: Dinesh Maharaj
AfroPop/National Black Programming Consortium Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: Mandisa Pantin
50-Second Film Competition: M Jay Gonzalez...
I am astounded by what I have discovered here. The Caribbean multiplicity of island cultures, T&T's proximity to Latin America and how the film festival's founder and director Bruce Paddington sees the film industry developing from this pivotal point inspires me and everyone who attends this festival.
To wax a little bit more poetic: the solution to the "immigration problem" can be solved simply by relabeling the state of the world today as one of Diaspora. When I grew up I thought the word Diaspora pertained exclusively to the Jews. We went through numerous diasporas, from the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem to the expulsion from Spain, then from all Europe. I think that if the greatest thinkers of the western world had not perished in the Shoah, we would have found words and formulations to deal with the issues of immigration and integration we are facing today. The words immigration and integration are antipodes. Looking at Trinidad & Tobago, immediately apparent and a constant topic of discussion in the society itself, in music, art and film, is Diaspora. The entire human race is represented here as a product of Diaspora, not immigrants, but citizens of a society of people in Diaspora. And the Diaspora of Trinidadians in the world today mainly to Canada, New York, U.K. and Miami sees more Trinidadians outside than in the country itself. Diaspora is the new synthesis of the world today.
Speaking of Diaspora, the country's genius-created instrument, Pan, or the steel drum, the only new musical instrument created in the 20th century, is now a subject of study in most university music schools and has more adherents and orchestras abroad than in the country itself. Pan is compulsory in Finnish primary schools. In France it builds self-esteem and discipline in schools in rough neighborhoods. There are more steelbands in Switzerland (although they are smaller) than in T&T (where a small orchestra has 120 members). In African it is different. Johannesburg ensembles combine pans and marimbas. In Tokyo they are extensions of large corporations. Soon all will come to pan’s Mecca for a grand family reunion. During Carnival, 1,000 steel drum musicians converge here from all over the world where a giant parade and competition called Panorama transform T&T into a musical paradise. You cannot imagine the transformative power of a steel band orchestra (called "pan") unless you experience it first hand.
A grand transmedia project called Pan is now being planned for 2013 by the film and music producer, Jean Michel Giber (his recently completed Calypso Rose is a doc about a 70 year old Calypso singer) and written by Dr. Kim Johnson a noted authority on the pan in collaboration with story consultant Fernanda Rossi who has doctored films that went on to be nominated for Academy Awards®.
And yet another aspect of Diaspora: Canada whose citizens are also spread throughout the world in diaspora and who has the most coproduction treaties in the world is also here lending strong sponsorship support through its Rbc Royal Bank which has banks throughout the Caribbean and Flow which offers internet, telephone and tv throughout the region. This year's focus is on Canada which is celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and cultural and creative links between the two countries. Aside from the number of Canadian films screening and the number of Canadian filmmakers attending, Christian Sida-Valenzuela, Director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival is on the jury.
The film world here is developing on four levels simultaneously and by design. Inclusive of British, French, Dutch and Spanish colonial and slave-trading traditions, Amerindian, African, Indian, Arab and Asian diaspora communities here are working in film education, festival, production and distribution not only at home but throughout the region of the Caribbean nations, already represented in The United Nations in a 15 member Caribbean Community political consortium called Caricom.
The industry has come to ttff to tell of subsidies and coproduction opportunities, possibilities for marketing and distribution in the global marketplace, and to give immersion workshops on filmmaking and film criticism.
Ttff has formed alliances with Tribeca Film Institute, Cba Worldview -- Commonwealth Broadcasting Association aims to improve U.K. public understanding and awareness of the developing world via the mainstream broadcast and digital media. WorldView supports producers bringing the richness and diversity of the wider-world to U.K. audiences. Cba Worldview provides seed funding to producers to enable them to spend time in the developing world researching stories, identifying characters and locations and shooting taster tapes. Cba Worldview itself has alliances with Tribeca, Sundance and Idfa. Other ttff alliances are with Cuba's Icaic and the Havana Film Festival, Curacao Film Festival which is itself an extension of the Rotterdam Film Festival, U.S.'s National Black Programming Consortium, a part of the Public Broadcasting System and Acp which is the European Union's cultural subsidy arm (separate from Eurimages).
