The original badass chick, Pam Grier aka Foxy Brown was kicking ass and taking names long before Lara Croft. Before starring in Blaxploitation classics like "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" the buxom stunner first appeared in the prison film "The Big Doll House". She went on to become a sex symbol of the 1970s, breaking barriers and proving that a Black woman could be hot, cool and vicious all at the same time.

The Sport of the Gods
The US Postal Service has issued a series of stamps celebrating African-American performers in early (i.e. pre-1950) films. The titles chosen are each represented by posters and include the 1921 all-black cast The Sport of the Gods, directed by Henry J. Vernot and starring Elizabeth Boyer and Edward R. Abrams. Read more.

Shakespeare goes Hollywood
Director Scott Palmer and the theatrical company Bag & Baggage Productions are putting on a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is set in the world of silent-era Hollywood. Chaplin, Lloyd, Valentino, Theda Bara and Louise Brooks are all referenced, while Puck echoes Murnau's Nosferatu. The production is being put on for Oregon State University's Bard in the Quad at Corvallis. Read more.

Telegu silent once more
Telugu comedy actor Brahmanandam, who is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records for having appeared in the most number of films in a single language, is to star in a silent film, which is reckoned will be the first Indian silent commercial feature film since the classic Pushpak. The film, Brahmanandam Drama Company, is a Telegu remake of the 2006 Hindi film Bhagam Bhag. Read more.

'Til next time!

Starring Sanaa Lathan(Love & Basketball), Taraji Henson(Baby Boy), Alfre Woodard(Crooklyn), Kathy Bates(Titanic, The Waterboy), and Tyler Perry.

  I can't lie, this looks like it's going to be pretty good.  People can say what they want about Tyler Perry, but he's doing a lot for black cinema.

Each webisode runs from two minutes to the longest running scene of over nine minutes.  Pritchett says, “It seems the major studios and the big television networks don’t know what to do with the internet.  The news is - - they are trying to figure out how to make content, how to get advertising, and how to get started.  Now Digital filmmaking of the future is here and it is time for independent filmmakers to jump into the arena.  So, we have jumped in head first.  We produced an internet series, trailers, and boom a feature was created!  The internet is nothing like any media that has ever been.  When it comes to creating content we can dig right into subjects the studios will not touch.  Beachwood Drive is becoming bigger than a broadcast or cablecast program because it is being seen around the world.  It is not scaled down television, or small screen cinema, this is something new.  Our viewers watch when they want - where they want and what they want.  This is the next level of video on demand.  Viewers can download scenes onto their ipod and play back shows on a plane, a train, or on the bus.”

International Websites that carry “Beachwood Drive”

Denmark

France

United Kingdom

Norway

Spain

Germany

Italy

For a complete list click here:  “Beachwood Drive”

Many international websites play the series back to back so you only click once.

Sample: Click here and watch the whole series

“Beachwood Drive,” is created, produced, and directed by Pritchett and his partner Steven Niles in Hollywood.    The first twenty webisodes have already hit the internet with viral speed.  Circling the globe as fast as you could right click.  Each new episode is produced with network-quality and directly for the Internet.  Known for his gritty filming style from the internet soap opera “Agape”, Pritchett is now applying his form of filmmaking to the relationships and the experiences of the people on the back streets of Hollywood. 

This Internet Visual Novel is a must see as it shows the new age of digital communication blended with storytelling.  Using the Internet as the new frontier, Beachwood Drive represents not only trail blazing story telling but the new settlers as well.

Filmmaking of the future is here!!!!!!!!   Watch “Beachwood Drive” the action packed webisode of tomorrow is here today!  www.beachwooddrive.00show.com

‘When I saw her scream for the first time on the set I really knew she had something.  She has talent rolled up in a beautiful package”.  These are the words of director Harold B. Pritchett from the set of his new internet series “Beachwood Drive”.  He is referring to his new lead actress Teresa Noreen.   Noreen is not only a skilled model with alluring eyes and a great body, but she can transform into a scared victim at the grip of Dr. Cloudfoot in seconds.  The internet series “Beachwood Drive” recently released a webisode in which Teresa Noreen plays “Tee” the partner of actress April Archer, whose brother has been killed.  The doctor goes into a trance after smoking something and aimlessly heads into the woods.  Archer, playing Kima and Noreen try to stop him.  However, when Noreen grabs him by the arm he turns to her and a force races into Noreen’s body.  This is a must see!  Pritchett and his crew have once again raised the bar of independent filmmaking of the future.  www.beachwooddrive.00show.com

Click here to view Beachwood Drive Part Twenty One.

