Having just gone through a slew of birthdays (mine and my dad included), I’ve discovered another tendon important to maturing in life. Auto correct. You may have read this elsewhere in this kind of phrase “pay attention to the little voice in your head” but I think it’s really larger than that.
There comes a moment in your life when you’ve got to give yourself a little credit on first impulse. Everything that has come to past in your life has lead you to this moment so sometimes, your first reaction is correct. Yet it seems we are taught to second guess our first reaction just in case it’s incorrect. Even if it is incorrect, sometimes it is incorrect for a reason. It’s to auto correct you.
I’ll give an example:
The other day, someone asked if I was okay because there were a couple of things I was doing that fell through the cracks. This is a normal question of course because I pride myself on my work. But this person was also witness to some of the reasons behind this crack falling episode I had (actually just two things that went left of center but not two major things) that were including but not limited to a bank fraud on my account, a tire with a nail in it, that woman monthly visitor, some crazy work stuff and a low immune system. My initial reaction was to be who I was and say outright why I was acting the way I was acting. Without an attitude but definitely with perplexion because this person was a witness to said things. In the past, I would have tried to cut myself around the idea of being nice as opposed to calmly truthful. I would have shucked and jived my way into making the situation comfortable as opposed to letting it happen. I’m not saying that I didn’t think about my actions over and over again after my response. What I am saying is that I don’t regret how I responded because somewhere I autocorrected myself without realizing it. Something in me needed to be me at that moment and not listen to the fears, expectations, proper blah blah that we are taught to layer over our own feelings. Feeling what you feel is just as important as understanding where someone else is coming from. In fact, it should give color to all other things that relate to relating to other people.
This is a tangent but then most of my posts are because they are coming from my own experience as I navigate the art of autocorrection and hashing out my life without “putting all my business in the street” (I’ve been accused of that before).
The purpose of this though is to acknowledge that my thirty some odd years have lead me to unconscious lessons that have benefited me in areas where I don’t have to overthink anymore. Think of Neo in the Matrix when dodging bullets. He was not sitting there contemplating the bullets so much as he listened to his own rhythm. I’ll not tell you this works ALL the time but I can tell you that sometimes it’s just what you need to do to be you.
Not enough can be said about Haiti right now. I’m annoyed with people who have the audacity to slam charity of any kind for people who are significantly less fortunate than us. The luxury of being an American is that most of your worries (including the ones about being outraged at banks, car companies, Presidents and the like) is literally minute compared to worrying about where you will get water that day or if your child will live because of a limb infection. This lack of perspective is frightening. I do tolerate questions of infrastructure, not just from our side, but from the Haitian’s side as well. I pray this tragedy sheds light on the necessity for roads, however crudely paved, steel beams (even if you must beg another country for steel) to reinforce hospitals and other important buildings. Some of the problems of getting resources to Haiti have nothing to do with well meaning countries trying to arrive there. Bottle necking supplies are stuck because there is a wealthy of help trying to land on the size of a pin top. Haiti is not a large country. Six large sized planes fit on their runway at once. I’m annoyed with the media trying to imply that the significant help of the US is paling in comparison to say Israel. Israel is wonderful for what they do because they had one mission: get a mobile hospital up. The United States is trying to do that, clear bodies, land relief supplies and clear ports, just to name a few of the agenda items. This is not as easy as one would think. Let’s put the focus back on relief and support instead of who’s doing what better. There are tons of miracles happening daily. People from over 30 countries are aiding. There are people being found alive in rubble after over five days. There are miracles happening daily.
SistaPAC is a group I’ve worked with before (three wonderful women who’ve taken their own goals in entertainment and ran with them) on a short film I wrote called “Perpendicular” (a silent that was a few festivals with great joy). They have deep roots in Haiti and have sent the below helpful email out that I will post so that people will know how to help. Social media is changing how we better ourselves so lets make sure we remember to better ourselves in the process.
I would also like to send my love and prayers to the Toussaint family. My old Brooklyn roommate, Kiki, lost her father to the tragedy. I can only hope my dad was there to greet him on the other side (especially since my dad was fascinated with the story that Kiki and I decided to room together as strangers looking for apartments one day in Brooklyn. We lived together for over a year!).
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| Dear Friends,
As many of you know by now, the tiny island of Haiti was hit hard by a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Haiti has suffered much since it gained its independence on January 1, 1804. This recent devastation is one more blow in a long history of hardship. Two of SistaPAC’s co-founders are of Haitian decent (Maureen Aladin and Ella Turenne) and the third co-founder, Jessica Hartley, also has immediate family who are of Haitian decent. All three have family still in Haiti and have experienced what the rest of the diaspora has – family members missing, injured and some hopeful stories of rescue. We have been heartened by the outpouring of support from friends, family, the US government and the international community. Please know that Haiti is in a dire state of emergency. It needs your prayers and help to make it through this crisis. It will need it now and for some time to come. We urge you to give – whether monetarily or in the form of medical, food or other supplies. We also implore you to keep Haiti in your thoughts not only next week, next month or next year, but as long as it will take to help rebuild the country. For those of you looking for reputable places to give, we offer a few below. Giving can be as easy as texting on your cell phone or writing a check. It can also be as involved as bringing clothes and supplies to a drop off point. Please find a link below to a beautiful song written and performed by Rob Murat entitled “Souls.” This song was a Lennon Award Winner. It has been dedicated to the people of Haiti and we hope that it will lift your spirits. SistaPAC Productions was founded on the principle of giving women a voice – and today we lend our voices to send a message to all of you that the Haitian people are in need. Please do all you can and keep them in your prayers. Kenbe, Ella, Maureen and Jessica
SUPPORT HAITIAN MEDIA The Haitian Times
Haiti Xchange
Google Haiti Crisis Page
Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees
Please use rear entrance on Lincoln Road between Nostrand and New York Avenue. Enter through St. Francis Church parking lot. To make a financial tax-deductible donation to Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, Lakou New York, and MUDHA Movement of Dominican Haitian Women, so that they may take supplies to Haiti, please mail donations to: Dance Xpressions In response to the Earthquake in Haiti Danse Xpressions dance studio is working in collaboration with the Haitian Consulate office of NY as drop off center to have people donate items that are urgently needed within the next couple of days. We will be collecting items for the next 7 days starting today. These are items that we need to get out ASAP, on the medical planes that are leaving this upcmoning week. Below you will find a list of the requested items. We thank you in advance for your generosity Drop off hours are : List of Items Requested by the Haitian Consulate: The following items have been requested urgently by the Haitian Consulate office of NYC. We kindly ask that you please only donate the items on this list as these are the items that are urgently needed. Note: There will be no collection of clothing at this time. In addition to the following items, Danse Xpressions is currently in need of people to donate boxes and packaging items, as well as volunteers to help during drop off hours and to help pack the boxes with the donated items. 1. Water ( Cases of bottled water ) Dwa Fanm Dwa Fanm is a human rights organization that works to protect women and children. To give financial support, please make donations at www.dwafanm.org or Visit www.brooklyntabernacle.org to make donations directly online. Please UNBLOCK your popup blocker. Make your checks out to ‘Brooklyn Tabernacle’ with ‘Haiti Relief’ in the memo line and mail it to Dwa Fanm P.O. Box 23505, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201. For donations of medical supplies, please bring your items to:
Once again, we would like to sincerely thank you for helping to make the launch of our project a success. We were happy to have the opportunity to work with you, and we look forward to building with you in the near future. |
I wasn’t around consciously when I was born so I don’t have anything but my Mom’s stories about labor to compare an actual birthday to. But somebody got an idea we should celebrate that day every year and so here we are. I don’t come from a big family so I don’t have very many specific memories. My first 12 or so were just me and my mom and my dad. After that a few friends trickled over but there was never any big to-do so that’s why I have this love hate relationship with birthday events. I think my first favorite birthday memory was being in Detroit in the middle of the biggest snow storm ever (and that’s big for Detroit) and I didn’t have much to do but sit in my room and listen to the local public radio jazz station. I had my very own stereo (thanks Mom and Rent-A-Center) and I called in and dedicated a John Coltrane tune to myself. After that I remember my first date at 16 and we went to Red Lobster. If only the relationship stayed that sweet. After that, birthdays have been a bit uncomfortable for me. On one hand, I want the fanfare but on the other I don’t want it because I really don’t know how to handle it. Or how you’re supposed to be about it. I’m not really extrovert though I can talk a lot in general so there’s a lot of dual roles playing here. I think I’ll be more comfortable by just ending this with acknowledging that my dad’s birthday is in ten days and I will be warm and fuzzy on that day instead of the tear fest (I’m creative visualizing). Today I’ll also say that my heart is really full of love and light for all of those close to me and those far away (Haiti, keep your souls up! The world sends you action prayers) and that’s what I think birthdays should really be about. Love inventory.