Acp has a fund of €12 million to grant in all areas of culture to reinforce and support access to markets, improve the regulatory environment and reduce unemployment, and it grants €10 million of this to cinema and the audiovisual sector. Acp's Director, Mohamed Ben Shabbaz gave their award to the feature which best epitomizes cultural diversity to the feature Stone Street. On presenting the prize, he reiterated Acp's motto, "No future without culture" and presented the prize on behalf of its membership of 79 countries and their 800 million people while encouraging filmmakers to submit projects which are eligible if produced by any member of the Caribbean, African and Latin American nations included in the Acp for grants.
Because Guadaloupe is French, it can access the French Cnc production subsidies and coproductions with them can share this. The BBC seriesDeath in Paradise has been such a hit that the BBC is renewing the series to the benefit of Guadaloupe's coffers.
Another incentive to make movies in this untapped and untrammeled region of the world is the 35% rebate on monies spent on production in Trinidad.
All this bounty would stir me as a filmmaker anywhere in the world to hasten to find coproducers in these countries to make a movie out of the myriad of stories that exist here. Guadaloupe novelist Simone Schwartz-Bart's great novel written in collaboration with her husband, Andre Schwartz-Bart (Last of the Just), A Woman Called Solitude, one of the most emotionally moving novels I 've ever read, has yet to be made into a movie. Dominican writer Jean Rhys' Wide Saragossa Sea, the prequel to Bronte's Jane Eyre, has been made in 1993 and in 2006 and yet remains mostly forgotten. Perhaps it's time for a remake. Or how about the novels of Antiguan Jamaica Kincaid, Cuban Alejo Carpentier or Martiniquese Edward Glissant?
The winner of the Jury Prize for Best Caribbean Film by a non-Caribbean went to Canadian filmmaker Christy Garland for her documentary The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song, a documentary that had the strongest buzz here. The trailer alone moved the audience at the awards ceremony to a collective and spontaneous sigh of sympathy. What a fiction adaptation could be made from the stories these people have to tell.
Some filmmakers are already embedding themselves here. Trinidadian native Ian Harnarin comes from Canada and lives in New York. We met at Tiff this year in a mentoring program where he was one of four most promising new filmmakers. His short was executive produced by Spike Lee. He is now working on the feature length film of the short. "I'm extremely happy to be taking my film Doubles With Slight Pepper to the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival. The film was shot on location throughout Trinidad with a local cast and a lot of local crew. The film has garnered some amazing awards and screened at other festivals around the world, so Ttff will mark a homecoming for it. It's coming to be very special for the local audience to finally see it with the cast and filmmakers." This film is available on iTunes.
Alrick Brown, the director of Kinyarwanda, a hit of last year 's Sundance Ff, led the immersion workshops in documentaries with Fernanda Rossi, a New York based doc scriptwriter. Alrick also teaches at Rutgers and Nyu. Andrew Donsunmu, the director of Restless City which Ronna Wallace has been actively repping since Sundance (she just made a good digital deal for the film) and which will be released stateside by Affrm (as will Kinyarwanda) was part of a very interesting informal discussion which took place on the bus returning from our day at the beach about movement and the almost genetic styles of dance and choices of sports of the African diaspora...like why so many islanders can't swim, why they don't eat fish in Cuba, how Samba, Calypso, and a certain Jamaican dance use the same steps though to different beats. Such animated discussions of intercultural topics are frequent here and always fascinate and animate the participants and residents.
