Here is the link to the Announcement on Color of Change, that All My Babies; Mamas is cancelled

http://colorofchange.org/campaign/tell-oxygen-and-its-advertisers-dont-exploit-black-families/

And there is a black President.  Again.  See, the world can change.

I grew up in the era of Blackxploitation films.  My dad was a camera man on Shaft and worked with Melvin Van Peebles a lot so I guess it was in my blood.  There is a fond and funky nostalgia for those films now- whether Tarantino or Black Eyed Peas – and everybody who considers themselves hip is not offended by any of the stereotypes. If you look at any of the writing of the day, you will see a lot of questioning and anger though.  That was, and now I am showing my age, a different time.   There were hardly ANY images previously in mainstream media of strong black people so, in my opinion, if it went over board on the macho side I understand.  I wonder, if in 25 years we will look back on this new show on Oxygen-   All My Babies’ Mamas as cool.  Obviously somebody finds it cool now.  A summary from Color of Change.org:

“Atlanta-based rapper Shawty Lo has 11 children by ten women, a girlfriend the same age as his oldest daughters, and — if Oxygen Media executives have their way — a provocative new reality show that they hope women of color will flock to this spring. According to Oxygen’s parent company NBC Universal, the show — tentatively titled All My Babies’ Mamas — will chronicle Shawty Lo’s attempts to “split his affection multiple ways while trying to create order” in navigating the “dysfunction” of his “drama-filled,” “unique ‘modern’ family.”¹ Leaked online footage from the pilot showing Shawty Lo struggling to name his children — and one mother rebranding each woman with nicknames like “Fighter Baby Mama,” “Shady Baby Mama,” “Baby Mama from Hell” and “Wanna-Be-Bougie Baby Mama” — drew immediate criticism from Black people across the country.² Despite the backlash, network executives remain intent on moving forward with the reality project.”

http://colorofchange.org/campaign/tell-oxygen-and-its-advertisers-dont-exploit-black-families/

So, it’s not cool.  It’s sooooo not cool.  The paradigm that Color of Change wants to change is primarily white controlled networks making money off degrading content featuring folks.  Go to their website and read.  Sign up for their petition too if you want.  What I want to know is: Is this entertaining?  Shaft and Cleopatra Jones were horrible, long held American stereotypes brought to life on the screen.  If you don’t think so read Toms, Coons, Mammies and Bucks by Donald Bogle to see how they fit into a long and degenerate line of black screen offenses.  But they were cool.  And they were entertaining.  I want to know what is entertaining about a black man with 11 children by 10 women.  I really do, because I am in the business of providing media entertainment and specifically entertainment that involves people of color.  So, if you know why people might watch this show- black people, white people, Philippinos, latin’s, educated, uneducated, rural or urban please email me privately or post it here if you are brave.  I really want to know.  And just so you know, I signed the petition.

The Battle Below follows Derek, now a college professor, coming back to his old neighborhood. The projects are giving way to Whole Foods, the rents are insane and kids are fighting in dungeons with swords and axes for money, because there are no jobs.

Written and directed by Bruce Faulk. Produced by Caroline Ceniza-Levine and Bruce Faulk. This episode features Anton Briones, Jimmy Burke, Bruce Faulk, Benton Greene, Leo Kubota, and Jennifer Loring.

Well, another year is coming to a close, and we are all a year older (and wiser – hopefully!). This has been a wonderful year for us, with the birth of FBC and the beginning of production on our webseries, The Battle Below. Anyhow, we figured that every film blog on the planet has a ‘Best of 2012’ list – so why can’t we? Read on!

Best Original Science Fiction Film – Looper

Smart, funny, thrilling, and moving, with great performances from all involved. Rian Johnson’s latest film made all our jaws drop.

Best Original Horror Film – The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon showed once again that he is brimming with ideas and talent, as this film presented a clever (and entertaining!) meta-criticism of its own genre.

Best New Webseries – The Abandon

We couldn’t chose The Battle Below, for obvious reasons. But Keith Adkins’ The Abandon, a new sci-fi webseries with an all-black cast, is more than welcome to take the prize. The first episode was exactly the kind of programming that we aspire to, and we look forward to more. Check out The Abandon here.

Best Science Fiction Film Based on a Board Game – Battleship

All I am going to say is that Battleship is a wonderful board game for all ages.

Best Horror Film Involving Both Fish and Pornstars – Piranha 3DD

A unique cinematic achievement.

Best Space Jail Film – Lockout

Duh!