Hollywood, CA., Harold B. Pritchett is shooting another project as an internet series, this time on the back streets of Hollywood.  As his first project “Agape” heads into the final mix, preceding release on DVD, film director Pritchett is busy putting together a project that has more action than the first.  His first project “Agape” was shot on the streets of Wilmington, Delaware where the language, the taste, and sounds are different from Hollywood.  Agape is a gritty film showing life on the streets in small town USA.  Beachwood Drive is also a gritty film showing life on the back streets of Hollywood.  Known worldwide for movies and famous faces the back streets of Hollywood is a subject that has gone untouched for years.  The back streets have a different feeling from what people see in the movies or on television.  There are things going on in Hollywood you will not see anyplace else. But what happens on Beachwood Drive needs to be seen.

Watch the Webisode Beachwood Drive, as Kima and Tee try to stop a new drug from spreading among the young people of Hollywood and into the world.  Beachwood Drive is an internet visual novel that is art reflecting society and the story is real.

This movie is directed by the great, Spike Lee, written by James McBride, and stars Derek Luke, Laz Alonso, Michael Ealy, and Omar Benson Miller. Coming out September 26, 2008.

Four soldiers from the army's Negro 92nd Division find themselves separated from their unit and behind enemy lines. Risking their lives for a country in which they are treated with less respect than the enemy they are fighting, they discover humanity in the small Tuscan village of St. Anna di Stazzema. Looks Great!

Also Check after the jump for a Spike Lee interview about the movie and other issues!

The Emperor Jones features a predominantly black cast and is a notable example of both black cinema and pre-code cinema. I've become really interested in a lot pre-code films from the '20s and '30s, when "adult themes" were acceptable to the movie-going public. For instance, in this film, Paul Robeson's character is an arrogant guy who works as a Pullman porter and envisions a life of wealth and extravagance. He cheats on his wife with prostitutes. He gambles. He kills a guy. He escapes from a chain gang. He finds himself on a Caribbean island where he rises from slave to self-proclaimed emperor. He orders that the imperial residence be decked out with mirrors so that he can vainly admire himself and his ridiculously ornate uniform whenever he desires. (I'm not sure how many other Deadly Sins he commits, but it's a LOT.) He eventually becomes the despot you always knew was bubbling under the surface, and he begins to treat his subjects ... despotically. When he realizes an insurrection is imminent, he flees into the jungle where he begins to hallucinate and is, ultimately, killed in a barrage of silver bullets (which were, ironically, made from the melted-down silver coins once used to purchase him as a slave).

People usually think of old black-and-white movies of being sort of ... naive and charming, and more than a little removed from gritty and nasty reality. So it's always a shock to see movies made before Will Hays ruined the fun and began enforcing the censorship code that cleaned up all that stuff that was perverting America. Fortunately, this movie was made before the Hays Code went into effect. It had:

• A guy who cheated on his wife ... repeatedly

• A whorehouse full of prostitutes and a madame who appeared to be a cross-dressing lesbian (played by Moms Mabley!)

• Two prostitutes in a knock-down drag-out fight -- in evening wear -- in a Harlem nightclub

• Lots of gambling (craps galore)

• A guy getting killed and his body being left in the middle of the floor in a crowded room, ignored with business-as-usual going on around it, because no one wanted to be fingered for the crime

• A lawman being hit over the head with a shovel

• The emperor ordering an entire village be burned to the ground because a handful of people protested the ever-increasing taxes that were bleeding them dry and making him rich

Okay, so he gets his come-uppance in the end, but it was a pretty unapologetic journey getting there.