It could be because I’m biased towards Capricorns (shout out to Imani Uzuri - my fellow “Lucy”) but I just love Capricorn singers. I do. And every since I went to Sade at Madison Square Garden by myself because it didn’t even occur to me to invite anyone else, I was hooked. It actually started earlier than that. When I was in high school my mother was ALL about getting our hair done every two weeks (it was Detroit, home of the 24 hour beauty salons) even though sometimes our phone was shut off. Anyway, Detroit beauticians epitomize classy to me. They always dressed nice even though they were on their feet burning some hair all day. There was one lady at Vantinus Hair Salon in the Riverfront Towers who used to play Sade ALL the time. The feeling from watching a classy woman (since I was an uncomfortable pimply chunky teenager) listening to classy music has inspired me from that point on. So Sade will cause me to drop what I’m doing and pay attention. Plus her business is so not in the streets like other nameless light bulbs out there.
So she’s back with “Soldier of Love” and, yes, it sounds just like Sade but that’s what I expect. She’s not out there trying to break music molds because she already did thanks. Bossip has her new video here:
http://bossip.com/201798/preimere-sade-soldier-of-love-video/
Check it out BEFORE Sony swipes it.
I just realized also that I’ve been wearing my hair like Sade for the past 6 months! Coincidence? I think not.
I’ll be at the concert and this time I’ll remember to ask the BF. Heh.
“If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.”
- Ernest Hemingway
At least she did say it was popularity contest.
2ND 
UPDATE: I’m the first to post the entire roster. That’s right, it’s time for Universal film executive Franklin Leonard’s THE BLACK LIST begun back in 2004. Compiled every year from the suggestions of 311 film executives, each contributes the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2009 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year. This year, scripts had to receive at least five mentions to be included on THE BLACK LIST. It has been said many times, but it’s worth repeating: THE BLACK LIST is not a ‘best of’ list. It is, at best, a ‘most liked’ list.” But it does catapult dozens of scripts into production and screenwriters out of oblivion. Diablo Cody’sJuno, Nancy Oliver’s Lars And The Real Girl, Scott Neustader’s and Michael Weber’s 500 Days Of Summer, are just some of the screenplays which appeared on The Black List and then were made. I’ve noticed that it’s also a “big dick” measuring contest for the Hollywood agencies and their motion picture lit departments. Problem is, some screenwriters think this list isn’t on the up-and-up and accuse junior studio execs and assistants along with self-interested agents and managers of getting together to push their own clients on projects even if already abandoned. So get off the ledge if you’re not on THE BLACK LIST. And, if you are, then congratulations.
This year’s list consists of 97 scripts with 311 people contributing to the ranking — up from 260 in 2008:
1. The Muppet Man By Christopher Weekes
What it’s about: The life and times of the late Jim Henson (pictured), the man behind Sesame Street and The Muppets.
What it’s like: The Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, but with puppets. This moving story depicts the life of a creative genius, with occasional surreal appearances by the likes of Kermit and Miss Piggy.
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Bill Weinstein, Adriana Alberghetti
MANAGER Circle of Confusion – Britton Rizzio, Lawrence Mattis, Kelly McCormack
Status: Set up at The Jim Henson Co.
2. The Social Network By Aaron Sorkin
What it’s about: Chronicles Mark Zuckerberg’s complicated journey towards creating Facebook. Sorkin depicts both the founder’s motivations for starting the largest social network in the world and the human casualties that came with his profound success.
What it’s like: The fascinating biographical elements of Shattered Glass meets the courtroom drama of Kramer vs. Kramer, without the tears. Sorkin cuts between Zuckerberg’s heated depositions with his former Harvard colleagues who claimed he stole Facebook from them and the chronological retelling of the company’s trip to becoming a billion-dollar enterprise.
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Ari Emanuel, Jason Spitz
Status: In production for Sony Pictures. Jesse Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg while Justin Timberlake portrays Sean Parker, one of the founders of Napster and Zuckerberg’s idol. David Fincher is directing.
3. The Voices By Michael R. Perry
What it’s about: Jerry, a schizophrenic worker at a bathtub factory, accidentally kills an attractive woman from accounting. While trying to cover his bloody tracks, Jerry starts taking advice from his talking (and foul-mouthed) cat and dog.
What it’s like: Watching the lovable pig from Babe join forces with American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman. Some may be turned off by the script’s twisted sense of humor — Jerry has friendly conversations with his victim’s severed head — while others will get a kick out of its sheer audacity.
AGENT United Talent Agency – Charlie Ferraro, Jenny Maryasis
MANAGER Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment – Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Status: Vertigo Entertainment is trying to package the film with a lead actor. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) is developing.
4. Prisoners By Aaron Guzikowski
What it’s about: When his young daughter and her best friend vanish on Thanksgiving Day, a Christian survivalist named Keller Dover takes matters into his own hands, imprisoning and torturing a suspect whom the police have set free. But does Dover have the wrong man? And if he does, who really has his little girl?
What’s it like: Silence of the Lambs meets Mystic River. A terrifying, riveting read. Vivid, unforgettable characters, a bullet-fast plot, and scenes that mine our deepest psychological fears. Lock the doors and windows (and go to the bathroom) before turning the first page.
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - David Karp, Rich Cook, Adam Levine
MANAGER Madhouse Entertainment
Status: Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directing for Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.
5. Cedar Rapids By Phil Johnston
What it’s about: Tim Lippy is a small-town insurance man who’s somehow made it to middle age without having quite done anything. Everything changes when he unexpectedly gets the chance to represent his company at the Cedar Rapids insurance convention, where comedy ensues, of course.
What it’s like: The 40-Year-Old Virgin meets Napoleon Dynamite. A sad, but not pathetic, middle-aged man comes of age in the Midwest. A speedily told story with romance and action and some legitimately funny jokes.
AGENT United Talent Agency – Jason Burns
MANAGER Industry Entertainment – Eryn Brown
Status: In production, with Miguel Arteta directing and Ed Helms playing Lippy. John C. Reilly, Alia Shakwat, Anne Heche and Sigourney Weaver co-star.
6. Londongrad By David Scarpa
What it’s about: The writer of The Day The Earth Stood Still and co-writer of The Last Castle does an adaptation of Alan Cowell’s 2008 book The Terminal Spy: A True Story of Espionage, Betrayal and Murder, chronicling the life and strange death of Alexander Litvinenko. Remember in 2006, when that ex-Soviet spy was allegedly poisoned with radioactive tea at a London sushi joint? That’s him.
What it’s like: The script evokes Born on the Fourth of July, Silkwood, and Robert DeNiro’s history-of-the-CIA saga The Good Shepherd — but in Russia, with spies. Using Litvinenko’s final days as a framing device, Scarpa’s script flashes back to pivotal passages of Alexander’s adult life: training and serving as a KGB agent; trying to staunch the growing influence of Russian mobs as a Russian super-cop after the fall of Communism; and boldly deciding to publicly accuse his superiors of trying to assassinate a Russian business tycoon, as well as facilitating the rise of Russian president Vladimir Putin through acts of terrorism.
