#Jim Hecht

[ronnydeschepper]

Vijftien jaar geleden zag ik "Ice age 2: the meltdown" (Carlos Saldanha)

Op 29/01/2010 zag ik “Ice age 2: the meltdown” van Carlos Saldanha uit 2006… Continue reading Vijftien jaar geleden zag ik “Ice age 2: the meltdown” (Carlos Saldanha)

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Winning Season (2009) Jim Strouse

January 28th 2024

[blackinperiodfilms]

The Big Cigar — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

The Black Panther Party, a fake movie production, and a nationwide manhunt. This is the true story of Huey P. Newton's escape to Cuba.

This limited series stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, and is executive produced by NAACP Image Award winner Janine Sherman Barrois, Jim Hecht, and Joshuah Bearman, with the first two episodes directed and executive produced by multi-award winner Don Cheadle. The six-episode drama chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba, and is based on the monumental, eponymous magazine article of the same name.

The Big Cigar premieres May 17 on Apple TV+

[fredseibertdotcom]

Photograph by Elena Seibert 1989

Albie Hecht.

It’s great when you can live through several lives with a true friend. That’s my story with Albie.

Albie Hecht is one of the most important television and film producers and creative forces of the past 30+ years. And, lucky me, he’s been one of the most important people in my personal and professional life for even longer. In fact, it’s safe to say that after my surprising turn into animation, which seemed like a temporary detour, without Albie, I probably would’ve/could’ve moved into other media areas instead of cartoons. 

(In fact, at a meal we shared recently [August 2023] Albie asked me, during these chaotic times in the media industry, whether I was comfortable in the dark times. What I should have answered, but I didn��t, is, “I am. No small thanks to you.”)  

Most importantly, Albie has proven himself to be the definition of a wonderful and steadfast friend.  

My initial draft of this post went into excruciating and dull detail of the 50+ years we’ve known each other and how we bobbed and weaved in and out of each other’s lives. Instead, you’ll find a (still long, but edited) timeline of our common work lives.

But, it was a life lesson I got from Albie that sticks with me the most. My friend and 1980s partner, Alan Goodman, talked ourselves into a gig that was over our heads, producing a 24 hour live concert in Texas for Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid, which was our first foray into long form producing. After primarily doing short form promos and advertising, we’d jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

I decided we needed a producer who’d done such things before. We brought along our treasured companions, including Albie, to manage various pieces of the production. And wouldn’t you know it, the producer we picked was pretty much a bust. We got through the thing by the skin of our teeth.

Afterwards, Albie took the two of us to the woodshed.

“Why would you depend on someone you’d never worked with?! We’ve worked together forever, your friends are talented and would walk through fire for you!”

Albie taught me to never give up on the loyalty of friends. I’ve tried, not always successfully, to honor that devotion. I wasn’t as good at it as Mr. Hecht, but I really pray that I’m an OK junior partner in the enterprise.

This post could be as long as a novella, but I think I’ve hit the high points. In case I’ve missed something, let me lay out how we’ve crossed our professional lives more than a few times.

1970 Albie was dorm friends with Alan Goodman, my friend and to-be partner, brother-in-law and ex-brother-in-law. We all worked together in college radio.

1976 Lifesong Records was formed by the Jim Croce estate, his former producers and their attorney. Albie managed a band of some college friends that was signed to the label, and eventually they all had jobs there. I was desperate for a gig in the music business, having produced several jazz and blues albums for, shall we say, below a living wage. I visited Albie, who informed me that he wished he was doing what I was doing, “sitting behind the recording console.” Needless to say, no job for me.

1980 I started working in television, at the company that would make me a co-founder of MTV. Alan asked me to have lunch with Albie, who was writing for music magazines, and who wanted a television gig. At this point, we knew each other, but I don’t think we actually understood each other. At that point, I returned the Lifesong favor and couldn’t help him get a job.

1986 Alan and I started a production/branding/consulting/advertising company and Albie did some work with us. He traveled with us to Texas where we produced the second Farm Aid concert festival for VH1, where he ran various production units creating interstitial material. And taught me an invaluable life lesson.

1988 Albie became our production partner, running Chauncey Street Productions, where we hoped (and succeeded!) in creating our first series and specials, including creating Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards. He also helmed the Fred/Alan advertising agency commercial productions.

1992 We closed Fred/Alan. Albie “bought” Chauncey Street for $1. Alan wrote and produced TV shows, and consulted on branding for cable networks. I moved to Los Angeles and became the last president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.