It was also a little shocking to hear a movie that used the N-word so liberally. Over the years the movie has had dialogue edited out to appease audiences offended by such things (even though the language is true to O'Neill's play). The version I saw was restored to its original version by the Library of Congress. The restored version also includes lengthy, blue-tinted scenes in which Robeson delivers a soliloquy during which his character becomes a hunted animal and descends into madness. I'm not really sure why the scenes were tinted blue, but I suppose it helped add to the other-worldliness of this climactic part of the film.

Paul Robeson was one good-looking man. There were lots of opportunities for him to strip off his shirt in this movie (another thing the Hays Code frowned upon). Even though he was a despicable character, he was still handsome and charming. I know he was famous for his singing, but since I'm not a fan of musical numbers in movies, I ended up fast-forwarding through several musical interludes (I'm sure Eugene O'Neill, himself, raised an eyebrow more than once at these unnecessary deviations from his play). There were a couple of really good rousing gospel numbers at the beginning, but every time things started veering dangerously close to "Old Man River" territory I hit the fast-forward button.

Not a great movie, but a very interesting one.

:: :: :: ::

The Internet Visual Novel

Viewing Agape, the black soap opera, is like watching a visual novel on the internet.

Agape means unconditional love, which is what Eric Printer has for his crack addicted sister, her children, his wife and his mother. He learns what Agape (unconditional love) is, as he struggles to care for his sister's children and fight against the drug dealers who sell crack on the streets.

Agape shows the personal relationships between family members whose life has spun out of control because of street drugs and those they leave behind. Agape reveals the emotional and moral conflicts that affect the children of addicted parents. Like most soap operas Agape follows the lives of a group of characters who live and work in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.

Agape centers around the ongoing struggles between Eric Printer and the drug dealing gangs, who sell crack on his block. This story is told from the point of view of Eric, who struggles with overwhelming family problems because his thirty year old sister is addicted to crack. The focus is on the effects a drug addicted mother has on her children and her brother. How do you reason with her? How do you make her stop? How do you get her help? How can you get her off the streets to stop her from doing tricks for a five dollar hit of crack? How do you show her Agape? (Unconditional love)

Although this series has a focus on crime, it is really about the lives of people in many American cities. No matter where you live in this country your life will be effected by the drugs brought into America and sold on our streets. Eric is up against the drug dealers by himself, he feels many people do not care to attack the problem with real solutions. They just look the other way. Now a big time drug dealer wants to take over the city, which makes things even worst.

Agape is a realistic portrayal of urban life and uncommonly deep exploration of the sociological themes.

Many actors on the cast say that Agape has "hit a nerve" and that they themselves knew real-life counterparts of many of the characters. Watching Agape on the internet is like watching a visual novel about urban life. Eric learns that unconditional love is not an uncontrolled reaction of the heart, but a concentrated exercise of will.  Watch Agape.  http://www.blacksoapopera.00video.com

Agape shows the personal relationships between family members who’s life has spun out of control because of street drugs.  Agape reveals the emotional and moral conflicts that affect the children of addicted parents.  Like most soap operas Agape follows the lives of a group of characters who live and work in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.  To read more on Agape click here!  To view scenes from Agape click here!

hbp

Upcoming Events

Feb. 1st | Kevin Hart headlines at SuperBowl Laugh Off-Ikeda Theater-Arizona

Feb. 2nd | Eddie Griffin performs w/Jamie Foxx & AKON at Superbowl Comedy Event

Feb. 8th | "Fool's Gold" opens in theatres nationwide starring Kevin Hart in a dramati role

Feb. 15th-17th | Eddie Griffin performs at NBA All-Star event-New Orleans

Spring 2008 | The Lofty Dog Fundraiser

June 2008 | 9th Annual Hollywood Black Film Festival- Beverly Hills

For more information please visit, www.eternalconceptspr.com

Black Soap Opera

 When you think about a soap opera do you think about laundry detergent?

In early days of television, a soap opera was a daytime drama sponsored by the makers of a laundry detergent.  But today the term Soap Opera usually means an ongoing episodic series dealing with family matters broadcast on television.  Today audiences refer to such a program simply as soap.  Although no Black Soap Opera’s currently air on the big networks. 

Soap Opera stories run concurrently, sometimes along the story line interest that can lead into further developments. For many years no African American had any meaningful roles in the American Soap Operas and no Black Soap Operas were developed or could maintain and audience, according to the television network giants. 