AGENT HML – Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Devra Lieb
Status: Warner Bros. has optioned the script.
7. L.A. Rex By Will Beall (based on his novel of the same name)
What it’s about: Rookie LAPD officer Ben Halloran gets partnered with scarred and tobacco-spitting Officer Marquez, and the unlikely team hit the streets of L.A. on the brink of a gang-rivalry explosion. Amid run-ins with the Mexican mafia, brutal gang murders, and corrupt cops, we soon find that Halloran may not be as squeaky clean as his brand new badge.
What it’s like: Training Day combined with the brutal violence of The Departed.L.A. Rex is as much a cop story as it is a graphic portrait of underground crime in Los Angeles.
AGENT Creative Artists Agency – Shari Smiley, Jay Baker
MANAGER Management 360 – Darin Friedman
Status: Paramount Pictures has optioned on behalf of producer Scott Rudin.
8. Desperados By Ellen Rapoport
What it’s about: Wesley Robbins, a 30-something single attorney with an unhealthy obsession with coupling up, thinks she’s found the perfect man. But when he doesn’t call for days after the first time they sleep together she freaks out and sends him a scathing email, only to learn he’s been laid up in a Mexican hospital with some broken bones. On a whim, she and her girlfriends travel down south to erase the email before she ruins what she believes could be her one true love.
What it’s like: The Hangover meets The Sweetest Thing, but in a good way. This equal parts raunchy and sweet script has LOL moments and the potential to be a big hit, especially with audiences loving movies today with complicated female protagonists.
AGENT Creative Artists Agency – Jessica Matthews
MANAGER Management 360 – Susan Bymel, Daniel Rapoport
Status: Isla Fisher is attached to star with Mark Gordon and Jason Blum producing at Universal
9. The Gunslinger By John Hlavin
What it’s about: When a Texas Ranger is horrifically tortured and killed, his sharp-shooter older brother, Sam Lee Hensley, plots revenge against the mysterious, sadistic leader of a notorious drug cartel. Sam Lee’s quest for vengeance will cost him seven years in prison, his right hand and one eye. It will imperil his young nephew and wreak havoc on the lives of those who love him. And it will not bring him peace.
What it’s like: No Country For Old Men fused with Death Wish, graced by the melancholy of Unforgiven. Violent, macho, and action-packed, it’s as fun as aDirty Harry script, but the remorse and grief of the central character linger long after the final gunshot.
AGENT United Talent Agency – Jason Burns
MANAGER Benderspink – Jill McElroy, Charlie Gogolak
Status: Warner Bros. and Andrew Lazar producing
10. (tie) By Way of Helena By Matt Cook
What it’s about: Set in the south at the turn of the century, Texas Ranger David Kingston and his Mexican bride are sent down to the mysterious town of Helena to investigate the multiple Mexican bodies washing up in the river. What they discover is an idyllic-like town where everything is not as it seems.
What it’s like: Pleasantville meets High Noon where dueling-pistol showdowns take on a whole new meaning and the definitions of righteousness and morality are twisted into unrecognizable concepts.
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Cliff Roberts, Danny Gabai
MANAGER Anonymous Content – Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros
Status: Purchased by Russian filmmaker-producer Sergei Bodrov (Kavkazskiy plennik)
10. (tie) The Days Before By Chad St. John
What’s it about: A man from the future keeps hopping one successive day into the past desperate to stop a vicious race of time-traveling aliens from wiping out humanity.
What’s it’s like: This lightning-paced, time-travel adventure is Back to the Futuremeets Independence Day meets Demolition Man accompanied with a gargantuan production budget.
AGENT International Creative Management – Lars Theriot, Ava Jamshidi
Status: Warner Bros. has optioned it and a few big-time action directors have circled it but no one is yet attached.
11. DOC AND HOWIE WHACK A GRANNY by Steve Leff
“Two men, Doc and Howie, inadvertently kill an elderly woman when they neglect to help her carry groceries up stairs. The incident puts them in position to get closer to the woman’s attractive granddaughters, and they struggle with deciding whether to tell the women the truth about the circumstances under which they met.”
AGENT United Talent Agency – Doug Johnson
MANAGER Rain Management Group – Jonathan Baruch, Geoff Silverman
The Montecito Picture Company producing.
12. WHEN CORRUPTION WAS KING by Frank Baldwin
“A scrappy lawyer from Chicago’s South Side rises to be a trusted attorney for the Outfit – the mob that controls the city through an elaborate web of bribery, voterigging and violence – until he turns state’s witness and brings the whole corrupt system to its knees.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Cliff Roberts
MANAGER Leverage Management – Michael Prevett
Paramount Pictures. Temple Hill Entertainment producing.
13. PAWN SACRIFICE by Steve Knight
“The life story of chess legend Bobby Fischer leading up to his historic world championship match against Boris Spassky.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency – Brian Siberell, Sally Willcox
Sony Pictures. Maguire Entertainment producing.
14. TOY’S HOUSE by Chris Galletta
“When fourteen year old Joe Toy and his buddies tire of their parents overbearing ways, they decide to build their own house in the woods, away from the restraints of the lives they have come to know.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency – Carolyn Sivitz
MANAGER Anonymous Content – Bard Dorros
Big Beach Productions
15. MIXTAPE by Stacey Menear
“A thirteen year old outcast finds a mixtape that belonged to the deceased parents she never knew, accidentally destroys it, and uses the song list to go on a journey to find all the music in an attempt to get to know her parents.”
AGENT Paradigm – Ida Ziniti, Valarie Phillips
MANAGER Parallax Talent Management – Jim Wedaa
Jim Wedaa producing.
16. THE ISOLATE THIEF by Kevin Leffler
“In the dead of winter in the middle of the U.S. Civil War, a young man tries to hide the gold he stole from rogue soldiers who have taken over his remote house.”
AGENT International Creative Management – Aaron Hart
MANAGER Energy Entertainment – Brooklyn Weaver, Adam Marshall
Hawk Koch producing.
17. BOOK SMART by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins
“Two overachieving high school seniors realize the only thing they haven’t accomplished is having boyfriends, and each resolves to find one by prom.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Lis Rowinski, Sharon Sheinwold (Halpern)
United Talent Agency – Kassie Evashevski, Rio Hernandez (Haskins)
Fox. Handsomecharlie Films producing.
18. MOTOR CITY by Chad St. John
“A small time hood is framed and sent to prison, only to exact revenge years later.”
AGENT International Creative Management – Lars Theriot, Ava Jamshidi
Warner Brothers. Dark Castle Entertainment producing.
19. THEY FALL BY NIGHT by Zach Baylin
“A burned out detective investigates the kidnapping of a socialite couple’s child.”
AGENT International Creative Management – Aaron Hart
MANAGER Mosaic – Brent Lilley
Di Bonaventura Pictures producing
20. CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack
“A divorcing couple tries to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people.”
AGENT United Talent Agency – Keya Khayatian (Jones)
Gersh - David Kopple, Lindsay Porter (McCormick)
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners - Andrea Pett-Joseph (Jones)
Overture. Team Todd producing.
21. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH by Jared Stern
“A suburban ‘neighborhood watch’ group, actually a front for dads to get some male bonding time away from the family, uncovers a plot bent on destroying the world.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Jeff Gorin
MANAGER Industrial Entertainment – Helena Hayman
Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment - Marc Provissiero
Fox. 21 Laps Entertainment producing.
