Exclusive: Continuing to expand its cast, HBO’s Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (working title) has added five as recurring: Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Mickey Sumner (Snowpiercer), Brian Goodman (Fatal Attraction), Elvis Nolasco (Godfather of Harlem), and Colin Bates (American Rust).
Sbarge plays Police Chief Dorsey, who oversees a multi-unit operation to assist FBI Agent Tom (Ruffalo) and the team in their search. Sumner portrays Shelley Driscoll, who is desperate to escape her husband Ray, with Goodman as Vincent Hawkes, one of the 13 National Leaders of a dangerous biker gang. Nolasco plays Freddy Frias, the savvy and ruthless captain of Philadelphia’s largest drug trafficking organization, while Bates portrays Shane McReynolds, the Sergeant-At-Arms of a dangerous biker gang and a member of Jayson’s inner circle.
Others previously cast include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff...
Sbarge plays Police Chief Dorsey, who oversees a multi-unit operation to assist FBI Agent Tom (Ruffalo) and the team in their search. Sumner portrays Shelley Driscoll, who is desperate to escape her husband Ray, with Goodman as Vincent Hawkes, one of the 13 National Leaders of a dangerous biker gang. Nolasco plays Freddy Frias, the savvy and ruthless captain of Philadelphia’s largest drug trafficking organization, while Bates portrays Shane McReynolds, the Sergeant-At-Arms of a dangerous biker gang and a member of Jayson’s inner circle.
Others previously cast include Tom Pelphrey as Robbie; Emilia Jones as Maeve; Thuso Mbedu as Aleah; Raúl Castillo as Cliff...
- 3/12/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Denzel Washington and director Spike Lee announced they are joining forces once more, the first time in 18 years, for a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller “High and Low.” The duo have collaborated four times previously, on “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Malcolm X,” “He Got Game,” and, most recently, “Inside Man.”
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
The American Society of Cinematographers has done the right thing.
The group said today that Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will receive its Board of Governors Award next month.
“Spike Lee is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, and the social impact of his work is immeasurable,” ASC President Shelly Johnson said. “This award celebrates his respect for the partnership between director and cinematographer and how two people unite to tell a visual story in a way that can only be recognized as that of collaboration.”
The Brooklyn-raised Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Do the Right Thing, for which he earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Many more celebrated films would follow, including Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, Clockers, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Girl 6,...
The group said today that Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will receive its Board of Governors Award next month.
“Spike Lee is one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time, and the social impact of his work is immeasurable,” ASC President Shelly Johnson said. “This award celebrates his respect for the partnership between director and cinematographer and how two people unite to tell a visual story in a way that can only be recognized as that of collaboration.”
The Brooklyn-raised Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Do the Right Thing, for which he earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Many more celebrated films would follow, including Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, Clockers, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Girl 6,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: André Holland (Passing), Kate Mara (Black Mirror), Zazie Beetz (The Harder They Fall) and Stephen McKinley Henderson (Beau Is Afraid) are set to star in The Dutchman, a psychological thriller based on the Obie Award-winning play by Amiri Baraka that has landed a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.
Directing from his script written with filmmaker Qasim Basir is Andre Gaines, the Emmy-nominated multi-hyphenate behind Showtime’s 2021 documentary The One and Only Dick Gregory. Production kicks off in New York City September 25th, putting a group of 150 or so back to work.
Set on a New York subway, The Dutchman centers on an encounter between a well-to-do Black man and an enchanting white woman who match wits in a sexualized game of cat and mouse that leads to a violent conclusion. The searing confrontation amplifies the dimensions of racial conflict in America in this adaptation of the stage show first presented...
Directing from his script written with filmmaker Qasim Basir is Andre Gaines, the Emmy-nominated multi-hyphenate behind Showtime’s 2021 documentary The One and Only Dick Gregory. Production kicks off in New York City September 25th, putting a group of 150 or so back to work.
Set on a New York subway, The Dutchman centers on an encounter between a well-to-do Black man and an enchanting white woman who match wits in a sexualized game of cat and mouse that leads to a violent conclusion. The searing confrontation amplifies the dimensions of racial conflict in America in this adaptation of the stage show first presented...
- 9/18/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Even the world’s greatest filmmakers are not immune to studio interference. Ten years ago, Oscar winner Spike Lee released his reinterpretation of Park Chan-wook’s acclaimed cult film “Oldboy.” To say the results were not what anyone had hoped would be a bit of an understatement. Critics savaged the project and mass audiences flat-out ignored its existence. “Oldboy” grossed just over $5 million worldwide, despite an all-star cast that included Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Even at the time, Lee suggested the version of “Oldboy” released in theaters was a compromised feature. Asked about recreating the original film’s virtuoso hammer-fight sequence in a 2013 interview with the New York Times, Lee expressed dismay the finished shot wasn’t shown in its intention.
“It’s not one shot,” Lee told the Times. “There’s a cut in it. Shouldn’t be, but there is a cut.
Even at the time, Lee suggested the version of “Oldboy” released in theaters was a compromised feature. Asked about recreating the original film’s virtuoso hammer-fight sequence in a 2013 interview with the New York Times, Lee expressed dismay the finished shot wasn’t shown in its intention.
“It’s not one shot,” Lee told the Times. “There’s a cut in it. Shouldn’t be, but there is a cut.
- 3/31/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Rami Malek is one of the most interesting actors working today. The projects he takes on run the gamut from an Egyptian mummy in a kid's movie to one of our most beloved musical superstars. Malek has a unique presence, and his deep, piercing eyes are quite an arresting sight to behold. James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, even said that Malek would beat him in a staring contest due to the intensity of his gaze.
Malek's proven that he can play sweet or evil with equal skill, and it's always a surprise to see what role he'll take on next. With an Oscar for best actor already under his belt, there's a good chance his career will continue to flourish in the future. However, right now is as good a time as any to look back at some of the roles that turned him into the in-demand actor he is today.
Malek's proven that he can play sweet or evil with equal skill, and it's always a surprise to see what role he'll take on next. With an Oscar for best actor already under his belt, there's a good chance his career will continue to flourish in the future. However, right now is as good a time as any to look back at some of the roles that turned him into the in-demand actor he is today.
- 3/7/2023
- by Kira Deshler
- Slash Film
Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter is partnering with Black and woman-owned, online vintage marketplace Thrilling on a Vintage Studio Services program, aimed at connecting stylists, designers and production companies with vintage and secondhand items for film and TV projects.