The filmmakers also participated in panels for the industry, sharing their motivation and modi operandi. Christy Garland, director of Bastards Sing the Sweetest Song, filmed in French Guyana spoke of how she enters an unknown culture with a vague idea for a subject and proceeds to draw people out until the story unveils itself to her. Patricia Benoit, director of Stones in the Sun which participated in Wroclaw's American Film Festival for films in post-production competition spoke of her dislike of people always talking of Haiti's "resilence" in the face of all its troubles and wanted to show the hidden wounds of Haitians with their own history while living in New York. The films title comes from the proverb, “Stones in the water don't know the suffering of stones in the sun.” You can read Indiewire's interview with her from Tribeca Film Festival here. Matias Meyer spoke of The Last Christeros, which showed in Toronto and is being sold by FiGa Films, wanting to show not the battles but the spaces between battles when a segment of the 90% Catholic population of Mexico waged war against the state in the 1920s when the government banned religion. American filmmaker Chris Metzler spoke of his film Everyday Sunshine: the Story of Fishbone as a wonderful tribute to failure. Another Trinidadian in Canada, Richard Fung talked of how when he grew up he loved dhalpuri roti and so set out to discover where this spicy flatbread was born in the film Dal Puri Diaspora. Next month Richard will present his film at Nyu. One entire panel discussion was given to The Jamaican Collective's New Caribbean Cinema collection of shorts all made Guerilla style in one day, Ring di Alarm. Shadow and Act covered this last month.
In addition to this productive work of sharing business ideas and sharing the visions of over 120 feature-length and short films, there is the added bonus of being in one of the most amazing spots on earth. Island people, isolated from mainland civilizations and united among themselves by the water which also separates them, have opened their arms and invited us to join them these past few days in celebrating life. They have shared the natural beauty and the music and other arts of their island paradise And imagine the food-- a mix, (like the people themselves) of Caribbean, Indian, Asian, Arabian and African cuisine, all so fresh and with a homemade touch which rivals your own home cooking. Bake and Shark, a deep fried pita stuffed with delicious fresh and tender shark, or Roti, a variation of a curry dish found in India, Doubles, another street food well loved by the people. The economy, supported by its oil industry which contributes 60% to the Gnp, though 40% is Bp, a cause for some political dissension, does not need to rely on tourism for its sustenance. And though this is the wealthiest of all the Caricom countries because of its oil and natural gas, it still has the ubiquitous poverty seen worldwide including in our own United States of America. It is by no means perfect, but...
In Moscow this past June, the event Doors held similar discussions among 25 American distributors and Russian filmmakers about exporting their films and creating viable co- productions. After those three days in Moscow, we were rewarded with the most spectacular trip any of us had ever experienced, driving to St. Petersburg and Petershof, attending the Mariansky Ballet to see Sleeping Beauty and the star ballet dancer of Russia from the best seats in the house, taking a long cruise through St. Petersburg's canals during the White Nights, when the sun never sets. That trip which we were privileged to participate in (thanks to L.A.'s Russian Film Commissioner Eleonora Granata and her boss Catherine Mtsitouridze who hired us to organize) did not surpass the bonus tour ttff gave us industry-ites to Las Maracas beach where we rode the waves in warm water until a tropical rain storm and hurricane type wind, lightning and thunder drove us out of the water to huddle under a shelter until if passed, and the evening Leslie Fields-Cruz of the National Programming Consortium of PBS and I spent with Trinidadian film and music producer, Jean Michel Gibert of Caribbean Music Group, music scholar extraordinaire Tim Johnson and Nestor Sullivan, music legend, steel drum virtuoso and manager of the prize-winning 120 piece steel band orchestra Pamberi at a steel drum orchestra rehearsal for Carnaval. I can say with authority, this experience was on an equal par with the best Russia has to offer.