22. CONVICTION by Jonathan Herman
“After serving five years in prison after a botched heist, a mastermind bank robber is forced by a tenacious FBI agent to entrap his former protege who has embarked on a multi-million-dollar bank-robbing spree.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Mike Esola
MANAGER Luber/Roklin - Stephen Crawford
Warner Brothers. Silver Pictures producing.
23. BEST ACTRESS by Michael Zam and Jaffe Cohen
“The story of the infamous career-long battle between screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, focusing on the on-set experience of the only film they ever made together WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Adriana Alberghetti, Kimberly Bialek
MANAGER Artist Talent Management – Renee Tab
Plan B Entertainment producing.
24. BETTY’S READY by Jaylynn Bailey
“After she discovers that her boyfriend is gay, a high schooler, determined to lose her virginity before she goes to college, pursues several possible ‘candidates’ before she finds love with her geeky neighbor, who has always loved her.”
AGENT Hohman Maybank Lieb - Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank, Devra Lieb
MANAGER Circle of Confusion - Britton Rizzio, Noah Rosen
25. THE SITTER by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka
“A suspended college student, living at home with his single mom, is talked into babysitting the three, young kids next door.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Keya Khayatian, Charlie Ferraro
MANAGER Brillstein Entertainment Partners - Eryn Brown
Fox. Michael De Luca Productions.
26. Z FOR ZACHARIAH by Nissar Modi
“A sixteen-year-old girl named Ann Burden survives a nuclear war in a small American
town..”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Jay Baker, Josh Krauss
MANAGER Energy Entertainment - Angelina Chen, Brooklyn Weaver
Zik Zak Filmworks producing.
WENCESLAS SQUARE by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
“Based on the Arthur Phillips short story. Two spies fall in love while participating
in separate Cold War missions in Prague during the 1980s.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Charlie Ferraro, Keya Khayatian
Endgame Entertainment and This American Life producing.
BALLS OUT by The Robotard 8000 (Tim Talbott and Malcolm Spellman)
“When insurance salesman Jim Simmers has a near death experience, he decides that
nothing matters except getting a promotion, a new car, and the hot girl from work.
Jim’s new attitude alienates his friends and co-workers, and he must figure out how to
live his new life without losing his old one.”
AGENT Paradigm - Trevor Astbury, Mark Ross
MANAGER The Schiff Company - Nicole Romano
BURIED by Chris Sparling
“A civilian contractor in Iraq is kidnapped and awakens to find himself buried in a
coffin in the desert.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Charlie Ferraro, Doug Johnson
MANAGER Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment - Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Dark Trick Films, The Safran Company, Versus Entertainment producing.
THE DIVERSIFICATION OF NOAH MILLER by Adam Cole-Kelly and Sam Pitman
“A liberal New Yorker realizes he isn’t as open-minded as he thinks he is and sets out
to make a black friend.”
AGENT William Morris Entertainment - Mike Esola, Bill Weinstein
MANAGER Management 360 - Darin Friedman
34th Street Films, Radar Pictures producing.
10
THE GIRL WITH THE RED RIDING HOOD by David Leslie Johnson
“A Gothic imagining of the classic fairy tale in which a young woman is confronted by a
werewolf, this time with a teenage love triangle at its center.”
AGENT Paradigm - Chris Smith
Warner Brothers. Appian Way Productions producing.
MY MOTHER’S CURSE by Dan Fogelman
“The young inventor of a new organic cleaning product invites his mother on a crosscountry
road trip as he tries to sell his product to marketing outlets. His ulterior
motive is to reunite her with a man she loved when she was young, and her motive is to
help him overcome his ‘curse’ of non-commitment in relationships, for which she blames
herself.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Danny Greenberg
MANAGER Industry Entertainment - Eryn Brown
Paramount Pictures. Michaels Goldwyn producing.
RESTLESS by Jason Lew
“A tale of young love between a teenage boy and girl who share a preoccupation with
mortality.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Adam Levine
MANAGER Crestview Entertainment - Eric Black
Sony Pictures. Imagine Entertainment producing.
STREETS ON FIRE by Justin Britt-Gibson
“Two cops, reluctantly partnered, try to bring down a drug syndicate while navigating
the streets of Chicago.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency - Sean Barclay
MANAGER Media Talent Group - Chris Davey
Katalyst Films producing.
TAKE THIS WALTZ by Sarah Polley
“A young woman struggles with her infidelities and the budding realization that she may
be addicted to the honeymoon period of her relationships.”
AGENT William Morris Agency - Gaby Morgerman
MANAGER D/F Management - Frank Frattaroli
Susan Cavan producing.
THE TRADE by Dave Mandel
“The true story of two New York Yankees pitchers who caused a national scandal when
they swapped wives in the early 70s.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor – Bill Weinstein, Jeff Gorin, Phil Raskind
Warner Brothers. Idealogy producing.
BAYTOWN DISCO by Barry Battles and Griffin Hood
“Three redneck brothers get in over their heads when they agree to help a woman kidnap
her son back from his seemingly evil father.”
AGENT Agency for the Performing Arts - Sheryl Peterson, Debbie Deuble Hill
MANAGER Elevate Entertainment - Jenny Wood
JIMI by Max Borenstein
“The life story of rock legend Jimi Hendrix.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Keya Khayatian, Jon Huddle, Rebecca Ewing
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Adam Kossack, Bard Dorros
Legendary Pictures. Billy Gerber producing.
9
WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT by Morgan Foehl
“After ten years on the run from the mob, the son of a mob lawyer must choose between
prison and helping the man who killed his mother.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola, Lisa Hallerman
MANAGER Wirehouse Entertainment - Jessica Jordan
THE GUYS GIRL by Nick Confalone and Neal Dusedau
“Three male best friends realize they’re each in love with their mutual female best
friend when she gets engaged.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Blair Kohan, Rio Hernandez
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment - Greg Walter
Ternion producing.
RITES OF MEN by Jonathan Herman
“When a working class dad’s only son is murdered, he sets out to discover who is
responsible.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola
MANAGER Luber/Roklin - Stephen Crawford
Universal Pictures.
SMILE, RELAX, ATTACK by Eli Attie
“A young, ambitious political consultant finds himself in over his head when his first
big client - an incumbent Democratic Virginia Senator - becomes the subject of national
scrutiny by both Parties.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Bryan Besser
Mandate Pictures. Idealogy producing.
BOBBY MARTINEZ by Ric Roman Waugh
“A coming-of-age biopic about the titular Mexican-American surfer. Martinez rose out of
the gang-ridden streets of Southern California to become a hero to his community when
he swept every major amateur surfing tournament in his first year of competition and
won the ASP Rookie of the Year honors in his first pro season.”
AGENT International Creative Management - Nicole Clemens, Harley Copen, Nick Reed
MANAGER Management 360 - Darin Friedman
State Street Pictures and Participant Media producing.
8
SHIMMER LAKE by Oren Uziel
“As a small-town bank-theft job slowly unravels, it proves to involve virtually
everyone, from an ex-meth-lab runner to a crooked prosecutor and his vengeful cop
brother.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Bryan Besser
MANAGER Circle of Confusion - Britton Rizzio
Fox. Josephson Entertainment producing.
LOVESTRUCK by Annabel Oakes
“Cynical best friends Amelia and Ruth love nothing more than to ridicule romance. When
they take it one step too far at their friend’s wedding, they are sentenced to a fate
worse than death - becoming heroines in their own romantic comedy.”
AGENT Untitled Talent Agency - Rio Hernandez, Jon Huddle
MANAGER Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment - Sean Perrone, Bryan Miller
Apparatus producing.
GOOD LOOKING by Chris McCoy
“In a future where dating services perfectly match soulmates, a man rejects the person
chosen for him.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Brian Siberell, Sally Willcox
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Shawn Simon
Dreamworks. Double Feature Films producing.