Nearly 1,000 shops across the U.S. will be accessible through the initiative, which is looking to help bolster small businesses, while encouraging eco-friendly and sustainable practices within entertainment.
As Thrilling’s first-ever brand ambassador, Carter has pledged to utilize the company and its new program in her upcoming projects for 2022. In celebration of the program’s launch, Thrilling has also unveiled a campaign comprised of styles inspired by Ruth’s work across 40+ film and television projects, which illustrates the role fashion plays in setting the stage for some of cinema’s most memorable scenes.
Naturally, Carter describes her partnership with the marketplace as “thrilling.
“I really want...
Nearly 1,000 shops across the U.S. will be accessible through the initiative, which is looking to help bolster small businesses, while encouraging eco-friendly and sustainable practices within entertainment.
As Thrilling’s first-ever brand ambassador, Carter has pledged to utilize the company and its new program in her upcoming projects for 2022. In celebration of the program’s launch, Thrilling has also unveiled a campaign comprised of styles inspired by Ruth’s work across 40+ film and television projects, which illustrates the role fashion plays in setting the stage for some of cinema’s most memorable scenes.
Naturally, Carter describes her partnership with the marketplace as “thrilling.
“I really want...
- 1/13/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in October 2019, before the pandemic, we brought you news about American Civil War movie Freedom’s Path.
The feature, which charts the friendship between a Union soldier and a runaway slave who is helping facilitate the Underground Railroad, stars Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Rj Cyler (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) and Gerran Howell (Catch 22). Post-production has just wrapped.
As it turned out, the project would mark the final stops on the journey of two veteran actors who died while the movie was in post-production: Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a frequent Spike Lee collaborator, and New Orleans native Carol Sutton, both of whom had supporting roles.
Both actors died in sad circumstances. Tony-nominee Byrd was murdered in Atlanta and Sutton died of complications from Covid.
Today, the production has chosen to release two images of the admired actors in their final film, marking the first official stills from the movie.
The feature, which charts the friendship between a Union soldier and a runaway slave who is helping facilitate the Underground Railroad, stars Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Rj Cyler (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) and Gerran Howell (Catch 22). Post-production has just wrapped.
As it turned out, the project would mark the final stops on the journey of two veteran actors who died while the movie was in post-production: Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a frequent Spike Lee collaborator, and New Orleans native Carol Sutton, both of whom had supporting roles.
Both actors died in sad circumstances. Tony-nominee Byrd was murdered in Atlanta and Sutton died of complications from Covid.
Today, the production has chosen to release two images of the admired actors in their final film, marking the first official stills from the movie.
- 9/21/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Tony-nominated actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd who is best known or his many roles in Spike Lee’s films was found killed in Atlanta. He was 70.
According to media reports, Byrd was found unresponsive early Sunday morning. Paramedics pronounced him dead as they found multiple gunshot wounds in his back.
Byrd was a frequent collaborator with Lee, appearing in eight of his films including Clockers, Get on the Bus, Girl 6, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus and Chi-Raq. He also appeared in the Netflix series adaptation of Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It. His film credits also include the 1996 crime drama Set It Off as well as the Oscar-winning pic Ray.
A graduate of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Byrd made his Broadway debut in the revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Carl Gordon, Charles S. Dutton and Stephen McKinley Henderson.
According to media reports, Byrd was found unresponsive early Sunday morning. Paramedics pronounced him dead as they found multiple gunshot wounds in his back.
Byrd was a frequent collaborator with Lee, appearing in eight of his films including Clockers, Get on the Bus, Girl 6, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus and Chi-Raq. He also appeared in the Netflix series adaptation of Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It. His film credits also include the 1996 crime drama Set It Off as well as the Oscar-winning pic Ray.
A graduate of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Byrd made his Broadway debut in the revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Carl Gordon, Charles S. Dutton and Stephen McKinley Henderson.
- 10/4/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, an actor in several of Spike Lee’s films, was killed in Atlanta on Saturday, the Atlanta Police Department confirmed to Variety. He was 70.
On Saturday, Atlanta police officers were dispatched to 2259 Belvedere Ave., responding to a call about an injured person at 1:45 a.m. Upon arrival, officers located Byrd lying unresponsive at the location. Emergency medial services responded to the scene, identified Byrd and pronounced him dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the back.
Homicide detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the investigation is currently ongoing. The Atlanta Police Department tells Variety that the information is preliminary in nature and could change as the investigation continues or new information comes to light.
Byrd appeared in several of Lee’s films, including “Clockers,” “Get on the Bus,” “Bamboozled,” “Chi-Raq,” “Red Hook Summer,” “Girl 6” and “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.” He...
On Saturday, Atlanta police officers were dispatched to 2259 Belvedere Ave., responding to a call about an injured person at 1:45 a.m. Upon arrival, officers located Byrd lying unresponsive at the location. Emergency medial services responded to the scene, identified Byrd and pronounced him dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the back.
Homicide detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the investigation is currently ongoing. The Atlanta Police Department tells Variety that the information is preliminary in nature and could change as the investigation continues or new information comes to light.
Byrd appeared in several of Lee’s films, including “Clockers,” “Get on the Bus,” “Bamboozled,” “Chi-Raq,” “Red Hook Summer,” “Girl 6” and “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.” He...
- 10/4/2020
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
After snagging nominations at the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Awards, SAG Awards, BAFTAs and more, Spike Lee‘s “BlacKkKlansman” has emerged as one of the leading contenders in the Oscar race for Best Picture. It tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a black police detective who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s with the help of a Jewish officer (Adam Driver). Gold Derby recently spoke with Driver, screenwriters Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz, cinematographer Chayse Irvin, production designer Curt Beech, film editor Barry Alexander Brown, composer Terence Blanchard and hair stylist Lawanda M. Pierre about their work.
See Will ‘BlacKkKlansman’ win Spike Lee his long overdue Oscar?
“There’s obviously an importance to the story overall that you want to get right,” says Driver. Though it’s set in the late 1970s, Lee makes direct references to both our past and present, from D.W. Griffith...
See Will ‘BlacKkKlansman’ win Spike Lee his long overdue Oscar?
“There’s obviously an importance to the story overall that you want to get right,” says Driver. Though it’s set in the late 1970s, Lee makes direct references to both our past and present, from D.W. Griffith...