Validation of the genius of this country can be found in the story of one man, Anthony Williams, who invented the tuned steelpan, and in a discussion I had with another Trinidad filmmaker, Janine Fung, who won the People's Choice for Best Documentary La Gaita. Janine, as you can guess from her name, is of Chinese descent, though thoroughly international and Trinidadian to boot. Her grandmother's extended family lived in Trinidad. Recently the Chinese embassy called her to see if she might research and make a documentary about a Trinidad woman who brought western ballet to China. When they named her she realized it as her grandmother's first cousin who had left Trinidad to study ballet in London and when she toured to China, she captivated the audience and remained to establish western ballet in China. No one in Trinidad is aware of this and Janine now must make the documentary. I love stories like this. Nestor Sullivan whose father played in the same steel drum orchestra which is 70 years old, told me that his grandmother told him he was the spitting image of her father who came to Trinidad somewhere between 1840 to 60 after slavery had been abolished (1833). His father was a Yoruban prince who was never enslaved except when kidnapped and carried to the New World. Looking at Nestor, you know this to be true. His grandmother was born in 1888. When we did the math, I calculated this was around the same time that my own grandmother was born after her mother had come to USA as a bride in 1881.
Filmmaker, Faisal Lutchmedial (Mr. Crab, a delightful short film of a shy 10 year old boy who idolizes and fears his imposing father and hides and escapes into a dream world, where the frightening Mr Crab with his deadly sharp claws awaits him until he hears the real fear in his father's voice when he cannot find him) resides in Montreal, and tells of his family's home in a section of Trinidad which has, to this day, remained almost exactly as it was when his father was a boy in 1945. In fact, he took a photograph of himself standing in the same spot where his father stood as a child and the surroundings are identical. He was looking forward to going there to "lime" for a few days after the festival.
When the two part France TV feature Toussaint Ouveture won two prizes, one for Audience Award for Best Narrative and the other to Jimmy Jean-Louis for Best Actor in a Caribbean film, Jimmy,whose stunning presence is as sweet as his beautiful face, and who is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Creole, spoke sponteously of Haiti's continued plight and of the fact that this historical epic deserves to be seen as widely as possible to remind the world that Haiti was the first nation to liberate itself and its slaves from its colonial masters 200 years before most other Caribbean nations declared or were granted their independence.
One other discovery I made was of Dana Verde of 3Ck Media (meaning 3rd culture kids, a term coined in the 50s by cultural anthropologist Ruth Hill Useem). Dana Verde is a Cuban-Jamaican filmmaker who enjoys telling stories from the Latin American and Caribbean Diaspora. After receiving her Ma in Filmmaking from the London Film School in 2008, the Brooklyn filmmaker returned to New York to work as an independent filmmaker – writing and directing spec commercials, music videos and short films. Currently she divides her time between New York and Los Angeles and is venturing into directing feature films that encapsulate a crosscultural perspective. Check out her short Lock and Key on Facebook.
In summation of this whirlwind 4 day trip, it was well worth the 8 hour flight. So immersed was I that I find I must return, and much as I hate to reveal this new untrammeled festival and country, I must tell about it. I was the only press there, but I'm sure it will catch the eye of then rest of the world soon as it is a growth area for film invention and innovation on all fronts, from education (Bruce Paddington who teaches film at the University of The West Indies along with Christopher Meir, a native of Buffalo, New York).to production to marketing and distribution under the aegis of T&T Film Company. Although in the 50s Robert Mitchum filmed The Fire Down Below and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison in T&T and you can be sure he had a blast there, still I feel like I have discovered it anew!
The awards themselves reflect the complexity of a society which, when its own special voice is raised in unison by its citizens, has the grandly unique and harmonic sound of the music of its own steel band. The gala awards ceremony of the ttff/12 took place at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain. Here is a full list of the winners which can also be found here.