Albie created a huge hit for Nickelodeon. They went on to hire him to run network production where he continued to create a multitude of hits for the network, live action and animation, and brought them into the movie business, where among other things, he produced the first non-Disney animated feature film to earn more than $100,000,000. 

1996 Ted Turner sold his company, including Hanna-Barbera. While scrambling for my next gig, Albie, Herb Scannell, Judy McGrath and Tom Freston allowed me to start Frederator in January 1997 as an independent producer of cartoons, exclusively for Nickelodeon.

Albie was the greenlight for Frederator to produce four cartoon series, including our most long lived hit (which is being rebooted as CG animation right now).

2003 MTV Networks buys TNN (the Nashville Network) in 1999, and Albie becomes the founding president of Spike TV.

2007 Albie adapts Worldwide Biggies, his longtime production company, as a digital multiplatform media startup. With partners, I started a different venture backed digital video startup.

2013 Albie becomes the head of CNN’s HLN.

2023 Albie and I have continued to travel on some parallel paths through the years. We’re both producing TV series and movies. 

Thanks Albie, I couldn’t be who I am without you.

I’ve posted often about my mentors, the people I’ve learned the most from. And I’ve noted how often how many of them beg to differ as to whether or not I should credit them as such. So, I’ve calmed down in my titling. But still…

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.16

Beer Birthdays

John Stanton (1832)

M.K. Goetz (1833)

Geoff Kaiser (1978)

Michelle Wang (1979)

Five Favorite Birthdays

John Carpenter; film director (1948)

Dizzy Dean; St. Louis Cardinals P (1911)

Ethel Merman; singer (1909)

Lin-Manuel Miranda; actor, playwright, and composer (1980)

Sade; Nigerian-Englis pop singer (1959)

Famous Birthdays

Aaliyah; singer and actress (1979)

Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (1749)

Debbie Allen; dancer, actor (1950)

Fulgencio Batista; Cuban politician, dictator (1901)

Anne F. Beiler; businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne's (1949)

Jim Berry; cartoonist (1932)

Bob Bogle; rock musician (1934)

Franz Brentano; German philosopher and psychologist (1838)

Johann Conrad Brunner; Swiss anatomist (1653)

Harry Carey; actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (1878)

Joe Flacco; American football player (1985)

Dian Fossey; zoologist (1932)

A.J. Foyt; race car driver (1935)

Ralph Gibson; photographer (1939)

Anthony Hecht; poet (1923)

Marilyn Horne; singer (1934)

Barbara Lynn; singer-songwriter (1942)

James May; English journalist and television presenter (1963)

Andre Michelin; tire maker (1853)

Irving Mills; publisher (1894)

Ronnie Milsap; country singer (1944)

Dieter Moebius; Swiss-German keyboard player (1945)

Kate Moss; model (1974)

Albert Pujols; Dominican-American baseball player (1980)

Gabrielle Reece; volleyball player, model (1970)

Richard Savage; poet (1697)

Francesco Scavullo; photographer (1929)

Robert Schimmel; comedian (1950)

Peter Scheemakers; Belgian sculptor (1691)

Laura Schlessinger; right-wing talk radio blowhard (1947)

Johannes Schöner; German astronomer and cartographer (1477)

Robert W. Service; Canadian writer (1874)

Susan Sontag; novelist, essayist, and critic (1933)

Jim Stafford; pop singer (1944)

Margaret Wilson; author (1882)

[levisgeekstuff]

De wondere wereld van Witchblade (en the Darkness)

Enkele dagen geleden postte ik op mijn Instagram een foto van een nummer van The Darkness. Daarop kwam best veel reactie en het deed me zin krijgen om nog eens in het universum van Witchblade en de Darkness te kruipen. Want vergis je niet, deze nu een beetje vergeten franchise was destijds rázend populair. Er werd dan ook best veel van vertaald en uitgegeven in het Nederlands door Juniorpress. Een overzicht 👉

Verrassend begin

Al in 1996 kondigde Juniorpress haar 3e Image serie aan: Witchblade. Dat was best verrassend, want in de VS werd die reeks pas sinds eind ‘95 uitgegeven bij Image spinoff Top Cow. Bovendien stonden hier, in tegenstelling tot voorgangers Spawn (met Todd McFarlane) en Gen13 (met Jim Lee) géén absolute kleppers aan het roer. Ok, Witchblade werd mee bedacht door Marc Silvestri, maar de eigenlijke makers waren destijds nobele onbekenden: David Wohl, Brian Haberlin en Michael Turner. Dat zou echter niet lang duren, want het drietal leverde een voor die tijd best vernieuwende en sterke eerste verhaallijn af. 