- 1/18/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Lawanda M. Pierre reveals that Spike Lee “is very secretive sometimes when it comes to projects.” When he first called her about serving as hair department head on “BlacKkKlansman,” the only thing he wanted to know was whether or not she could “do an afro wig for a male lead? When I asked him, ‘Well, what is this for?’ he laughs and just hangs up.” But it didn’t matter that Lee was intentionally vague. “When he calls I pretty much do it.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Pierre above.
This Focus Features release tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African-American police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s with the help of a white detective (Adam Driver) acting as his proxy.
See Adam Driver: ‘BlacKkKlansman’ shows how racism ‘has been part of the conversation in this country for so...
This Focus Features release tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African-American police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s with the help of a white detective (Adam Driver) acting as his proxy.
See Adam Driver: ‘BlacKkKlansman’ shows how racism ‘has been part of the conversation in this country for so...
- 12/5/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Andre Gaines, the producer behind animated sci-fi pic Rio 2096 starring Rodrigo Santoro, has signed with ICM Partners.
Gaines’ film credits include Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus along with Brazilian Western and Ladder to Damascus. He also worked on the documentaries Bill Nye: Science Guy, Bricks in Motion and the upcoming I Am Dick Gregory, which Gaines also wrote and directed.
His TV work includes the upcoming Black Samurai for Starz, starring Common and exec produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Gaines continues to be repped by Del Shaw and managed by Curated by Media.
Gaines’ film credits include Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus along with Brazilian Western and Ladder to Damascus. He also worked on the documentaries Bill Nye: Science Guy, Bricks in Motion and the upcoming I Am Dick Gregory, which Gaines also wrote and directed.
His TV work includes the upcoming Black Samurai for Starz, starring Common and exec produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
Gaines continues to be repped by Del Shaw and managed by Curated by Media.
- 10/15/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Another summer movie season has come and gone, and the film industry is a much different place at the end of August than it was at the start of May. As always, it’s been an enlightening time, full of huge surprises and game-changing takeaways. Three months ago, no one would have guessed that a Supreme Court Justice would — pound for pound — prove to be a greater box office draw than Dwayne Johnson, or that a movie about Jason Statham fighting a giant shark would be on pace to outgross Han Solo’s origin story. Three months ago, no one knew that Tom Cruise was about to make us forget that “The Mummy” ever happened, or that rom-coms were on the verge of a huge comeback (both in theaters and at home).
It’s a brave new world, and mostly for the better. Here are nine lessons we learned from the 2018 summer movie season.
It’s a brave new world, and mostly for the better. Here are nine lessons we learned from the 2018 summer movie season.
- 8/21/2018
- by David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The celebrated director’s latest film fuses past and present, updating the true tale of a black detective who infiltrated the Kkk with the racial tensions of 2018 to searing effect
Spike Lee had mellowed somewhat. Not that the motormouth director with a socially provocative back catalogue had traded his sneakers for slippers, but in February 2015, having just released vampire romance Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, he was making a documentary about Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and, he told the Atlantic, time and fatherhood might have softened him. “If you get angry about everything you’re going to give yourself cancer,” he said. “You can’t let anger rule your life. It’s just not productive.” The truth, though, is that anger has been extremely productive for Spike Lee. And a lot has changed since 2015.
In February 2017, a month after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Get Out director Jordan Peele...
Spike Lee had mellowed somewhat. Not that the motormouth director with a socially provocative back catalogue had traded his sneakers for slippers, but in February 2015, having just released vampire romance Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, he was making a documentary about Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and, he told the Atlantic, time and fatherhood might have softened him. “If you get angry about everything you’re going to give yourself cancer,” he said. “You can’t let anger rule your life. It’s just not productive.” The truth, though, is that anger has been extremely productive for Spike Lee. And a lot has changed since 2015.
In February 2017, a month after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Get Out director Jordan Peele...
- 8/18/2018
- by Alex Godfrey
- The Guardian - Film News
It's been awhile since director Spike Lee has done the right thing. His latest films--notably, or rather unnotably "Chi-Raq" and "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus"-- have lacked his textbook political vangaurd sensibilities and energized spark that brought his early work to the fore. So it was about time for Spike to spark a joint that would resonate instead of residue. His latest, "Blackkklansman", may not be like writing history with lightning, but it may just be the rebirth the director needed. Following one of the most daring undercover(sometimes under covers) missions this nation has ever seen. We dive headfirst into the life of Ron Stallworth(John David Washington). A black cop working for the Colorado Springs Police Department with hopes to infiltrate the Kkk in the early 70's,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/16/2018
- Screen Anarchy
A married black couple in circa 1980 New York struggles to maintain domestic harmony in Personal Problems, a lost drama by Ganja & Hess director Bill Gunn being given its first proper release (after nearly four decades) by Kino Lorber. That one-sentence synopsis, however factually accurate, hardly suggests the scope of this experimental, challenging, nearly three-hour film shot on crude video gear with a surprising group of artistic polymaths. Coming a few years after Spike Lee's very strange G&H homage, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, the release should help draw attention to Gunn, the late writer-actor-director already hailed in some quarters...
- 3/30/2018
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s been a rough few years to be a Spike Lee fan. He’s one of our best living filmmakers, but his output in the last decade has been underwhelming in one way or another, whether being a bit dull (“Miracle At St. Anna”), quite good but underseen (“Red Hook Summer,” “Chi-Raq”), quite bad and also underseen (“Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus”), or career-nadir-bad and also totally unseen (the “Oldboy” remake).
Continue reading Spike Lee To Direct ‘Black Klansman’ With Jordan Peele Producing at The Playlist.
Continue reading Spike Lee To Direct ‘Black Klansman’ With Jordan Peele Producing at The Playlist.
- 9/8/2017
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Dailies is a round-up of essential film writing, news bits, videos, and other highlights from across the Internet. If you’d like to submit a piece for consideration, get in touch with us in the comments below or on Twitter at @TheFilmStage.
Listen to an excerpt from the Francis Ford Coppola-narrated audiobook version of The Godfather Notebook (via Deadline)
On the heels of the announcement that Hayao Miyazaki will return to features, Gkids have announced that Spirited Away will return to U.S. theaters nationwide for its 15th anniversary. Screenings will be on Sunday, December 4th at 12:00p.m. (dubbed in English) and Monday, December 5th at 7:00p.m. (English language subtitles). See more information here.