LIARS (A-E) by Emma Forrest
“A twenty-nine year old woman on the way to President Obama’s inauguration stops to
retrieve lost items from her ex-boyfriend in the hope of getting over her most recent
heartache.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Cliff Roberts
Casaratto - Eleanor Burns
Miramax. Scott Rudin Productions producing.
A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS: THE LEGEND OF NOLAN BUSHNELL by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman
“The rise of Nolan Bushnell, father of the videogame industry, who started Atari in the
70s.”
AGENT Original - Jordan Bayer
MANAGER Principato Young Management - Paul Young, George Heller
Paramount Pictures. Appian Way Productions producing.
JIMMY SIX by Daniel Casey
“The screw-up son of a murdered mobster goes with a hitman to exact revenge on the
informer who sent his father to his death.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola
MANAGER Circle of Confusion - Noah Rosen
Whitewater Films producing.
CORSICA 72 by Neil Purvis and Robert Wade
“On the island of Corsica in 1972, childhood best friends Marco and Sauveur find their
lives veering in opposite directions - the first towards the Mafia, the second toward
a simpler life with his beloved, Lucia. When the Corsican mob kills Sauveur’s brother,
they ignite a tit-for-tat blood feud that inevitably leads toward a final showdown.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Jeremy Barber
Ruby Films producing.
ARTHUR by Peter Baynham
“Based on the 1981 film of the same name. A spoiled rich twentysomething must decide
between true love and the vast fortune he’ll inherit if he marries a society woman whom
he doesn’t love.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Jeremy Barber
Warner Brothers. MBST Entertainment and Benderspink producing.
2 GUNS by Blake Masters
“Based on the comic book of the same name by Stephen Grant. A DEA agent and an
undercover naval intelligence officer unwittingly investigate each other while stealing
mob money.”
AGENT United Talent Agency – Blair Kohan, Geoff Morely
Universal Pictures. Marc Platt Productions and Boom! Studios producing.
7
CUT BANK by Roberto Patino
“A small town thriller set in Cut Bank, Montana.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Rich Cook, David Karp
MANAGER Principato Young - Evan Cavic
Stick n’ Stone Productions producing.
DEAD LOSS by Josh Baizer and Marshall Johnson
“A crab fishing boat crew rescues a castaway adrift in a life raft with mysterious
cargo that soon both captivates and divides them.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Bill Weinstein, David Karp
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Bard Dorros, Shawn Simon
Thousand Words producing.
THE STORM by Richard Taylor and Bryan Bagby
“A bounty hunter and his prey must unite to take on an evil sheriff and his posse in a
lawless Wyoming town.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency - Carolyn Sivitz
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Bard Dorros
Simon Brooks producing.
I HOPE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS by John Whittington
“A couple breaks up after 5 years together but vow to remain friends after the fact,
which proves much harder to do than they imagined.”
AGENT The Gersh Agency - Sarah Self
MANAGER Mason Novick
Inferno Entertainment. Mason Novick producing.
I HATE YOU DAD by David Caspe
“A father moves in with his son on the eve of his son’s wedding and promptly begins
feuding with the bride-to-be.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Phil D’amecourt, Elia Infascelli-Smith
MANAGER Magnolia - Javier Contreras
Sony Pictures. Happy Madison Productions producing.
IF I STAY by Shauna Cross
“Based on the novel of the same name by Gayle Forman. A teenage girl leaves her body
after a tragic car crash and needs to decide whether to return to her life or not.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Cliff Roberts, Lis Rowinski
MANAGER Jaret Entertainment - Seth Jaret
Summit Entertainment. Di Novi Pictures producing.
THE KING’S SPEECH by David Seidler
“George VI, also known as Bertie, reluctantly takes the throne of England when his
brother, Edward, abdicates in 1936. The unprepared king turns to a radical speech
therapist, Lionel Logue, to help overcome his nervous stutter and the two forge a
friendship.”
MANAGER Jeff Aghassi Management - Jeff Aghassi
The Weinstein Company. Bedlam Pictures and See-Saw Films producing.
THE GHOST AND THE WOLF by Rylend Grant and Dikran Ornekian
“An ex-cop and his old partner must reunite, burying years of distrust, to take on the
vicious Russian mobsters who altered their lives profoundly in the 90s… destroying one
and propelling the other to Captain.”
MANAGER Industry Entertainment - Andrew Deane
CON MEN by Eric Lane
“Greg Weinstock and Kevin Russell, two drug reps from Burlington Labs with nothing in
common aside from a shared gift of moving product, are dispatched to a convention to
hook the biggest sale of their lives.”
Shay Weiner producing.
THE BLIND RAGE OF PEACOAT MILLER by Adam Penn
“A college student home for the holidays discovers that an internet porn film turns its
viewer into homicidal maniacs. As the epidemic spreads, he has to save his longtime
crush while struggling to control his own urges.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Billy Hawkins, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
MANAGER Energy Entertainment - Adam Marshall, Milana Rabkin
Michael de Luca Productions and David Gordon Green producing.
6
JOSH by Gary Ross
“The lives of a single father and his teenaged son are dramatically changed when the
boy’s mother returns and wants to be part of her son’s life.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - David O’Connor, Maha Dakhil
Universal Pictures. Larger Than Life Productions producing.
MY SISTER IS MARRYING A DOUCHEBAG by Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux
“A young woman, thinking that her sister’s new fiance is a douchebag, sets out to
sabotage their wedding.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Phil D’amecourt, Simon Faber
MANAGER Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment - Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
THE LOW SELF ESTEEM OF LIZZIE GILLESPIE by Mindy Kaling and Brent Forrester
“A single girl in Manhattan dates the hottest guy in the world but must overcome her
insecurities when she hears him deny they are dating.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Blair Kohan, Julien Thuan (Kaling)
United Talent Agency - Jason Burns, David Kramer (Forrester)
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment - Howard Klein (Kaling)
Levity Management Group - Kevin Stolper (Forrester)
Mandate Pictures.
RENKO VEGA & THE JENNIFER NINE by John Raffo
“Renko Vega, once a hero and now a rogue thief wandering the galaxy with his
hyperintelligent spaceship the Jennifer 9, is forced to become a hero once again when
the young daughter of the President of Earth is kidnapped.”
AGENT Agency for the Performing Arts - Debbie Deuble Hill, Sheryl Peterson
MANAGER Brucks Entertainment - Brian Brucks
NORM THE MOVIE by Sam Esmail
“A buddy comedy in which a guy is transported into a movie… or so he thinks.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola, Danny Gabai
MANAGER Energy Entertainment - Adam Marshall, Milana Rabkin
SMASH AND GRAB by Marc Wolff
“When his wife is kidnapped, a reformed thief has to team up with his hapless expartner
to save her, while dodging the LAPD, the FBI, and various members of the Los
Angeles underworld.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Tobin Babst
MANAGER Mason Novick
Mason Novick and Julie Yorn producing.
THE TRUE MEMOIRS OF AN INTERNATIONAL ASSASSIN by Jeff Morris
“Joe, an insecure writer with a boring desk job, finally manages to sell his assassin
novel, The Memoirs of an International Assassin to the one publisher that will buy it.
To his horror the publisher retitles it The True Memoirs of an International Assassin
and markets the book as non-fiction — making it seem as if Joe is the assassin
himself. He soon finds himself in the crosshairs of the CIA, various drug lords, the
media, and a beautiful investigative journalist while on a vacation in Belize.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola, Rich Cook
MANAGER Art/Work Entertainment - Julie Bloom
The Film Department. Michael De Luca Productions producing.
NO BLOOD, NO GUTS, NO GLORY by Chase Palmer
“A spy and twenty Union soldiers in disguise board a train in Georgia to execute a
scheme that could bring a quick end to the U.S. Civil War.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Craig Kestel
MANAGER Gotham Group - Peter McHugh, Lindsay Williams
Misher Films producing.