A. Benton Greene was born the son of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, Carol and Arthur Greene on December 14, 1972. He trained as an actor/director in high school, appearing on the longest running high school TV program, Just For You. He continued training throughout college in San Diego and went on to start his professional career in San Francisco. He currently lives in Harlem, New York. He is an avid martial artist who teaches and practices Wing Chun Kung-Fu daily.

You were an actor as early as HS. Did you always know you wanted to be in entertainment?

I remember watching old movies with my family as a kid; Uptown Saturday Night, the Bond movies with Connery and Moore and just going into a trance. I didn’t know how but I knew I wanted to be a part of that…And Billy Dee Williams in The Empire Strikes Back! Very cool. I was also lucky enough to grow up in New York when theater was affordable and my parents took us to Broadway shows whenever they could. That had a major influence on me.

You also have worked as a director, writer, producer, and editor. Are you migrating to behind the camera?

I did both throughout high school and got post-production certification (FinalCut, Avid) when I was pretty young so I could always have a foot in that door. Since then, I’ve shot a couple of shorts, a bunch of videos for different organizations, www.ficanewyork.org/media/videos/,  and directed a crazy web series last year, www.makelovejackson.com. I’ve been getting my toes wet without breaking the bank or doing the Kickstarter/Indiegogo thing before I had a better sense of what I was doing. The more I define what’s important to me as a man, the stronger I’m drawn to telling stories that broaden the expectations and re-evaluate the limitations of people of color.

What are you working on outside of The Battle Below?

I have a few projects in different stages of development right now. There’s a feature that I’m writing that’s an urban technology drama…if that’s a genre. And filmmaker Malcolm Murray asked me to come aboard his historical feature with a fantasy twist that’s set in Jamaica. I’m really excited about both projects because they’re original stories that I think haven’t been done before.

You’re an avid martial artist. What is it about the martial arts, as opposed to other forms of exercise or sport, that appeals to you? 

Kung-Fu has been a big part of my life for a long time. It’s mental and physical exercise, it’s meditation and it’s not a bad thing to know how to use your hands as a New Yorker. Martial artists tend to be really family oriented which works for me too. I have martial arts brothers I haven’t seen in years but we can get together today with our families and catch up like no time has passed.

How has the industry changed over the years?  FBC Films focuses on multicultural casting within the sci fi/ horror genres.  Are you seeing this improve over time?

Wow, the industry has changed completely since I first started. I came out of school right when the reality tv trend was starting. I think that that race to the bottom in terms of producing profitable shows on the cheap has been one of the most major changes in tv history. On the other hand I couldn’t ask to live in a better time than now with digital filmmaking being what it is. Really high quality movies are being made all over the world for a fraction of the price they would’ve cost just five years ago. I think storytelling is being rewarded again not just big, flashy flicks with high production value and that’s very exciting.

I love what you all are doing at FBC Films. Everything is so visually oriented today that it’s more important than ever to see multiculturism in films. I look forward to the day when we’re no longer surprised when we see ourselves being portrayed honestly.

Tell us something fun about Benton that’s not obvious from your resume!

I don’t know, I’m terrible at these kind of questions. I love pranks and have to keep it together when on set or backstage. I was playing Carbon, an Army Captain, in a production of Cyrano at a large regional theater and had a scene where I was showing my men a map and have this speech, blah, blah, blah. So one night deep in the run I tape a nude centerfold on the map and use it during the scene. Thee poor guys were doing everything in their power to keep it together on stage. 🙂

Tom Vitale is an Executive Vice President, Programming & Original Movies, for the SyFy and Chiller channels of NBC Universal. I spoke with Tom about trends in entertainment, advice for aspiring science fiction/ horror producers, and the state of diversity in the industry today:

• Exclusive, original content is more important now

Vitale has been in the business for 25+ years and noted that a critical trend is the need for exclusive, original content to compete with viewers’ increased access to entertainment (via YouTube, video-on-demand, DVR technology, etc.). To this end, Vitale focuses not just on acquiring and scheduling, but now also commissioning up to 24 original movies per year for SyFy. This is in addition to other original content that his colleagues are creating for different arms of SyFy, such as TV programming.

• Aspiring producers take comfort — channels do buy from smaller companies

According to Vitale, there is no single source for ideas, and Chiller especially looks at smaller production companies. In addition to production company pitches, ideas might flourish internally, not just from the creative side but from the business side, such as marketing. Inspiration for plot lines has even come out of real-life news — a CNN story on snakehead fish migrating from Asia to the US inspired Snakehead Terror). That said, production companies in consideration for selling a movie to these channels have produced something else that has sold – you don’t have to be a big-budget house but you have to have a track record.