See Cate Blanchett in the teaser for the short film Red:
David Bordwell has announced a collaboration with FilmStruck:
Coming up are Kristin on Kiarostami, and me on L’Avventura and Sanshiro Sugata.
Listen to an excerpt from the Francis Ford Coppola-narrated audiobook version of The Godfather Notebook (via Deadline)
On the heels of the announcement that Hayao Miyazaki will return to features, Gkids have announced that Spirited Away will return to U.S. theaters nationwide for its 15th anniversary. Screenings will be on Sunday, December 4th at 12:00p.m. (dubbed in English) and Monday, December 5th at 7:00p.m. (English language subtitles). See more information here.
See Cate Blanchett in the teaser for the short film Red:
David Bordwell has announced a collaboration with FilmStruck:
Coming up are Kristin on Kiarostami, and me on L’Avventura and Sanshiro Sugata.
- 11/14/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Tony Sokol Aug 4, 2016
Mr Robot star Rami Malek is the new addition to the cast for the remake of Papillon...
Mr Robot star Rami Malek is in talks to star with Charlie Hunnam for the upcoming Papillon remake.
The 1973 classic film Papillon starred Steve McQueen in the title role of Henri Charrière, a self-proclaimed innocent man who is sentenced to Devil’s Island in French Guiana for murder but cannot stay caged. He was joined by Dustin Hoffman as the quirky counterfeiter Louis Degas, the man who finances Papillon’s escape attempts. Here's the trailer for the original film...
Malek will take on the role of Degas, a very intelligent man who seems to be known in all the wrong places. There's no word yet on whether Malek will wear the signature prescription glasses that Hoffman fastened around his ears.
Malek is currently filming USA's hacker series Mr. Robot season...
Mr Robot star Rami Malek is the new addition to the cast for the remake of Papillon...
Mr Robot star Rami Malek is in talks to star with Charlie Hunnam for the upcoming Papillon remake.
The 1973 classic film Papillon starred Steve McQueen in the title role of Henri Charrière, a self-proclaimed innocent man who is sentenced to Devil’s Island in French Guiana for murder but cannot stay caged. He was joined by Dustin Hoffman as the quirky counterfeiter Louis Degas, the man who finances Papillon’s escape attempts. Here's the trailer for the original film...
Malek will take on the role of Degas, a very intelligent man who seems to be known in all the wrong places. There's no word yet on whether Malek will wear the signature prescription glasses that Hoffman fastened around his ears.
Malek is currently filming USA's hacker series Mr. Robot season...
- 8/3/2016
- Den of Geek
Fresh off his Emmy nominee and another round of rave reviews for “Mr. Robot” Season 2, Rami Malek is getting ready to return to the big screen in a very classic way. Deadline reports the actor is in final negotiations to star opposite Charlie Hunnam in the contemporary remake of “Papillon,” the 1973 classic starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Malik would take on Hoffman’s famous role of Louis Dega in the remake directed by Michael Noer (“Northwest”) and written by Aaron Guzikowski (“Prisoners”).
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Star Rami Malek on Making an ‘Indie Film’ on USA Network and Its ‘Iconic’ Potential
The film will follow the original’s story but is being described as a modern retelling of the events. The plot is based on on the memoirs of convicted felon Henri Charriere, who escaped from a prison in French Guiana, South America after he was unjustly convicted of murder.
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Star Rami Malek on Making an ‘Indie Film’ on USA Network and Its ‘Iconic’ Potential
The film will follow the original’s story but is being described as a modern retelling of the events. The plot is based on on the memoirs of convicted felon Henri Charriere, who escaped from a prison in French Guiana, South America after he was unjustly convicted of murder.
- 8/3/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Spike Lee is undoubtedly a provocateur of the highest caliber. That his most recent efforts have missed the mark — “Oldboy,” “Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus” — will never tarnish the legacy of the best joints in his biting and bruising oeuvre. Unfortunately, his most recent outing, the politicized musical satire about gun violence in Chicago, “Chi-Raq,” which sounded promising on paper, did nothing to break the slump, largely striking out with critics and audiences alike. Read More: Review: Spike Lee’s 'Chi-Raq’ Starring Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes & Angela Bassett But while “Chi-Raq” didn’t quite connect, Lee is clearly still boldly swinging toward something profound and salient the the flick. To help run down the importance of “Chi-Raq” is chicago native Nelson Carvajal and his new video essay “Wake Up: Spike Lee’s Vital ‘Chi-Raq.’” The 10-minute video essay, which comes courtesy of Free Cinema Now, highlights the...
- 3/31/2016
- by Gary Garrison
- The Playlist
After taking to Kickstarter in 2013 to raise funds for his pic Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus, Spike Lee ventured into new territory again in 2015 with the Amazon Studios release of Chi-Raq. Based on Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the passionately anti-gun-violence film was the inaugural feature to be fully financed and put in the theaters by the Jeff Bezos company along with Roadside Attractions. Reuniting the two-time Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award-winning director with Samuel…...
- 1/8/2016
- Deadline
Displaying a transparency that few filmmakers of his fame and / or caliber would even bother with, Steven Soderbergh has, for a couple of years, been keen on releasing lists of what he watched and read during the previous twelve months. If you’re at all interested in this sort of thing — and why not? what else are you even doing with your day? — the 2015 selection should be of strong interest, this being a time when he was fully enmeshed in the world of creating television.
He’s clearly observing the medium with a close eye, be it what’s on air or what his friends (specifically David Fincher and his stillborn projects) show him, and how that might relate to his apparent love of 48 Hours Mystery or approach to a comparatively light slate of cinematic assignments — specifically: it seems odd that the last time he watched Magic Mike Xxl, a...
He’s clearly observing the medium with a close eye, be it what’s on air or what his friends (specifically David Fincher and his stillborn projects) show him, and how that might relate to his apparent love of 48 Hours Mystery or approach to a comparatively light slate of cinematic assignments — specifically: it seems odd that the last time he watched Magic Mike Xxl, a...
- 1/6/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
As a cinephile, few things are more sublime than finding back-to-back features that hit some specific thematic sweet spot. Drive-in theaters may not be the popular viewing spot they once were, but with the overwhelming accessibility we now have, one can program their own personal double bill. Today we’ve run through the gamut of 2015 films to select the ten finest pairings.
As a note, there are a few recommended double features from the same director (Spike Lee‘s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus and Chi-Raq, Noah Baumbach‘s Mistress America and While We We’re Young, and Xavier Dolan‘s Mommy and Tom at the Farm), but we’ve elected to stick to a more thematic playing field. Check out list the below, and we’d love to hear your own picks, which can be left in the comments.