In de eerste 4 nummers, met daarin telkens 2 Amerikaanse deeltjes, maken we kennis met de New Yorkse politieagente Sara Pezzini. Ze komt in het bezit van de mysterieuze Witchblade, een bovennatuurlijk wapen dat zich hecht aan een waardige drager. Dit artefact geeft haar buitengewone krachten, maar brengt ook uitdagingen en vijanden met zich mee. Denk maar aan de mysterieuze miljardair Kenneth Irons en diens bodyguard Ian Nottingham. 

Deze eerste nummers laten zich haast als een film lezen. Alle scènes en subplots vloeien in elkaar over. Tel daar nog eens het knappe tekenwerk van Michael Turner bij en je snapt meteen waarom deze reeks meteen een hit was. Het zou niet lang duren vooraleer Turner een absolute superster werd in de comicwereld. Hij zou later ook nog hoge ogen gooien met zijn creatie Fathom. 

De wereld breidt uit

Na die eerste 4 nummers pakte Juniorpress uit met de allereerste Image Special. Daarin lazen we de Medieval Spawn/Witchblade crossover. Eerst en vooral een leuke en typisch voor die tijd over the top verhaal door Garth Ennis. Maar bovenal een belangrijke comic voor zowel Spawn als Witchblade. Zo leren we dat van beide helden ook eerdere incarnaties bestonden. Bovendien horen we hier ook voor het eerst over de kracht van The Darkness…

The Darkness

In Witchblade 5 maken we intussen ook kennis met Jackie Estacado, een huurmoordenaar voor de maffia. Hij kreeg niet veel later zijn eigen reeks bij Top Cow en vanaf 1997 verscheen deze ook in het Nederlands bij Juniorpress. 

The Darkness werd gecreëerd door Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis en David Wohl. In de eerste 3 nummers volgen we Jackie Estacado die op zijn 21e verjaardag ontdekt dat hij de erfgenaam is van de Darkness. Deze kracht stelt Jackie in staat schaduwmonsters op te roepen en allerlei magische vaardigheden te gebruiken. Maar de kracht heeft ook een prijs: het verzwakt hem overdag, brengt duistere krachten met zich mee die hem proberen te manipuleren en het ergste van al: hij mag geen s*ks meer hebben. En dat voor een rokkenjager als hij. 

Het valt je waarschijnlijk op dat dit behoorlijk rauwe onderwerpen zijn voor een comic. The Darkness werd dan ook de eerste Juniorpress comic ooit met een waarschuwing ‘voor volwassen lezers’ op de cover. Iets wat puberende lezers zoals mezelf destijds natuurlijk enkel meer aantrok 😅

De leukste periode van The Darkness is wat mij betreft wel die vlak ná Ennis, in nummers 5 tot 10. Schrijver Malachy Coney brengt hier redelijk oppervlakkige verhalen zoals 'Spear of Destiny', maar wel boordevol brute dialogen, actie én humor. Tel daar nog eens het prachtige tekenwerk van Joe Benitez bij dat werkelijk van de pagina's spat. Een heerlijke guilty pleasure strip, zonder hoogdravend gedoe.

Kruisbestuiving

Zoals je al wel kan raden, is er een sterk verband tussen Witchblade en The Darkness. Het zijn twee van de drie oeroude krachten, naast The Angelus, die elkaar in balans houden. Met The Angelus maken we al kennis in de eerste nummers van The Darkness. Maar het is vooral in de verhaallijn ‘Family Ties’ dat de drie krachten echt samenkomen. Je leest deze belangrijke crossover in Witchblade 9, Darkness 4 en Witchblade 10.

Daarna gaan de reeksen min of meer weer hun eigen weg, al blijven er veel verwijzingen naar elkaar. Ik vind het zelf de sterkste ervaring als je beide reeksen afwisselend door elkaar leest. Jackie Estacado en Sara Pezzini hadden dan ook niet alleen een boeiend professioneel verband, maar ook een complexe persoonlijke dynamiek. Zo ontmoeten ze elkaar weer in een Witchblade/Darkness crossover in Witchblade 20 en The Darkness 15. Al gebied de eerlijkheid me wel te zeggen dat beide series op dat punt wel over hun hoogtepunt heen zijn en er best wat sleur op de verhalen komt.