ALLIES WITH BENEFITS by Elizabeth Wright Shapiro
“The female President of The United States falls for her old college fling, the now
Prime Minister of England.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Blair Kohan, Tobin Babst, Jay Gassner
MANAGER Industry Entertainment - Jess Rosenthal
Scott Free Productions producing.
30 MINUTES OR LESS by Matthew Sullivan and Michael Diliberti
“A comedy about a pizza delivery guy on an unlikely caper.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Bill Weinstein, Simon Faber
MANAGER New School Media - Brian Levy
Red Hour Films and New School Media producing.
5
COMIC CON by Matthew Sullivan and Michael Diliberti
“To save their beloved neighborhood comic shop, a justice league of comic geeks must
plan and execute a daring heist at Comic-Con.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Bill Weinstein, Simon Faber
MANAGER New School Media - Brian Levy
CROOK FACTORY by Nicholas Meyer
“Based on the novel by Dan Simmons and true events. An FBI agent is ordered to baby-sit
Ernest Hemingway as he goes about running a motley spy ring in WWII Cuba.”
MANAGER Alan Gasmer & Friends - Alan Gasmer
Warner Brothers. Infinitum Nihil producing.
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY by Mark Bomback
“Based on the comic book written by Gerard Way. After being raised by a brilliant
scientist and a hyper-intelligent chimp, six super-powered former ‘child superheroes’
reunite to stop one of their own from leading a violin symphony that will destroy the
world.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Jason Spitz
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Adam Shulman
Universal Pictures. Stuber Productions and Dark Horse Entertainment producing.
HANNA by David Farr
“A fourteen year old girl is raised by her father to be a cold hearted killing
machine.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Bob Bookman, Josh Krauss
Curtis Brown - Nick Marston
Focus Features. Adelstein Productions producing.
THE HAND JOB by Maggie Carey
“A coming-of-age comedy about a teenage girl who gives her first hand job (among other
life experiences).”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Blair Kohan, Julien Thuan
MANAGER 3 Arts Entertainment - Greg Walter, Tom Lassally
Team Todd producing.
THE HUNGRY RABBIT JUMPS by Robert Tannen
“A man becomes entangled in a secret society that forces him to murder.”
AGENT Feature Artists Agency - Brian Dreyfuss
MANAGER The Shuman Company - AB Fischer
Maguire Entertainment and Endgame Entertainment producing.
DUE DATE by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland
“An uptight father-to-be is forced to travel across the country with an idiotic stoner
in order to close a major business deal and make it home in time for the birth of his
first child.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Jason Spitz, Richard Weitz, Mike Esola
Warner Brothers. Legendary Pictures and Green Hat Films producing.
THE CURSE OF MEDUSA by J Lee and Tom Welch
“An origin story of Medusa the Gorgon.”
MANAGER Anonymous Content - Adam Kossack
Original Films producing.
MEDIEVAL by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch
“An unlikely group of imprisoned warriors are forced on a suicide mission to steal the
King’s crown in order to gain their freedom. They soon realize they’ve been set up to
take the fall for the assassination of the King.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Adam Levine
Fox, New Regency. Wonderland Sound and Vision producing.
OWENS MANUAL by Greg Ferkel
“A mild-mannered IT guy finds an ‘owners manual’ to his dull life but struggles to
manage the realities of it when he reaches the end of the manual.”
AGENT International Creative Management - Harley Copen, Sophie Holodnik
MANAGER Caliber Media - Max Roman
Gary Sanchez Productions producing.
THE LAST STAND by Andrew Knauer
“A drug cartel king escapes his trial in a 200mph Gumpert Apollo, and the only thing in
between him and Mexican freedom is a small town cop in a bordertown.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola
MANAGER Energy Entertainment - Jake Wagner
Lionsgate. Di Bonaventura Pictures producing.
JAWS OF LIFE by Michael Goldbach
“A seventeen year old boy falls in love with a woman old enough to be his mother and
begins to question the meaning of love and relationships while his parents go through a
divorce.”
MANAGER The Collective - Ava Greenfield
Mason Novick producing.
JITTERS by Marc Haimes
“A dysfunctional, recession-struck family moves into a new neighborhood and is
terrorized by superbugs.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Jeff Gorin
MANAGER Benderspink - JC Spink, Charlie Gogolak
Paramount Pictures. Benderspink producing.
SWINGLES by Zach Braff
“A bachelor who is dumped by his wingman teams up with a sharp-tongued woman he can’t
stand in order to meet women.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Craig Gering
MANAGER Industry Entertainment - Sandra Chang
Paramount Pictures. Misher Films producing.
THE TREES by Tyler Hisel
“Isolated and threatened, a mysterious force hidden within the trees outside the small
town of Laytonsville, Maryland strikes fear in the townsfolk as Sheriff Paul Shields
attempts to overcome the demons of his past while protecting those that he loves.”
MANAGER Insignia Entertainment - Alexander Robb
THE SPECTACULAR NOW by Scott Neustadter and Mike Weber
“A hard-partying high school senior’s life changes when he meets a shy, insecure girl.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Bill Zotti, Greg McKnight
MANAGER Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment - Aaron Kaplan, Sean Perrone
Fox Searchlight. 21 Laps Entertainment producing.
SAND DOGS by Vineet Dewan and Angus Fletcher
“A pair of Western Red Crescent Paramedics weather a series of intense, dangerous days
in the Gaza Strip.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Ramses Ishak, Michael Sheresky (Dewan)
Agency for the Performing Arts - David Saunders (Fletcher)
MANAGER Caliber Media - Dallas Sonnier (Dewan & Fletcher)
SEX, GREED, MONEY, MURDER & CHICKEN FRIED STEAK by Reinhard Denke
“The story of oilman T. Cullen Davis, the richest man in the United States ever to be
tried (and acquitted twice) for the capital murder of his stepdaughter, marking the
end of the reign of Texas oil billionaires.”
AGENT William Morris Endeavor - Mike Esola
Infinitum Nihil producing.
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Richard LaGravanese
“Jacob Jankowski is about to take his final exams in veterinary medicine at Cornell
when his parents are killed in a car accident. He drops out and joins Benzini Brothers,
a second-rate traveling circus trying to survive during the Depression.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Byrdie Lifson-Pompan, David O’Connor
Fox 2000. Flashpoint Entertainment producing.
THE WETTEST COUNTY by Nick Cave
“Based on the book by Matt Bondurant. The story of a moonshine gang operating in the
bootlegging capital of America – Franklin County, Virginia – during Prohibition.”
AGENT United Agents - Anthony Jones
Red Wagon Productions producing.
WALL STREET 2: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS by Allan Loeb
“Gordon Gekko, fresh from prison, re-emerges into a much harsher financial world than
the one he left.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Jon Levin, Carin Sage
MANAGER Scarlet Fire - Steven Pearl
Fox. The Edward R. Pressman Film Corporation producing.
THE UNDERLING by Dave Stoller and Ben Shiffrin
“A man slowly comes to discover his girlfriend is literally working for the devil and
has to find a way to escape.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Charlie Ferraro
MANAGER Gotham Group - Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams
THE VATICAN TAPES by Chris Borrelli
“In a highly secured vault deep within the walls of Vatican City, the Catholic Church
holds thousands of old films and video footage documenting exorcisms/supposed exorcisms
and other unexplained religious phenomena they feel the world is not ready to see.
This is the first tape - Case 83-G - stolen from these archives and exposed to the
public by an anonymous source.”
AGENT United Talent Agency - Jon Huddle
MANAGER H2F - Chris Fenton
Lionsgate. Lakeshore Entertainment producing.
YEAR 12 by Edward Ricourt
“Twelve years after an alien invasion leaves humankind decimated and brutally
subjugated, a former soldier must smuggle deadly uranium in his bloodstream and, with
help from a pair of rebels, fight his way to an air force base where the uranium can be
extracted and used to fuel a nuclear missile for a counterstrike that will reverse the
direction of the war.”