The Big Short and 99 Homes
Telling American’s modern horror story from two distinctly different,...
As a note, there are a few recommended double features from the same director (Spike Lee‘s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus and Chi-Raq, Noah Baumbach‘s Mistress America and While We We’re Young, and Xavier Dolan‘s Mommy and Tom at the Farm), but we’ve elected to stick to a more thematic playing field. Check out list the below, and we’d love to hear your own picks, which can be left in the comments.
The Big Short and 99 Homes
Telling American’s modern horror story from two distinctly different,...
- 12/30/2015
- by TFS Staff
- The Film Stage
This list originally ran in August 2012, tied to the release of Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer. In the three years since, Lee has released a 2013 remake of Oldboy, last year's Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, and, as of this week, the powerful mess of a film Chi-Raq. We've updated this list to include those recent offerings from this true Hollywood original. Spike Lee has been making films for a little more than a quarter century, and while he's had both misfires and masterpieces, the one thing you can say about his movies is that they are never, ever boring. We went through the Lee canon and ruthlessly ranked his films, from worst to best. We included only his theatrical releases — Lee has made several television documentaries and even a TV pilot — with one notable exception (his Katrina doc for HBO, When the Levees Broke), because it's one of...
- 12/4/2015
- by Will Leitch,Tim Grierson
- Vulture
Sexual Healing: Spike Lee’s New Joint Aims to Anoint
Provocateur Spike Lee continues to fling his ambition into surprising experimental formats and narratives. Following the box office failure of his 2008 war drama Miracle at St. Anna, Lee has branched out inventively, though his feature narrative products have not often received the same level of critical acclaim elicited by his early titles from the late 80s and early 90s when he was a lone representative of black independent cinema at the art house. After funding 2012’s Red Hook Summer out of pocket and controversially trawling Kickstarter for 2014’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (a remake of Bill Gunn’s 1973 classic Ganja & Hess), he’s back with his grandest platform in quite some time with Chi-raq, so named for the controversial moniker Chicago has earned due to the astronomical urban violence plaguing the metropolis’ South Side. Assembling an impressive cast, including...
Provocateur Spike Lee continues to fling his ambition into surprising experimental formats and narratives. Following the box office failure of his 2008 war drama Miracle at St. Anna, Lee has branched out inventively, though his feature narrative products have not often received the same level of critical acclaim elicited by his early titles from the late 80s and early 90s when he was a lone representative of black independent cinema at the art house. After funding 2012’s Red Hook Summer out of pocket and controversially trawling Kickstarter for 2014’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (a remake of Bill Gunn’s 1973 classic Ganja & Hess), he’s back with his grandest platform in quite some time with Chi-raq, so named for the controversial moniker Chicago has earned due to the astronomical urban violence plaguing the metropolis’ South Side. Assembling an impressive cast, including...
- 12/2/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s been difficult to be a Spike Lee apologist in the last few years. While some of the director’s dramas like “25th Hour” have found their rightful due as contemporary masterpieces, the subsequent dearth of Lee’s worthwhile narrative efforts, and the flop of many, have hastened some critics to declare the filmmaker's best days are behind him (one could argue a premature honorary Oscar doesn’t help that notion). In some cases, beyond conveniently forgetting “Inside Man,” this assertion is hard to argue, as his narratives of any class or budget had stem-to-stern problems, whether its glossy Hollywood remakes (“Oldboy”), or Kickstarter-funded micro-indies (“Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus”). A focused control of tone seemed to have escaped the filmmaker in egregiously fundamental ways and even medium works have jumped the shark at their points of intended provocation (“Red Hook Summer”). There were lifeboats to point to — while...
- 11/30/2015
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
The film-maker is back at the top of his game with this incendiary look at life in a gang-ravaged Chicago, featuring a break-out performance from Teyonah Parris – and giving Amazon Studios a terrific debut
Related: Do the right thing: Spike Lee's Chicago film must avoid the city's crime clichés
Don’t come to Chi-Raq looking for a carefully articulated, plot-driven exposé into America’s gang and gun cultures. Oh, a message gets out, but this a Spike Lee joint and, as his mid-career has shown, he’s shrugged off the cloak of the “prestige film-maker” and fully embraced the more risky title of Artist. Recent projects Red Hook Summer and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus have been near-misses; “stylish” and “interesting”. With Chi-Raq, his big, go-for-broke swing finally fully connects with the ball and knocks it out of the park. While formally quite different from his more universally-respected early work,...
Related: Do the right thing: Spike Lee's Chicago film must avoid the city's crime clichés
Don’t come to Chi-Raq looking for a carefully articulated, plot-driven exposé into America’s gang and gun cultures. Oh, a message gets out, but this a Spike Lee joint and, as his mid-career has shown, he’s shrugged off the cloak of the “prestige film-maker” and fully embraced the more risky title of Artist. Recent projects Red Hook Summer and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus have been near-misses; “stylish” and “interesting”. With Chi-Raq, his big, go-for-broke swing finally fully connects with the ball and knocks it out of the park. While formally quite different from his more universally-respected early work,...
- 11/25/2015
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Spike Lee has been very, very busy. It was only about six months ago (a few months after he released his last film, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus) that we learned he was working on Chi-Raq, a retelling of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata set in a modern-day Chicago torn apart by gang violence, and today the first […]
The post ‘Chi-Raq’ Trailer: Spike Lee Puts a Contemporary Spin On an Ancient Story appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Chi-Raq’ Trailer: Spike Lee Puts a Contemporary Spin On an Ancient Story appeared first on /Film.
- 11/3/2015
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Spike Lee‘s Chi-Raq came together before we could hardly take notice. Less than six months after casting announcements were made, we’re looking at a December theatrical and, courtesy of Amazon Studios, VOD release, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a rushed, compromised, or small-scale project. If the first trailer serves as a proper indication, this is the sort of loose, crazy Lee we recently saw return in Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, this time with a clear-as-day political satire on his mind. What results could be electrifying.
Depending on how much you want your social commentary to be steeped in Greek myth (specifically Lysistrata) and (if I’m not being misled) some sort of Brechtian fantasy, that is. Well, I like it, and the list of assembled players — Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, and...
Depending on how much you want your social commentary to be steeped in Greek myth (specifically Lysistrata) and (if I’m not being misled) some sort of Brechtian fantasy, that is. Well, I like it, and the list of assembled players — Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, and...