Along came the internet and Harold B. Pritchett who wrote Agape.  Pritchett started shooting his story Agape as a feature to be released on DVD.  He uploaded scenes onto the internet, using the screen name hbpy2k, for a few friends to review, what happened next - - a Black Soap Opera was born.   

“When we looked at Agape as a Black Soap Opera, I started to follow the same formula the networks follow.   Each episode may feature some of the show’s current storylines but not always all of them.  We also have added lots of action which you don’t see on the networks.  There is of course gun play, explosions, sex, and music that will hold an audience” Pritchett says. 

Centered on the urban streets and the problems with drugs inside cities, Pritchett selected his own hometown of Wilmington, Delaware to launch his maiden voyage as a writer, producer, and director of Agape. Using local talent and his own skills as a camera operator, he started shooting in August 2007.   

After internet users starting watching the uploaded scenes, they began to copy the URL and embed codes.  This allowed internet users to copy and paste the video of the scenes onto other websites.  Quickly scenes from Agape spread across the world.  Giving, what was now called a Black Soap Opera, a worldwide internet viewer ship.  Users started collecting scenes and pasting the video on more than 12,000 websites (new websites added everyday), in over 34 countries, and 12 languages. 

Because soap operas rarely “wrap things up” story wise, and generally avoid bringing all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time.  Pritchett and his cast started to receive email from a steady growing fan base asking to buy the complete DVD. 

As the project rounds the corner of completion Pritchett has discovered that the future of filmmaking is here! 

For more information:

www.hbp.00video.com 

www.hbpy2k.00video.com      

hbp Productions motion picture press release

hbp Productions is in production on the feature drama Agape  CONTACT:Harold B. Pritchett
Email: hbpy2k@hotmail.com

Scenes from AGAPE: 

Harold B. Pritchett: Independent Filmmaker of the Future.  If you Google Harold B. Pritchett you may find a few sites telling you a little about this man’s dream to create a film titled “Agape”.  But if you Google “hbpy2k” you’ll see the future of filmmaking.   The film “Agape”, shot in digital video, endeavors to set in motion the limits of low-budget independent filmmaking.  “The future is here!” explains Pritchett. “This is now the time for making films that can be seen by millions of internet users. Once the promotional scenes have been viewed by internet users, the way has been paved to have your project sold to an established fan base.” Pritchett says.

Yahoo Movies Article on Harold B. Pritchett:

Using the latest camera and editing system, Pritchett uploaded ten scenes onto YouTube , for the Hollywood folks to see.  What happened next is the stuff Hollywood stories are made of, the scenes quickly spread across the internet with more than 12,000 links to websites giving Agape a presence in over 34 countries. Internet users have emailed scenes to each other, copied the URL, and embed codes to post scenes on websites all over the world.   Agape scenes can be viewed on websites in 12 different languages.  With this reaction to his work, Pritchett rejected help from Hollywood backers and plans to complete the film on his own.  Sample websites:

Agape on a Deutschland website:

Agape on a Spanish website:

Agape on a Norway website:

Agape on a French website:

This action packed drama, which began principle photography in August, (hbp press release: ) has been talked about by production people in Hollywood, where Pritchett is from.  Many Hollywood folks wanted to see scenes from the daily shooting to distinguish the production as a viable project they were willing to back or just another small indie film.   They were shocked at the production quality, editing, lighting, camera angles, and story. 

 Newspaper Article on Harold B. Pritchett:

Hbp Productions:  is a complete new media service in Wilmington, Delaware.  Pritchett is currently in the principle photography stage of the project and plans a full-length, dramatic film.  AGAPE is being filmed entirely on location in the Wilmington, Delaware area.  The film’s cast, led by Neil Carr: , is composed of local talent (all first time) non-professional actors.  Carr, the only cast member with acting experience on stage and screen, leads the fight against Salencio, the drug king pin played by Mark Noel.

See more about Neil Carr.