AGENT Creative Artists Agency - Matt Rosen
MANAGER Gotham Group - Peter McHugh
Paramount Pictures. Roth Films producing.
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/the-black-list-to-be-posted-here-in-entirety/
We know these tea baggers better than they know themselves and I can tell you why. It’s really just racism in another suit of clothes (barely – have you seen the posters comparing Obama to Hitler? Embarrassing that the rest of the world sees this ignorance too but more about that later). I hate pulling the race card as much as many like me (I mean, it’s not like Rev. Al and Rev. Jesse were selective when they went through their wallet and “BAM!” – racism all day all the time when sometimes it was just plain idiocy but I digress). Tea baggers are a new party and they are just flat out racist.
Here’s my proof: Very few of them can actually articulate with intelligence why they don’t like Obama. They say general things like “He doesn’t love our country” or “He wants to take my money” but they fail to follow up with how George (definitely not H.W. because I actually think he wasn’t so bad as a President. I’m talking about the son…always the son) loved our country by sending us off to the wrong country for an eight war or how that plus giving money to his corporate cronies was “loving” the country so much. Hypocrisy is the end result to them, at the end of the day, really despising the fact that the President of the United States is black. Some of you will say that racism is so 1970s but hey, as long as you have separate proms in the south, the Kardashians coming clean and saying their daddy was not found of the girls dipping in chocolate men and statistics that still show racial profiling existing, black men overwhelmingly being sent to jail more often and for longer periods of time than their white counterparts with the same criminal profiles, you’ve got racism. It doesn’t have to look like lynching or separate water fountains all the time. It can evolve to you breaking out into cold sweats knowing that a black man or woman or Asian man/woman representing your country to the rest of the world and there’s not much you can do about it. We all saw the documentaries where they showed people still using “colored” and “Muslim” with sneers on their faces like they were saying curse words. I’m not even going to open that bag of shameful worms that is the ignorance of what Islam means to the dumbasses in this country. Rather than use that useful tool called “the internet” they’d much prefer to watch Fox Faux news and use sound bites from those polished racists who hide under the world “journalism” though they are far from it.
NPR just did a story (this is a link so you can click on it. The comment section is particularly fun) on these people who care so much about the country that they’d rather boycott their President than say, feed homeless people or organize for children’s welfare (since they are actually the direction of the country). One such airhead in Dallas, Lorie Medina (um, Lorie, are you Hispanic? If so, you scare me more) says this:
“It’s like I wake up every morning, and there’s something new on the news that’s upsetting that I read about that he does,” she says. “If you look at the way he speaks, the way he talks about our country, if you look at the programs and the things he tries to put into place, it really appears that he does not love our country like most Americans do — and like past presidents do.”
Is she kidding me? Does she read or just watch “The Real Housewives of Orange County” (not judging since I watch too but I crack a book, read the news, talk to smarter people than me, etc. on a regular basis). “If you look at the way he speaks” clearly is racist code for “how dare he be articulate, black and not a head-nodder like that idiot Clarence Thomas (I was going to say Michael Steele but he’s just a puppet, either that or his party ignores him behind his back). I’m curious why Little Lorie thinks having healthcare for people means Obama doesn’t love the country. I’m also curious what “love” means in Lorie’s book. I have many questions for Lorie and today, I’d be willing to listen. Tomorrow, I’ll be too annoyed at her ignorance and drown her out to the sounds of some heavy Baptist gospel music because I don’t want to go to hell with my thoughts of her.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t stan for Obama all the time. I don’t think he was ready for the Nobel Peace Prize but then, apparently, neither does he. I do think he takes to long to chop the crazies down but he’s older and might know more about patience than I do. It’s been a year and dude had a lot to contend with. Nobody seems to be able to have come up with better solutions than the ones we’ve been working with, whether you like them or not. Once, a Republican friend, during the George years, told me she didn’t like to talk politics socially because she was raised to not bash the Leader of Our Country. I wonder if she feels that way now that her man’s not in office.
The bottom line is that there’s nothing rational people can do with this Tea Party. They’ve decided what they’ve decided and we decide what we decide. Their ignorance is not the revelation as that’s been going on for years. The sad part is that we have to face the fact that America, much like the bible, is being read in so many different ways that we may not be the United States of anything anymore. That’s going to be the real problem.
If you know anything about me, you know that I love this woman. She can do zero wrong. I even went to her concert alone without even thinking asking anyone if they wanted to go (folks are too slow and I had to be there! I made it a date. Took myself to dinner. Had an allergic reaction. Showed up at MSG with a swollen face. Got moved down to the ground floor through some miracle of God and was close enough to see her freckles. Real talk).
Her new song is below:
Yesterday was not only my anniversary with the BF but it was also the birthday of a dear friend who’s exploits, care and general existence have made her more like family. Last night, as I sat around the table full of eclectic but HYSTERICAL folks that she’s touched, I was amazed at how groups of people find each other in this crazy sea of life. In any other time, there would be little to know way that I’d get to know some of these wonderful people other than the heart we all road in on to meet each other and that was Jen’s. She’d asked us to bring a story of the first time we met her in lieu of presents and my story was so “ugh” because I was just having an “off day” (without judgement though! I just think sometimes you’re not in line with yourself but at least those time allow you to know what “in line” feels like). I did want to redo my story but not because it was short and kind of odd (it was an accurate first meeting though) but because I didn’t finish it really to link it to the moments that she and I became sisters. I didn’t get to to reveal the true nature of this girl’s heart! Most of the night was I upset with myself for not coming better than that but then I realized (again) that I have flaws that sometimes even I don’t even recognize as the rear their head. I really don’t mind that so much (any more - perfection literally gave me an ulcer once) so long as I figure out what to do from there so I don’t repeat my lessons (this is a valuable tool I got from “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron YEARS ago by my other sister Marcella who kind of introduced me to the path of self growth). This is my opportunity to sort of re-steer my story last night and give Jen the story she deserves.
My original Jen story went like this: We both worked at Sundance Channel together but we weren’t friends yet. I was on my to the gym one day. Jen, me and this other girl were in the elevator together. I was carrying this pink Kaboodle (as my toiletries’ case) and Jen looked at me and said, “What the fuck is that? A Kaboodle?”
Now, this story doesn’t really have any indication that this girl would save my life in many different ways years to come. It does highlight her humor though because I think that story is actually quite funny. That was our first meeting however at some point our lives sort of merged into being inseparable. And that act of being unable to separate from her light was a theme across the table last night (this is not something that most people get in their “description” of themselves by other people. Some may make themselves believe they have “light” but deep down you know if you have it or not). I think of most things that are really really good for me in montage modes (I am a writer after all):
-It was Christmas and Jen and I had just become really good friends. We hung out for dinner and saw movies and I was floored at her kindness and generosity as I’d really only meet three or four people before then in my life who had that kind of capacity for joy of the world’s offerings (even when she was down on herself - Jen had a joy that couldn’t be blued down). I remember seeing in her TINY TINY apartment that she’d just moved into (she found it from some newsletter I’d sent her) that she didn’t have a stereo. I was in line at The Wiz picking out the biggest home stereo boom box like thing I could find. This thing was at least my size if I stood it up on it’s side. I could barely make it up her stairs but when I got there, she was floored. “Are you crazy?” she cried (in the good way). I remember feeling like I wanted her to know that she was a great person and that she deserved random acts of kindness. It was one of those presents I’ve purchased in my life where I just wanted to do something in tribute to someone.
-Same year but a month later, it was my birthday. ”Chicago” the movie was the talk of the town and Jen was flabbergasted that I, as a playwright, had never seen the play. I was so excited to see this movie that the posters took my breath away. Jen had made me a scroll that was a gift certificate to see both the movie and the film. I remember sitting next to her in the Ziegfield opening night of the movie, a little drenched from the rainy winter night, and feeling like a kid who was about to go to Neverland. Very few people had ever really taken the time to surprise me like that.