- 11/3/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
It’s been a busy year for Spike Lee, whose Da Sweet Blood of Jesus came out earlier this year and who will bookend the year with his Chicago gang violence film Chi-Raq, out December 4. It turns out that his feature film release count for the year is actually three if you put together all the cut scenes for NBA 2K16, which clock in at nearly two hours. Hat-tip to Nick Newman over at The Film Stage for sharing this odd little item. As he notes: It might make sense if Lee took the time to craft 10-20 minutes of generic cut scenes for a […]...
- 10/30/2015
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
It’s been a busy year for Spike Lee, whose Da Sweet Blood of Jesus came out earlier this year and who will bookend the year with his Chicago gang violence film Chi-Raq, out December 4. It turns out that his feature film release count for the year is actually three if you put together all the cut scenes for NBA 2K16, which clock in at nearly two hours. Hat-tip to Nick Newman over at The Film Stage for sharing this odd little item. As he notes: It might make sense if Lee took the time to craft 10-20 minutes of generic cut scenes for a […]...
- 10/30/2015
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Spike Lee‘s Kickstarter film, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, came out earlier this year. The director behind Do the Right Thing and The 25th Hour caused some controversy — not the first time in his career — when he started the campaign for his “vampire” movie, and the actual film itself was just as divisive. But it’s not the only movie […]
The post Watch Spike Lee’s Motion Capture Movie ‘Livin’ Da Dream'; ‘Chi-raq’ Gets Release Date appeared first on /Film.
The post Watch Spike Lee’s Motion Capture Movie ‘Livin’ Da Dream'; ‘Chi-raq’ Gets Release Date appeared first on /Film.
- 10/30/2015
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
On December 4th, Amazon Studios will begin its foray into American movie theaters. On that day, according to Deadline, it will release Chi-raq, a Spike Lee Joint that will see a limited theatrical release before ultimately emerging on Amazon’s streaming video service.
Chi-raq, which Amazon picked up in July 2015, will retell the classic Greek play Lysistrata within Chicago’s infamously dangerous South Side. A star-studded cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Teyronnah Parris, John Cusack, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson and D.B. Sweeney.
This will be Lee’s second film in a row to utilize an unconventional release strategy. His last picture, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus, was funded by a $1.4 million Kickstarter push and distributed via Vimeo On Demand before coming to theaters.
Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.
Chi-raq, which Amazon picked up in July 2015, will retell the classic Greek play Lysistrata within Chicago’s infamously dangerous South Side. A star-studded cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Teyronnah Parris, John Cusack, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson and D.B. Sweeney.
This will be Lee’s second film in a row to utilize an unconventional release strategy. His last picture, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus, was funded by a $1.4 million Kickstarter push and distributed via Vimeo On Demand before coming to theaters.
Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.
- 10/29/2015
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Since I don’t pay much attention to video games, much less those of the sports variety — unless I’m at a friend’s place and the controller is free, of course — this came as a total shock, and it only grows stranger the longer you look. A friend of the site, Kyle Pletcher, has brought to my attention a scripted, feature-length… film, essentially, called Livin’ Da Dream, which Spike Lee wrote and directed for this year’s NBA 2K16. It expands the “MyCareer” mode, long one of the series’ staples, by creating a narrative centered on your custom-made character — invariably nicknamed Frequency Vibrations, and sometimes called “Freq”; yes, it’s pronounced like “freak” — as he climbs from the local courts to the big leagues.
It might make sense if Lee took the time to craft 10-20 minutes of generic cut scenes for a basketball game, so imagine my reaction when I discover actual filmmaking,...
It might make sense if Lee took the time to craft 10-20 minutes of generic cut scenes for a basketball game, so imagine my reaction when I discover actual filmmaking,...
- 10/29/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
How Da Sweet Blood of Jesus came to be is beyond me and a better question still: how is this made by Spike Lee? Has he completely lost his way when it comes to making movies? Truth be told, it's a fascinating take on the vampire story (Lee can argue all he wants that this isn't a vampire story but hell, if this isn't a vampire story, neither is Dracula) which sees Stephen Tyrone Williams play historian Dr. Hess Greene who is doing research on a little known African tribe when he becomes infected by an artefact and finds himself craving blood.
After much wandering, Hess comes into contact with Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams), the estranged wife of Hess' missing research partner. Ganja and Hess (ha!) begin a romantic relationship that eventually leads to her discovery of his secr [Continued ...]...
After much wandering, Hess comes into contact with Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams), the estranged wife of Hess' missing research partner. Ganja and Hess (ha!) begin a romantic relationship that eventually leads to her discovery of his secr [Continued ...]...
- 8/18/2015
- QuietEarth.us
Every day, more and more films are added to the various streaming services out there, ranging from Netflix to YouTube, and are hitting the airwaves via movie-centric networks like TCM. Therefore, sifting through all of these pictures can be a tedious and often times confounding or difficult ordeal. But, that’s why we’re here. Every week, Joshua brings you five films to put at the top of your queue, add to your playlist, or grab off of VOD to make your weekend a little more eventful. Here is this week’s top five, in this week’s Armchair Vacation.
5. Hercules (Netflix)
Brett Ratner is an interesting filmmaker. Known to many as a rather deplorable hack filmmaker who has more interest in simply making money instead of anything resembling actual cinematic art, Ratner has become a punchline instead of a well respected filmmaker. And yet he gives us films like the Dwayne Johnson-starring Hercules.
5. Hercules (Netflix)
Brett Ratner is an interesting filmmaker. Known to many as a rather deplorable hack filmmaker who has more interest in simply making money instead of anything resembling actual cinematic art, Ratner has become a punchline instead of a well respected filmmaker. And yet he gives us films like the Dwayne Johnson-starring Hercules.
- 7/31/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
A Kickstarter-financed Spike Lee Joint, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus is a new kind of love story, one that centers on an addiction to blood that once doomed a long forgotten ancient African tribe. When Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) is introduced to, and then murdered with, a mysteriously cursed artifact by art curator Lafayette Hightower (Elvis Nolasco), he is uncontrollably drawn into a newfound thirst for blood that overwhelms his soul. Lafayette quickly succumbs to the ravenous nature of the infliction, killing himself, but leaves Hess a transformed man. Soon Lafayette’s wife, Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams), comes looking for her husband and becomes involved in a dangerous romance with Hess that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society. The couple marry, and Hess seems genuinely in love, while Ganja is genuinely in love with her new position, and not in...