Jury Awards: Best Films
Best Narrative Feature: Distancia, directed by Sergio Ramirez from Guatemala
Best Documentary Feature: The Story of Lover’s Rock, directed by Menelik Shabazz
Best Short: Peace: Memories of Anton de Kom, directed by Ida Does
Best Caribbean Film by an International Filmmaker: The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song, directed by Christy Garland
Special mentions in the best film category:
Best Narrative Feature: Choco, directed by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza
Best Documentary Feature: Broken Stones, directed by Guetty Felin
Best Short: Awa Brak, directed by Juan Francisco Pardo
Jury Awards: Best Local Films
Best Local Feature: Inward Hunger, directed by Mariel Brown
Best Local Short: Where the Sun Sets, directed by Ryan Latchmansingh
Jury Awards: Acting
Best Actor in a Caribbean Film: Jimmy Jean-Louis, Toussaint L’Ouverture, directed by Philippe Niang
Best Actor in a Local Film: Christopher Chin Choy, Where the Sun Sets, directed by Ryan Latchmansingh
Best Actress in a Local Film: Terri Lyons, No Soca, No Life, directed by Kevin Adams
People’s Choice Awards
People’s Choice Award: Narrative Feature: Toussaint L’Ouverture, directed by Philippe Niang
People’s Choice Award: Documentary Feature: La Gaita, directed by Janine Fung
People’s Choice Award: Best Short: Buck: The Man Spirit, directed by Steven Taylor
Other Awards
Film in Development Award: Cutlass, Deresha Beresford & Teneille Newallo
WorldView/Tribeca Film Film Institute Pitch Awards: Ryan Khan, Joaquin Ruano, Natalie Wei
Rbc Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion Pitch Award: Michelle Serieux
Film that Best Epitomises Cultural Diversity: Stone Street, directed by Elspeth Kydd
Film Criticism Award: Barbara Jenkins, “Three’s a Crowd”, review of Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy
Film Criticism Special Mentions: Dainia Wright, Renelle White
Best Student, University of the West Indies Film Programme: Dinesh Maharaj
AfroPop/National Black Programming Consortium Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award: Mandisa Pantin
50-Second Film Competition: M Jay Gonzalez...
- 10/3/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The 2012 edition of “Elvira’s Horror Hunt" and the all-star jury led by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Peaches Christ have named the Grand Prize winners of Best Feature and Best Short films. Read on for details!
From the Press Release:
Indiana filmmaker Scott Schirmer’s Found took the top prize for Best Feature Film while Chicago-based Danny DelPurgatario’s Other secured the Best Short Film award. Seven features and thirteen shorts played in the selection process, and the winners were chosen by Elvira and Peaches and their jury of Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, and Joe Bob Briggs.
In a combined statement from the “Elvira's Horror Hunt" jury, they express, "Found is an after-school Lifetime movie on bullying with multiple decapitations, full-frontal nude massacres, a head in a bowling bag, and then there are the disturbing parts. Both Found and Other deliver the goods in direction, acting, and special effects.
From the Press Release:
Indiana filmmaker Scott Schirmer’s Found took the top prize for Best Feature Film while Chicago-based Danny DelPurgatario’s Other secured the Best Short Film award. Seven features and thirteen shorts played in the selection process, and the winners were chosen by Elvira and Peaches and their jury of Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, and Joe Bob Briggs.
In a combined statement from the “Elvira's Horror Hunt" jury, they express, "Found is an after-school Lifetime movie on bullying with multiple decapitations, full-frontal nude massacres, a head in a bowling bag, and then there are the disturbing parts. Both Found and Other deliver the goods in direction, acting, and special effects.
- 9/11/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
One thing I will miss on "Idol" next season is Jennifer Lopez and her amazing fashion and beauty looks each episode. Dang, that girl's makeup was always Flawless! I would tune in just to see how she looked!
Jennifer, along with Jessica Alba and Zoe Saldana, provide loads of beauty inspiration. These three diverse and outstanding Latina beauties play by their own rules and make unique and individual beauty statements.
Here, G. Anthony Williams, Iman Cosmetics Master Makeup Artist, shows how to recreate their looks using Iman Cosmetics.
Jennifer Lopez:
Inspiration: There is no substitute for ...
Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Jennifer, along with Jessica Alba and Zoe Saldana, provide loads of beauty inspiration. These three diverse and outstanding Latina beauties play by their own rules and make unique and individual beauty statements.
Here, G. Anthony Williams, Iman Cosmetics Master Makeup Artist, shows how to recreate their looks using Iman Cosmetics.
Jennifer Lopez:
Inspiration: There is no substitute for ...
Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- 8/13/2012
- by nobody@accesshollywood.com (AccessHollywood.com Editorial Staff)
- Access Hollywood
2012 Disruptor Award Book of the Year Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; first edition; October 25, 2011) Honorable Mention MacroWikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams (2010) 2012 Disruptor Award Reading List of Noteworthy Books Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (2011) The Change Function: Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn by Pip Coburn (2006) Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson (2011) The Sputnik Challenge by Robert Divine (1993) USA Inc.: A Basic Summary of America's Financial Statements by Mary Meeker (2011) The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University by Louis Menand (2010) Immortal Bird: A Family Memoir by Doron Weber (2012) Culturematic by Grant McCracken (2012) Reverse Innovation by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble (2012) The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topal (2012) What...
- 4/24/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
This show couldn't really afford to get rid of someone as entertaining as Anthony Williams last week, but they did it anyway. What crimes against fashion and reality television will we see committed this week?
The hour starts with Mondo explaining that he used to think Kenley was loud and annoying ... and he still kinda does. She's like a car alarm that just keeps going off outside your building. You'll never really love it, but after a while you may learn to tolerate it.
The hour starts with Mondo explaining that he used to think Kenley was loud and annoying ... and he still kinda does. She's like a car alarm that just keeps going off outside your building. You'll never really love it, but after a while you may learn to tolerate it.
- 2/9/2012
- by editor@buddytv.com
- buddytv.com
On this week's All Stars, the designers had to find a stranger to act as a muse, and bargain for the clothes off their back to create a high fashion look
This was the most entertaining episode of the season so far, thanks to some sweet eye candy, the ever-entertaining Anthony, and hockey stud ally Sean Avery.
Whenever the show seems to focus on one designer over the others, it's a safe bet that said designer will either win that week's challenge ... or be sent packing. As soon as I noticed that we seemed to be getting more Anthony quips than usual, I knew he was in trouble. But even though he's gone, he'll always be remembered for introducing us to ... Diego.
Below you can see the designers talk about the unique difficulty of this challenge, i.e. the "public funk." No amount of Febreeze can hide the stench!
So how did the designers do?...
This was the most entertaining episode of the season so far, thanks to some sweet eye candy, the ever-entertaining Anthony, and hockey stud ally Sean Avery.
Whenever the show seems to focus on one designer over the others, it's a safe bet that said designer will either win that week's challenge ... or be sent packing. As soon as I noticed that we seemed to be getting more Anthony quips than usual, I knew he was in trouble. But even though he's gone, he'll always be remembered for introducing us to ... Diego.
Below you can see the designers talk about the unique difficulty of this challenge, i.e. the "public funk." No amount of Febreeze can hide the stench!
So how did the designers do?...
- 2/3/2012
- by snicks
- The Backlot
A couple of weeks ago we gave you the heads up on an interesting new short film about a doctor's self-diagnosis and unorthodox treatment methods gone horribly awry entitled Other. We're now excited to bring you the official trailer for the film, and it just adds to the intrigue.
Other is directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio, best known for helming Tales of the Black Freighter, the companion piece for 2009's Watchmen, which featured the voice-over work of Gerard Butler. However, with Other DelPurgatorio takes a entirely new direction. Watching the trailer, I felt a strong essence of Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. Take a gander at the trailer below and see if it channels Brundlefly for you, too.
And for those of you in the Chicago area, you've got the jump on everyone. Other will be having its world premiere in Chi-Town on Thursday, December 15, at 7 pm at The Den Theater.
Other is directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio, best known for helming Tales of the Black Freighter, the companion piece for 2009's Watchmen, which featured the voice-over work of Gerard Butler. However, with Other DelPurgatorio takes a entirely new direction. Watching the trailer, I felt a strong essence of Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. Take a gander at the trailer below and see if it channels Brundlefly for you, too.
And for those of you in the Chicago area, you've got the jump on everyone. Other will be having its world premiere in Chi-Town on Thursday, December 15, at 7 pm at The Den Theater.