Spinoffs...

Zoals eerder gezegd bleken de Witchblade en de Darkness krachten te zijn die al veel eerdere hosts hebben gehad. En net zoals die andere incarnaties bij Spawn in ‘Curse of the Spawn’ werden belicht, was dat hier het geval in de ‘Tales of’ reeksen. 

De eerste 6 nummers van ‘Tales of the Witchblade’ vind je terug in Image Special 6 en 13. Deel 7 lees je dan weer in Witchblade 19, deel 8 in Witchblade 21 en deel 9 in Witchblade 26. Kan je nog volgen? 🙈

En eigenlijk kan je de Amerikaanse ‘Witchblade nr 9’, waarin we kennis maken met een draagster uit het piratentijdperk, ook beschouwen als een soort aflevering van ‘Tales of’. Dit nummer vind je terug in de Nederlandse Witchblade 5. 

‘Tales of the Darkness’ 1 en 2 vind je terug in Image Special 9. Ook in The Darkness 8 en 9 vind je nog 2 deeltjes van 'Tales of the Darkness' terug. Die laatste 2 zijn deel van een driedelig verhaal waarvan het laatste helaas nooit is vertaald.

... en crossovers

Verder zijn ook de eerste 2 nummers van de Crossover reeks het vermelden waard. Hierin lees je ‘Duivels Plan’, een crossover tussen de helden van Marvel en Top Cow. Uiteraard zien we hier ook een vrij grote rol voor Sara en de Witchblade. Voor wie alles chronologisch wil lezen: dit verhaal speelt zich af rond de Nederlandse Witchblade 5.

En dat is niet alles qua crossovers. Zo gaat dat als je een populair personage bent. In Crossover 8 vind je een ontmoeting tussen The Darkness en niemand minder dan Batman. Een heel fraaie comic, geschreven door Scott Lobdell en Jeph Loeb en met tekenwerk van David Finch 😍. Chronologisch gezien valt deze comic net na The Darkness 14, maar het verhaal is gelukkig ook gewoon los te lezen. Al heeft het uiteindelijk wél gevolgen voor zowel The Darkness als Witchblade. Van alle 'extra' uitgaven in deze lijst dus waarschijnlijk wel de belangrijkste.

Tot slot vinden we in Crossover 9 nog een ontmoeting tussen Witchblade en ‘Dark Minds’, een Ghost in the Shell achtige detectiveserie die destijds bij het Amerikaanse Dreamwave verscheen. Geen slechte comic, maar aangezien Dark Minds bij ons nauwelijks bekend was, wel een beetje een vreemde keuze van Juniorpress om uit te brengen. 

Fathom en Tomb Raider

Hoezo tot slot? Er zijn toch ook ontmoetingen tussen Sara Pezzini, Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) en Aspen Matthews (Fathom)? Klopt. En die ontmoetingen zijn zo bijzonder dat ze een apart stukje verdienen. 

Zijn deze comics dan zo uitzonderlijk goed? Nee, helaas. Het zijn eerder uitgeeftechnische zaken die deze strips onvergetelijk maken. 

In de Nederlandse Witchblade 14 en 15 vind je de eerste crossover tussen Witchblade en Tomb Raider. Top Cow lanceerde deze comics destijds ter promotie van de Tomb Raider II en Tomb Raider III videogames. Een crossover met Witchblade, dé comic van het moment, leek hen een goede manier. Dat bleek terecht, want niet veel later kreeg Lara Croft ook haar eigen reeks. Die zou het trouwens ook nog tot een vertaling bij Juniorpress schoppen. 

Daarna was het de beurt aan de grote ‘Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider’ crossover. Alledrie reeksen waar Michael Turner mee aan de wieg stond. Logisch dus dat deze personages elkaar ooit eens zouden tegenkomen. Dat gebeurde uiteindelijk in de Amerikaanse Fathom 12, 13 en 14. 

Door uitzonderlijk lange deadline problemen verscheen Fathom 12 als ‘single issue’ in het Nederlands als ‘Fathom 6’. Dat werd een notoir dure comic voor die tijd: 3,15 euro voor 21 pagina’s. Ongezien. Pas een jaar later kregen we de laatste 2 deeltjes te lezen in Image Special 20. De eigen Fathom reeks was bij Juniorpress intussen opgedoekt door al die vertragingen. 