- 5/26/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
After a theatrical run in February Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, directed by Spike Lee, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 26th, 2015. Also in this round-up: release details on a Fright Rags shirt for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and a trailer for The Man in the Shadows.
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus: Press Release -- "Anchor Bay Entertainment and Gravitas Ventures will release the Spike Lee thriller Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus on Blu-ray™ and DVD on May 26, 2015. The film previously hit theaters on February 13th after a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the production. It’s a reinterpretation of Bill Gunn’s horror cult film “Ganja & Hess”, which played as a Critics Choice at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival; Spike Lee’s stylized thriller features an Original Score by Bruce Hornsby.
A Spike Lee Joint, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus is directed by Spike Lee,...
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus: Press Release -- "Anchor Bay Entertainment and Gravitas Ventures will release the Spike Lee thriller Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus on Blu-ray™ and DVD on May 26, 2015. The film previously hit theaters on February 13th after a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the production. It’s a reinterpretation of Bill Gunn’s horror cult film “Ganja & Hess”, which played as a Critics Choice at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival; Spike Lee’s stylized thriller features an Original Score by Bruce Hornsby.
A Spike Lee Joint, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus is directed by Spike Lee,...
- 5/22/2015
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Stars: Stephen Tyron Williams, Zaraah Abrahams, Rami Malek, Elvis Nolasco, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Joie Lee, Felicia Pearson, Jeni Perillo, Katherine Borowitz, Donna Dixon, Chiz Schultz, Lauren Macklin, Steven Hauck, Stephen Henderson, Rafael Osorio | Written and Directed by Spike Lee
The respected filmmaker hitting Kickstarter for help phenomenon seems to have died down over the last year or so but along with Zach Braff, Spike Lee was certainly one of the highlights of this short-lived trend. Shaking the virtual tip jar towards a great many people, myself included, he managed to get together a budget of just under $1.5 million, including a $10,000 donation from Steven Soderbergh and so presents us with Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, a somewhat surprise remake of 70’s indie flick Ganja & Hess. Even with my meagre donation, I think it was $10, it’s sad to say that I feel ripped off and I suspect most will.
The question...
The respected filmmaker hitting Kickstarter for help phenomenon seems to have died down over the last year or so but along with Zach Braff, Spike Lee was certainly one of the highlights of this short-lived trend. Shaking the virtual tip jar towards a great many people, myself included, he managed to get together a budget of just under $1.5 million, including a $10,000 donation from Steven Soderbergh and so presents us with Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, a somewhat surprise remake of 70’s indie flick Ganja & Hess. Even with my meagre donation, I think it was $10, it’s sad to say that I feel ripped off and I suspect most will.
The question...
- 5/11/2015
- by Ian Loring
- Nerdly
Sneak Peek writer/director Spike Lee's comedy romance thriller "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus", starring Stephen Tyrone Williams, Felicia Pearson, Rami Malek, Elvis Nolasco and Zaraah Abrahams, available on DVD and Blu-ray, May 19, 2015 from Anchor Bay Entertainment:
"...'Dr. Hess Green' (Williams) becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood.
"He however is not a vampire. But soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with 'Ganja Hightower' (Abrahams) that questions the very nature...
"...of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus"...
"...'Dr. Hess Green' (Williams) becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood.
"He however is not a vampire. But soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with 'Ganja Hightower' (Abrahams) that questions the very nature...
"...of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus"...
- 5/7/2015
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Chicago – CIMMfest, the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, has become one of the fastest growing and buzzworthy Chicago film festivals in recent years. Combining film, tribute events and live performances – and centered in and around the neighborhood of Wicker Park from April 16th through the 19th, 2015, – CIMMfest is not so much a festival as a organic happening.
The 2015 edition of CIMMfest is bigger, bolder and lights up with star power. Besides some of the highlights listed below, there is a jam-packed variety of films, music and events from April 16th through the 19th. For more information, including purchasing passes, click here.
CIMMfest Highlights: The Movies…
’808:The Movie’
Photo credit: CIMMfest
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock ‘n’ Roll
Thursday, April 16th, 7pm, The Logan Theater, 2546 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
During the Vietnam War, Cambodian musicians crafted a sound from the various rock music styles sweeping America,...
The 2015 edition of CIMMfest is bigger, bolder and lights up with star power. Besides some of the highlights listed below, there is a jam-packed variety of films, music and events from April 16th through the 19th. For more information, including purchasing passes, click here.
CIMMfest Highlights: The Movies…
’808:The Movie’
Photo credit: CIMMfest
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock ‘n’ Roll
Thursday, April 16th, 7pm, The Logan Theater, 2546 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
During the Vietnam War, Cambodian musicians crafted a sound from the various rock music styles sweeping America,...
- 4/16/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Rodney Ascher took us on a tour of the secluded and ominous Overlook Hotel like never before in Room 237, a documentary about various theories on what hidden messages or themes could exist in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining. With The Nightmare, Ascher returns to the big screen with another documentary on a scary subject, one that's all too familiar for some folks: sleep paralysis. Tormented by "shadow people" and other eerie entities while unable to move their bodies, people plagued by sleep paralysis have their stories recreated in Ascher's The Nightmare (showing tonight at the SXSW Film Festival), and North American audiences can see these nighttime terrors brought to life onscreen soon, as Gravitas Ventures has acquired The Nightmare and will release it in theaters and on VOD early this summer:
"El Segundo, CA (March 13, 2015) – The Nightmare, the unique horror documentary from director...
"El Segundo, CA (March 13, 2015) – The Nightmare, the unique horror documentary from director...
- 3/13/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Say what you will about Spike Lee’s recent narrative forays —the studio-sized “Oldboy” and the crowd-sourced “Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus,” both of which received negative reviews from this website and from most critics—but his documentary work has been on point for several years now. Lee's two Hurricane Katrina docs are some of the finest works of his career (see our Spike Lee Retrospective), and his portraits of Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson and the Broadway play “Passing Strange,” demonstrate his ongoing versatility in the field. One of those successful documentaries was “Bad 25,” a look at Michael Jackson’s seminal 1987 album Bad on its 25th anniversary: it featured great insights from Questlove, Mariah Carey and Martin Scorsese sitting for his first interview in several decades about directing the now-iconic “Bad” music video. Lee had suggested he’d love to do more Michael Jackson album docs if the singer's estate and Sony/Epic Records,...