- 11/17/2011
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
Everett Mary Louise Parker in “Weeds”
This is not the “Weeds” we used to know.
Sure, there’s the rundown of why drug-dealer / gang member / FBI informant Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) took the fall for a murder her son Shane committed.
And yes, we’re given a time stamp. This is three years later.
But Nancy looks rough. She’s wearing glasses and an unflattering prison jumpsuit and her hair is in hastily-tied pig tails.
Lights up on season seven of “Weeds.
This is not the “Weeds” we used to know.
Sure, there’s the rundown of why drug-dealer / gang member / FBI informant Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) took the fall for a murder her son Shane committed.
And yes, we’re given a time stamp. This is three years later.
But Nancy looks rough. She’s wearing glasses and an unflattering prison jumpsuit and her hair is in hastily-tied pig tails.
Lights up on season seven of “Weeds.
- 6/28/2011
- by Nick Andersen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Wanna feel old? Family Guy made its debut 12 years ago. Yep.
That means it's high time it follow fellow Fox Sunday night cartoons The Simpsons and Futurama into the world of comic books. Family Guy #1 hits comic book shops and newsstands on July 27th, just in time to take a laugh break from all the serious universe-jumbling in Marvel's Fear Itself and DC's Flashpoint.
The comic book series, which is being published by Titan Comics, is being edited by Steve White and illustrated by S.L. Gallant (G.I. Joe, Torchwood) and Anthony Williams (Batman, Judge Dredd). White says Fox needed a little convincing, and the show's producers will keep an eye on the book's stories and art to make sure everything's series-appropriate.
"The Family Guy universe is an amazing wellspring of ideas to plunder," White told the Associated Press. "It's given us a lot of latitude to develop stories...
That means it's high time it follow fellow Fox Sunday night cartoons The Simpsons and Futurama into the world of comic books. Family Guy #1 hits comic book shops and newsstands on July 27th, just in time to take a laugh break from all the serious universe-jumbling in Marvel's Fear Itself and DC's Flashpoint.
The comic book series, which is being published by Titan Comics, is being edited by Steve White and illustrated by S.L. Gallant (G.I. Joe, Torchwood) and Anthony Williams (Batman, Judge Dredd). White says Fox needed a little convincing, and the show's producers will keep an eye on the book's stories and art to make sure everything's series-appropriate.
"The Family Guy universe is an amazing wellspring of ideas to plunder," White told the Associated Press. "It's given us a lot of latitude to develop stories...
- 6/8/2011
- UGO TV
Peter Griffin and his long put-upon, but funny, family are heading to the pages of their own comic book series. Titan Comics and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products says that Peter; his wife, Lois; kids Meg, Chris and Stewie; along with family dog and martini aficionado, Brian, will headline their own series on July 27. Titan says the series also will feature other characters from its television counterpart, including Glen Quagmire, Cleveland Brown and Joe Swanson. The series will be drawn by S.L. Gallant, whose previous work includes runs on "G.I. Joe" and "Torchwood," and Anthony Williams, who...
- 4/5/2011
- by Associated Press
- Hitfix
Giggity giggity: the Griffins are coming to a comic shop near you.
Titan Comics announced on Monday that they will begin producing a new "Family Guy" comic book series, taking the insane animated series and translating it into paperback comedy gold.
The show, now in its ninth year -- and second incarnation, after a number of years off the air -- is a groundbreaking suburban sitcom that combines social commentary, ludicrous plot lines and plenty of obscure pop culture shout outs.
Helmed by creator Seth MacFarlane, "Family Guy" follows the Griffin family of Rhode Island as they do things like combat evil closet monkeys, plot to take over the world and drink endless amounts of beer with sex offender friends. It's already sold 25 million volumes on DVD, and is now betting on its fans' willingness to read comic books. Probably a smart roll of the dice.
The series hits stands in July.
Titan Comics announced on Monday that they will begin producing a new "Family Guy" comic book series, taking the insane animated series and translating it into paperback comedy gold.