-After 9/11, I was living in New York and feeling shaky every day. I was scared in a way that didn’t make me skittish so much as it made me a shadow of myself. The following summer, there was a brown out and the majority of New Yorkers felt like it was another attack. I was tired. It was Jen who suggested we move to California. We’d visited Los Angeles and had crazy hijinx already (from the black homeless women yelling at me for hanging out with white people as I danced on our rented convertible to N.E.R.D., to eating at Asia de Cuba like we had a trust fund and giving a shout out to Dr. Dre when he walked past us once, crashing at a friend’s house while he was getting an apartment makeover by a tv show, being fixed up with a boy half my height (I’m 5″2), crashing at another friend’s house who literally needed Ridilin and a cleaning lady, hanging out with the cast of “CSI” late one night in a cloud of Mary Jane listening Billie Holiday and a D List actor trying to sing his own songs with an acoustic guitar while nobody else paid attention). These adventures for me where real adventures. For Jen, this was her life. I was game. We moved to LA.
-We lived together for a year and nobody has perfected the art of television, gossip rags and pig out food like we have.
-In a few of my questionable relationships, Jen has never judged. She has seen the good in those men but also known in her heart their good wasn’t for me.
-Her family has taken me in as one of their own on a level of generosity I’ve never really experienced since I was in grade school and I basically lived at the Youngs’ household through out junior high and most of high school. Her mother brings tears to my eyes, her Oma makes me laugh from my gut and her father George made me melt with sweetness when he was with us. It was easy to see where the light came from. They all have it.
-When my father died suddenly, Jen picked me up from my apartment and we drove out far into Malibu. I felt like a bomb had gone off in my body and my skin was left to deal. Her spirit carried me that day.
-In most of my adult crisis scenarios, she and my other “sisters” provide only support and solutions. There’s no berating, no drama, no anguish. I never feel drained after being with her except for maybe that time we spent four hours in Forever 21. We just kept saying, “Where are we?”
-When her Papa George passed away, that bomb feeling inside me came back.
-The site of her crying literally makes me deteriorate.
-Even at her own described worst, she is better than most of the people who think they are my family. This action within itself has made me search for people who could at least match her “worst” moments in my life. This is a difficult task for many.
As I write this, I kind of see the difficulty in me picking one story. There are many stories. I did tell her last night there are so many. I led off with the one that sparked it all but I really didn’t finish with the rest of this because its overwhelming in a good way to feel like somebody is in your life like her. I can only liken it to seeing your favorite play, done by your favorite actor and knowing the best monologue is coming so you hold your breath and close your eyes. Or if you surf and you see the biggest most beautiful wave coming at you and your heart skips a beat. I am lucky to experience this feeling because of who’s in my life. I realize there are so many people who will never have this experience, allow themselves to have this experience or some people who don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.
My life has been lucky. Not in the lotto sense but in the sense that I have mostly been exposed to people who are the essence of wonderful. Not just okay. Or cool. But the essence of wonderful. I have been exposed to certain people who would be deemed unreal in most circles and places. These are people who have light inside of them and have no problem sharing that light with those around them. I’m not saying that everyone is a saint or angel or perfect in any way other than being who they are. They are perfect at themselves. My whole life I wanted siblings. I had fake brothers a lot but they’ve fallen to the waste side. Recently my own brother has become my brother and there’s nothing like it. And yesterday, I realized (again joyfully) that I have sisters who keep me in their hearts as I keep them in mine - defying time, space and blood. They just are. On Jen’s birthday, I was given the gift of love again. Of the idea that the scenery on my life’s journey is perfect for itself and so is my company.
Park City - me, Marcella and Jen
I love this article even if I don’t agree with all of it. I’ll not see “Precious” in the movie theaters either because I read the book by Sapphire and I’m not a huge glutton for punishment in a dark theater for an hour plus when I read the news all the time and still get pummeled. I try to do what I can by writing and encouraging people to be their best and to give my opinion when I think people are in the wrong (I expect the same in return most times when I’m not being defensive - Ha!). “Push” is too much for me. I know it’s a situation that happens because I read the news. Going on that journey in a book upset me. When I was younger, I was all for pushing through the discomfort for the sake of support. But I have to remember a great story I had with my dad. When “Sankofa” came out, I asked my dad if he’d see it and he asked me what it was about (it was an indie movie and Detroit was not the epitome of indie film back then). When I told him, he surprised me. “Naw,” he said, “I don’t to get pissed off.” I was incredulous! How can you not watch an original take on slavery?? Well, I get it now that I have age. I feel the pissed off feeling regularly. It’s inside me and it’s come with age. That’s how i feel about Precious. That’s how I feel about little Shania who’s mom pimped her out and now her body was found in North Carolina. It’s how I feel about Jaycee Duggard since she’s lost her 11 years to a psycho.
And, by the way, I hated “Monster’s Ball” so that probably will give you some context. I felt it didn’t do anything revolutionary about race and human emotion. I just wanted to beat Halle Berry’s character in the head for abusing her son. I felt she was weak and alone in a community and that didn’t make me have any sympathy at all for her. If you have that story in the news, it wouldn’t be celebrated at all.
So this article from TheRoot.com I find interesting, probably more so that I do the movie “Precious.”
How ‘Precious’ Is Like Palin’s ‘Going Rogue’
Nope, I didn’t see the movie, and I’m not going to read the book. I’m tired of being played by over-hyped productions.
It is the focus of a heated media controversy—a wrenching tale of horrific abuse by a father figure, teenage sex and out-of-wedlock birth, the pathological breakdown of social norms in an oft-neglected corner of society.
And I’m going to take a pass on this one.
Gotcha, didn’t I?
You thought I was referring to Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, the hot movie about an overweight Harlem girl who overcomes the horrible abuse inflicted on her by her parents to gain a new lease on life. But no, I actually was writing about Going Rogue: An American Life, the hot autobiography of a former Republican vice-presidential candidate who overcomes horrific abuse from the staff of a man old enough to be her daddy to gain a new lease on, well, I’m not sure exactly.
Though on the surface Precious and Going Rogue could not be more dissimilar, I suspect that when boiled down to their essence, they have a lot in common. Based on what I’ve heard about them, both shamelessly seek to shock the sensibilities of its audience by presenting raw, updated versions of the Cinderella story. Each tries to emotionally manipulate by presenting a highly selective version of the truth it pretends to represent.
But that’s just what I heard. I could be wrong because I’m not planning to waste any time on either one of these over-hyped productions. I’m tired of being played.
I don’t have to see Precious to know that it has little to tell us about how we can improve the circumstances of real-life victims of such tragedy. Many of those who are heaping praises on Precious for the unblinking eye it turns on ghetto misery were among the mob that dumped on the Washington Post for publishing Leon Dash’s down and dirty series about the underclass family of Rosa Lee in 1994. Such people would rather weep about fiction than study the facts.
So, for the most part, Precious will do what it’s designed to: move its viewers to schadenfreude—a sense of pleasure based on observing the misery of others—rather than a disciplined commitment to action on the colossal scale that uplifting the poor requires. As a moving op-ed piece by Malika Saada Saar in the Washington Post reminded us, poor, undereducated and sexually victimized girls like Precious are most likely to end up in the juvenile justice system than to be rescued from their plight.
As for Going Rogue, I don’t have to slog through its pages to know that it’s a pastiche of self-serving lies, half-lies, distortions and innuendo aimed at progressing Sarah Palin’s demented political ambitions. It would have been better as an episode on The Jerry Springer Show than as a book.
I might even have watched it.
It might have been a lot more honest than either Precious or Going Rogue.
Jack White is a regular contributor to The Root.