Written, produced and directed by Harold B. Pritchett, AGAPE is a story that reflects the life and times that we live in today.  The character Eric tries to keep the drug dealers away from his block as his sister lives on the street searching for her next hit of crack. Salencio played by Mark Noel, wants to take over the city’s drug business.  So far I find the people of Wilmington love to see their city on the screen, and many can identify with the problems they are faced with each day in the streets.  Wilmington has opened its heart and doors to us in order to help us finish this project.  “It was said by one of the ladies helping us, that this story must be told,” Pritchett says. “The desktop technology that’s available today is remarkable,”  “I’m able to produce special effects in my personal studio today, that just a few years ago could only have been created by major Hollywood companies at the cost of many millions of dollars”.  He added, “The shoot-out in the Brandywine Woods, and the explosions under the freeway earned everyone’s attention and garnished strong feelings for that scene, even though, I’m not finished”.  See Article on Harold B. Pritchett: 

For more on Harold B. Pritchett:

www.hbp.00video.com  

Where can I view Agape?

http://www.youare.tv/watch.php?id=5260

hbp

Directed by Denzel Washington and Produced by Oprah Winfrey.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Cecily Wiggins (Agency) EternalConcepts PR Publicist 323.472.5760 office Email: cecily@eternalconceptspr.com Web Site: http://www.eternalconceptspr.com Lisa Humphrey (Spokeperson) EternalConcepts PR Publicist 323.472.5760 office Email: lisa@eternalconceptspr.com Web Site: http://www.eternalconceptspr.com

THE MANNSFIELD 12 Wins Jury Prizes for "Best Director" and "Best Screenplay" at the American Black FilmFestival

Mannsfield 12 Director Craig Ross Jr win big at the ABFF

October 26, 2007

Los Angeles, CA. October 30, 2007 - The Mannsfield 12 receives two of the highest honors by wining the Grand Jury "Best Director" and "Best Screenplay" Award from Film Life's 11th annual American Black Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA. Nominated for five out of a total of seven festival awards, the Mannsfield received nominations for the "Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor," "Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture," and "The Heineken Red Star Award."

The ABFF is a five-day retreat and showcase for American black films. Founded in 1997, the festival mission is to strengthen the Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education and career development.Directed by Craig Ross, Jr; The Mannsfield 12 is a gritty tale of courage, strength and the resiliency of the human spirit. Faced with incredible odds, 12 hardened inmates learn the true meaning of redemption...and the value of sacrifice. The movie stars Aaron D. Spears, Joe Torry, Tony Todd and Michael McCrary.

The film will be available on DVD at Walmart in March 2008. To learn more about Mannsfield 12 or Craig Ross , Jr. check out please check out www.mannsfield12.com or www.eternalconcepspr.com.

News Facts

• Film Life's 11th annual American Black Film Festival was held in Los Angeles, CA during October 25-29, 2007
  
• Craig Ross, Jr. & Alton Glass win the Jury Prize for the Best Screenplay Award
• Craig Ross, Jr. received Jury Prize for the Best Director Award for the Mannsfield 12
• Mannsfield 12 stars newcomer Aaron D. Spears, Joe Torry and Tony Todd
• Mannsfield 12 will be released on video in March 2008
• Craig Ross, Jr's CAPPUCCINO won the "Best Film Feature" at the 1998 Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame Awards, "Best Director" at the 1998 Independent Feature Project’s Gordon Parks Award, and "The Melvin Van Peebles Maverick Award" at the 1999 Juneteenth film festival.
• Craig Ross, Jr's BLUE HILL AVE won the Audience Award for the Best American Film at the 2001 Acapulco Black Film Festival , The Best Director Award at the 2001 Urbanworld Film Festival, the Audience Award for best film at the 2001 Roxbury Film Festival, and BEST FILM as well as BEST DIRECTOR at the 2001 Jamerican Film Festival in Montego Bay Jamaica. BLUEHILL AVE was released theatrically by Artisan Entertainment in Sept of 2003.
• Craig Ross, Jr's third feature film, RIDE OR DIE starring Duane Martin and Vivica A. Fox became an Encore exclusive in 2004. This hip hop action comedy is about a detective (Martin) who’s best friend, turns up dead and he must turn up the heat to find out who murdered him. The film was just acquired by Sony/Screen Gems for a Spring 2004 release.

Please use this link to access a purpose-built del.icio.us page, for more information.

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