The show, now in its ninth year -- and second incarnation, after a number of years off the air -- is a groundbreaking suburban sitcom that combines social commentary, ludicrous plot lines and plenty of obscure pop culture shout outs.
Helmed by creator Seth MacFarlane, "Family Guy" follows the Griffin family of Rhode Island as they do things like combat evil closet monkeys, plot to take over the world and drink endless amounts of beer with sex offender friends. It's already sold 25 million volumes on DVD, and is now betting on its fans' willingness to read comic books. Probably a smart roll of the dice.
The series hits stands in July.
- 4/5/2011
- by Jordan Zakarin
- Huffington Post
Titan Comics has announced it will launch a new Family Guy comic book in July based on the hit animated series on Fox. Family Guy "the comic book" will feature artwork from Sl Galant, who is known for his work on G.I. Joe, and former Judge Dredd artist Anthony Williams.
The publsher has teamed up with 20th Century Fox that will put Seth McFarlane's famous Griffen family in comic book form. To me this should have happened a long time ago. Yes, Cleveland and Quagmire will also appear in the comic.
According to Comic Book Resources, the new series "will follow the Griffin family on a string of brand new outrageous storylines".
Look for Family Guy in comic book shops everywhere on July 27th. Who's stoked?
...
The publsher has teamed up with 20th Century Fox that will put Seth McFarlane's famous Griffen family in comic book form. To me this should have happened a long time ago. Yes, Cleveland and Quagmire will also appear in the comic.
According to Comic Book Resources, the new series "will follow the Griffin family on a string of brand new outrageous storylines".
Look for Family Guy in comic book shops everywhere on July 27th. Who's stoked?
...
- 4/4/2011
- by brians
- GeekTyrant
I'm still hungover from the long, disappointing slog that was season six, but Lifetime's unveiling of a whole new crop of Project Runway hopefuls has me all kinds of excited today. For one thing, it'd be pretty hard not to improve on the last cast (like coupons at Macy's, some exceptions apply). But a quick glance at Lifetime's gallery of the 16 fresh faces who'll be on season seven (debuting Jan. 14) gives me hope that our show might be back on track. Hopefully. Some first impressions: -Bangs! No fewer than four contestants are sporting a sleek straight fringe (see photo, left...
- 12/16/2009
- by Missy Schwartz
- EW.com - PopWatch
Renowned DJ, who had performed with X-Ecutioners and Busta Rhymes, died Saturday of complications from a mixed-martial-arts accident.
By Shaheem Reid
Roc Raida
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images
In another terrible loss for the hip-hop community, Grand Master Roc Raida (real name: Anthony Williams) of the X-Ecutioners passed away on Saturday due to complications from a mixed-martial-arts accident, according to a statement released by his family. Raida had a two-decade career, which skyrocketed in 1995 when he won the Dmc World DJ Championship. He released seven solo albums along with several LPs with his famed crew, the X-Ecutioners. Over the last few years, Raida had been Busta Rhymes' live DJ, where his showmanship skills were a perfect marriage for Busta and Spliff Starr's energetic stage antics.
A statement released by Raida's family over the weekend reads: "Anthony Williams [professionally known] to the world as the Legendary Grand Master Roc Raida has passed away unexpectedly today,...
By Shaheem Reid
Roc Raida
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images
In another terrible loss for the hip-hop community, Grand Master Roc Raida (real name: Anthony Williams) of the X-Ecutioners passed away on Saturday due to complications from a mixed-martial-arts accident, according to a statement released by his family. Raida had a two-decade career, which skyrocketed in 1995 when he won the Dmc World DJ Championship. He released seven solo albums along with several LPs with his famed crew, the X-Ecutioners. Over the last few years, Raida had been Busta Rhymes' live DJ, where his showmanship skills were a perfect marriage for Busta and Spliff Starr's energetic stage antics.
A statement released by Raida's family over the weekend reads: "Anthony Williams [professionally known] to the world as the Legendary Grand Master Roc Raida has passed away unexpectedly today,...
- 9/21/2009
- MTV Music News
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