• Diversity in both cast and crew includes race, gender, age, and familiarity

These movies often have international distribution so the diversity in the audience demographics requires diversity in the casting. This is not just racial diversity, but Vitale mentioned looking for gender balance and strong female roles. In addition, off-screen diversity is present in the producers and writers tapped for projects, including career changers who might come to the business later in life. Finally, diversity includes a mix of familiar and fresh faces, so while brand name actors help to sell a movie, there is emphasis on introducing new faces as well.

Title says it all, folks!

The Battle Below follows Derek, now a college professor, coming back to his old neighborhood. The projects are giving way to Whole Foods, the rents are insane and kids are fighting in dungeons with swords and axes for money, because there are no jobs. Written and directed by Bruce Faulk. Produced by Caroline Ceniza-Levine and Bruce Faulk. Episode 1: ‘Kids Today’ features Jim Burke, Jennifer Loring, Leo Kubota, Andy Zou, and Anton Briones.

We here at FBC are all thrilled with how it turned out – and hope you are, too! Thanks to our crew and cast for helping to make it all happen. Stay tuned for more episodes in the near future!

Jeff Geoffray has the distinction of being producer and CFO of a successful entertainment company, Blue Rider Entertainment (more than 100 pictures produced!) and now also co-founder and president of a tech start-up, Vumanity Media. Here are some highlights from my interview with Jeff Geoffray on the movie business today and why an established film producer would pivot to a new platform:

• Movies today are a mathematical challenge

Geoffray points out that the technology of filmmaking is cheap but the marketing is ever more expensive. The digital revolution has increased competition for viewer attention astronomically. International markets, such as China, are gaining in importance but are complicated to navigate as they play by different rules (e.g., when/ how films can be released). Content providers are struggling to monetize amidst the breadth of free content and multiple access points. It’s a mathematical challenge, and yet…

• Content still rules, and social engagement is where the growth is

Geoffray sees growth in the social aspect of online video sites such as YouTube. People still pay for movies in theatres, despite VOD and other platforms, because the theatre experience is social. Therefore, while Vumanity is a different play than Blue Rider, for Geoffray, it’s all related to storytelling, content and social engagement.

• Don’t wait for financing; just get started

Geoffray’s advice for aspiring filmmakers is to just get started. Movies are cheaper to make and distribute. Crowdfunding is a way to finance AND build that important social engagement aspect. Geoffray points to India’s healthy film industry, where the music of the film is released early, so interest and anticipation can be built over time. Filmmakers would be wise to emulate the successful build-up of these movies.

More about Jeff Geoffray:

Just after graduating from USC’s film school in 1983, Jeff Geoffray teamed with Walter Josten as producer on the successful supernatural thriller  Witchboard. He was 24. After the remarkable financial and critical success of that film, Geoffray continued his collaboration with Josten as a producer and executive producer on many more films, including Rescue Dawn, Around The World in 80 Days, Then She Found Me, Shergar, Silver Wolf, Behind the Red Door, Back in the Day, Night of the Demons, Surveillance, O Jerusalem, Home of the Giants, Bar Starz, Pool Hall Prophets, The Hollywood Sign, Slow Burn, The Call of the Wild, Uncommon Kindness and Three.

Josten and Geoffray formed Blue Rider together in 1991 with the goal of creating a fully integrated financing, development, production and distribution company. In addition to producing, Geoffray also managed the day-to-day operations of Paragon Arts Releasing, Josten and Geoffray’s US Theatrical arm, and Blue Rider International, its International Sales entity. As such, Geoffray’s experience in the entertainment business encompasses the full spectrum of a film’s life cycle, from inception to distribution and collections.

Currently, Geoffray is also President of Vumanity Media, which is a proprietary tech platform for producing and hosting high-quality video talk shows.

The teaser for The Battle Below is ready! Click on this post to check it out!

Today’s cast spotlight is on Andy Zou, who plays the role of Chin Sun in The Battle Below. Andy is a real funnyman, but his talents don’t stop there! Read on:

Andy Zou was born in St.Louis, Missouri and moved to New York to study experimental theatre at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

He is currently residing in New York to continue pursuing a career in Commercial, Film, and Television acting.  He aims to fulfill a career in comedy and stunt work.

He spent 3 years in high school performing with a shortform improv troupe and 3 years in college performing with the sketch group Hammerkatz.  After graduating, he has spent his time collaborating with fellow graduates as well as exploring for new connections in the industry.  He is also a fan of biking, gymnastic training, video games, burgers, beer, and graphic design.

Learn more about Andy on his website, www.andyzou.com