- 2/18/2015
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Written and Directed by Spike Lee (based on the film by Bill Gunn)
USA, 2015
Spike Lee films tend to fall into two categories, masterpieces and trainwrecks. His latest, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, leans to the latter. However, even his failures – including this – work as engrossing bits of cinema. The reason why Spike Lee is as fascinating even in his failures is because the same tireless, fiery energy is always present . He always has something to say in his films, even if he runs into trouble in how he says them: When Lee trips and falls, he hits the ground hard enough to shake you.
A remake of the 1973 Bill Gunn film Ganja & Hess, Lee’s film follows Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) who after getting stabbed by an ancient artifact, becomes addicted to blood. Soon after he enters into a romance with Ganja...
Written and Directed by Spike Lee (based on the film by Bill Gunn)
USA, 2015
Spike Lee films tend to fall into two categories, masterpieces and trainwrecks. His latest, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, leans to the latter. However, even his failures – including this – work as engrossing bits of cinema. The reason why Spike Lee is as fascinating even in his failures is because the same tireless, fiery energy is always present . He always has something to say in his films, even if he runs into trouble in how he says them: When Lee trips and falls, he hits the ground hard enough to shake you.
A remake of the 1973 Bill Gunn film Ganja & Hess, Lee’s film follows Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) who after getting stabbed by an ancient artifact, becomes addicted to blood. Soon after he enters into a romance with Ganja...
- 2/14/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
S’Blood: Lee’s Facsimile of Bill Gunn an Odd Satisfaction
Surprisingly, after the failure of his 2013 remake of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, provocateur Spike Lee’s latest, the Kickstarter funded Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, is also a remake, a modernization of Bill Gunn’s 1973 classic Ganja & Hess, a film tenuously positioned within the spectrum of Blaxploitation. Lee initially explained that the film was about blood addiction and not vampires, with early conversations indicating that this had nothing to do with the likes of Blacula. But those familiar with Gunn’s brilliant and strange (if somewhat compromised) original film will see his stamp all over it, directed with uneasy disconnect from Lee. It’s an odd, sometimes off-putting film, but it strikes a distinctive, addictive chord, generating a particular scent that will draw you down its path. Though Lee expressly wishes the focus of the film to be about...
Surprisingly, after the failure of his 2013 remake of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, provocateur Spike Lee’s latest, the Kickstarter funded Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, is also a remake, a modernization of Bill Gunn’s 1973 classic Ganja & Hess, a film tenuously positioned within the spectrum of Blaxploitation. Lee initially explained that the film was about blood addiction and not vampires, with early conversations indicating that this had nothing to do with the likes of Blacula. But those familiar with Gunn’s brilliant and strange (if somewhat compromised) original film will see his stamp all over it, directed with uneasy disconnect from Lee. It’s an odd, sometimes off-putting film, but it strikes a distinctive, addictive chord, generating a particular scent that will draw you down its path. Though Lee expressly wishes the focus of the film to be about...
- 2/6/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Hi everyone! This is a feature we’ve been running in every issue of Deadly Horror & Sci-Fi Magazine and I thought this would also be a great resource for our readers here at Daily Dead as it can be often very difficult to keep up with everything arriving on VOD platforms each and every month.
Be sure to check back on the first week of each month to get all the details on what genre films you can look forward to on VOD!
The Voices (Lionsgate)- 2/6
Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) is an affable singleton who works on the factory floor at a bathtub factory, ever eager to get along with his co-workers, especially Fiona, (Gemma Arterton) and Lisa (Anna Kendrick) from accounts. After work Jerry goes home to his pet cat, Mr. Whiskers, and loyal dog Bosco, where the three of them hang out, watch TV and discuss the day’s events.
Be sure to check back on the first week of each month to get all the details on what genre films you can look forward to on VOD!
The Voices (Lionsgate)- 2/6
Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) is an affable singleton who works on the factory floor at a bathtub factory, ever eager to get along with his co-workers, especially Fiona, (Gemma Arterton) and Lisa (Anna Kendrick) from accounts. After work Jerry goes home to his pet cat, Mr. Whiskers, and loyal dog Bosco, where the three of them hang out, watch TV and discuss the day’s events.
- 2/2/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Do The Right Thing director Spike Lee isn.t necessarily known for following the status quo. However, his choice to release his latest film Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus via Vimeo's Video On Demand (VOD) still definitely struck us as a bit odd. Lee and Vimeo made the joint distribution announcement earlier this week, revealing that Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus would be available for purchase and rental starting immediately on the video-sharing site. With the growing popularity of movies hitting home release and VOD these days, the news wasn.t all that shocking. aside from the Vimeo part. Vimeo.s General Manager of Audience Networks Greg Clayman appears to be thrilled with the deal, releasing a statement to voice the company.s support of the project. "Spike Lee is one of the most iconic filmmakers of our time and we couldn.t be more thrilled to work with him...
- 1/15/2015
- cinemablend.com
Remember when Spike Lee launched that $1.25 million Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign way back in July 2013 for an as-of-that-time unnamed new and hot joint with the tagline, “Human beings who are addicted to Blood. Funny, Sexy and Bloody. A new kind of love story (and not a remake of Blacula).”?
Remember all the heated debates it sparked about whether or not it was kosher for multi-millionaires from traditional Hollywood to try to leverage their audiences and newfound funding mechanisms to make potentially risque projects outside the familiar, but sometimes unfriendly confines of the traditional entertainment landscape?
And remember how Lee ended up raising more than $1.4 million for the campaign, with at least $290,000 of that sum coming from 29 individuals who put up $10K a piece to go out to dinner with the Academy Award-nominated director and sit courtside with him at a Knicks game?
Well, the crowdfunded flick has now been released. And...
Remember all the heated debates it sparked about whether or not it was kosher for multi-millionaires from traditional Hollywood to try to leverage their audiences and newfound funding mechanisms to make potentially risque projects outside the familiar, but sometimes unfriendly confines of the traditional entertainment landscape?
And remember how Lee ended up raising more than $1.4 million for the campaign, with at least $290,000 of that sum coming from 29 individuals who put up $10K a piece to go out to dinner with the Academy Award-nominated director and sit courtside with him at a Knicks game?
Well, the crowdfunded flick has now been released. And...
- 1/14/2015
- by Joshua Cohen
- Tubefilter.com
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