Het verhaal zelf is simpel: de kwaadaardige Vana wil haar zoon Tara weer tot leven wekken. Haar plan? De levenskracht van Aspen en haar vriend Cannon Hawke gebruiken. Cannon, een goede vriend van Lara Croft, wordt voor haar ogen ontvoerd. Aspen, ondertussen op vakantie in New York City met haar huisgenoot, krijgt onverwacht hulp van Sara Pezzini nadat die een waarschuwing krijgt van haar vriendin Lara om Aspen te beschermen.

Toch zijn deze comics erg de moeite om te hebben. De rechten van Witchblade, Tomb Raider en Fathom zitten in de VS intussen bij drie verschillende uitgevers. Dat maakt dat dit verhaal dus nooit herdrukt is. Het is te zeggen, er bestaat een ‘definitive edition’ waarin de personages van Sara en Lara digitaal verwijderd zijn. Voor het originele verhaal moet je dus op zoek naar de oude back issues OF deze fijne Juniorpress comics natuurlijk 😎

[ulkaralakbarova]

A devoted wife and mother leads a secret life as a CIA agent until her husband’s article exposes a scandal, putting her identity and loved ones at risk. As her world crumbles, she must navigate the fallout of her double life. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Valerie Plame: Naomi Watts Joseph Wilson: Sean Penn Sam Plame: Sam Shepard Bill: Noah Emmerich Jack: Michael Kelly Jim Pavitt: Bruce McGill Scooter Libby: David Andrews Paul: Tim Griffin Dr. Zahraa: Liraz Charhi Hammad: Khaled El Nabawy Chanel Suit: Sonya Davison Tabir Secretary #1: Vanessa Chong Hafiz: Anand Tiwari Tabir Secretary #2: Stephanie Chai Fred: Ty Burrell Sue: Jessica Hecht Steve: Norbert Leo Butz Lisa: Rebecca Rigg Diana: Brooke Smith Jeff: Tom McCarthy Samantha Wilson: Ashley Gerasimovich Trevor Wilson: Quinn Broggy CIA Tour Leader: Nicholas Sadler CPD Agent: Iris Bahr Minister of Mines – Niger: Ghazil Joe Turner: Kristoffer Ryan Winters Nervous Analyst #1: Louis Ozawa CIA Analyst #1: Sean Mahon Professor Badawi: Mohamed Abdel Fatah Kim: Rashmi Rao Nervous Dave: David Denman Nervous Analyst #2: Remy Auberjonois Ali: Sunil Malhotra Jordan Officer #1: Kevin Makely Mukhabarat Officer: Mousa Al Satari Hammad’s Son: Rafat Basel Hammad’s Wife: Maysa Abdel Sattar B.U. Professor: Judith Resnik B.U. Student #1: Ben Mac Brown B.U. Student #2: Satya Bhabha Iraqi Scientist #1: Nabil Koni Iraqi Scientist #2: Mohammad Al Sawalqa Beth: Jenny Maguire Pete: David Warshofsky Ari Fleischer: Geoffrey Cantor Journalist #1: David Ilku Journalist #2: Deidre Goodwin Journalist #3: Donna Placido Karl Rove: Adam LeFevre Steven Hadley: Brian McCormack Andrew Card: James Rutledge Cathie Martin: Tricia Munford David Addington: Michael Goodwin Mr. Tabir: Nassar Dir. of CIA Operations: Chet Grissom Internal Security Officer: James Joseph O’Neil Supporter #1: Danni Lang Supporter #2: Jane Lee Field Reporter #1: James Moye Field Reporter #2: Judy Maier Diane Plame: Polly Holliday Businessman #1: Kola Ogundiran Businessman #2: Byron Utley Right Wing Reporter: Anastasia Barzee DC Cab Driver: Sanousi Sesay Barista (uncredited): Angela Lewis Deceased Soldier’s Daughter (uncredited): Michelle E. Mancini UN Diplomat (uncredited): Rebekah Paltrow Neumann Iraqi Server (uncredited): Barbara Grace Romano Four Seasons Waitress (uncredited): Satu Runa Warehouse Supervisor (uncredited): Kaipo Schwab Head Paparazzo (uncredited): Harry L. Seddon Turkish Diplomat (uncredited): Kent Sladyk Vietnam Vet at Rally (uncredited): Bill Walters Film Crew: Producer: Doug Liman Screenplay: John-Henry Butterworth Producer: Jez Butterworth Book: Joseph Wilson Associate Producer: Sean Gesell Makeup Department Head: Michal Bigger Line Producer: Pete Singh Key Hair Stylist: Amanda Miller Line Producer: Anadil Hossain Line Producer: Bruce Wayne Gillies Line Producer: Carson Ng Original Music Composer: John Powell Executive Producer: Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei Associate Producer: Gerry Robert Byrne Line Producer: Wesam Seif Elislam Hairstylist: Lisa Hazell Book: Valerie Plame Executive Producer: Jeff Skoll Co-Producer: Avram Ludwig Stunt Coordinator: G. A. Aguilar Stunt Coordinator: Peter Bucossi Co-Producer: Kim H. Winther Casting: Joseph Middleton Producer: Bill Pohlad Co-Producer: David Sigal Producer: Janet Zucker Set Decoration: Sara Parks Executive Producer: David Bartis Executive Producer: Mari-Jo Winkler Costume Design: Cindy Evans Producer: Jerry Zucker Editor: Christopher Tellefsen Stunts: Anthony Vincent Producer: Akiva Goldsman Art Direction: Kevin Bird Production Design: Jess Gonchor Stunts: Stephen A. Pope Executive Producer: Kerry Foster Movie Reviews:

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for May 17

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for May 17 include The Big Cigar, Babes, Please Don’t Cry, and more.

Babes

Babes, the new movie from Pamela Adlon, is out today.

BABES follows inseparable childhood best friends Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau), having grown up together in NYC, now firmly in different phases of adulthood. When carefree and single Eden decides to have a baby on her own after a one-night stand, their friendship faces its greatest challenge.

Back To Black

Back To Black, the new movie from Sam Taylor-Johnson, is out today.

The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.

IF

IF, the new movie from John Krasinski, is out today.

IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.

Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever

Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever, the new movie from Ole Bornedal, is out today.

Emma takes on a night watch job to unravel the mystery of her parents’ disappearance nearly thirty years ago. But when she confronts serial killer Wörmer in his cell, she awakens him from a coma, triggering a series of catastrophic events.

The Strangers: Chapter 1

The Strangers: Chapter 1, the new movie from Renny Harlin, is out today.

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in THE STRANGERS ― CHAPTER 1, the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.

You Can’t Run Forever

You Can’t Run Forever, the new movie from Michelle Schumacher, is out today.

Miranda, a young woman already suffering from acute anxiety due to a past tragedy, faces a new terror when a serial killer chooses her as his new target. In a harrowing hunt through the woods, Miranda finds strength she never knew she had as she tries to elude her murderous tracker.

The Big Cigar

The Big Cigar, the new TV series from Jim Hecht, is out today.

The Black Panther Party, a fake movie production, and a nationwide manhunt. This is the true story of Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba.

The 8 Show

The 8 Show, the new TV series from Han Jae-rim, is out today.

Eight individuals trapped in a mysterious 8-story building participate in a tempting but dangerous game show where they earn money as time passes.

Please Don’t Cry

Please Don’t Cry, the new album from Rapsody, is out today.

#Richaxxhaitian

#Richaxxhaitian, the new album from Mach-Hommy, is out today.

Lives Outgrown

Lives Outgrown, the new album from Beth Gibbons, is out today.

[kickmag]

Apple TV+ Releases Trailer For Huey P. Newton Series The Big Cigar

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for The Big Cigar series about Huey P. Newton's escape to Cuba with help from Hollywood director Bert Schneider.  The story is based on an article Joshuah Bearman wrote for Playboy Magazine about Newton fleeing to Cuba in 1974 after facing murder charges in California. Newton had been arrested for the fatal shooting of a young Black prostitute and after posting bond fled to Cuba where he lived for three years. Schneider had created a fake movie to help Newton's plan to the leave the country but the feature was never completed. The Big Cigar is mostly true and reenacts some the events that happened with Schneider's potential scheme. Don Cheadle has directed two of the six episodes for the show that premieres on May 17th. André Holland portrays Newton with a cast including Glynn Turman, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Jordane Christie, Tiffany Boone, Olli Haaskivi, Marc Menchaca, P.J. Byrne and Alessandro Nivola. Joshuah Bearman, Jim Hecht and Janine Sherman Barrois are executive producers. 

[tvmusicnetwork]

'The Big Cigar': Limited Series About Black Panther Leader Huey P. Newton Coming to Apple TV+

Check out the trailer for the upcoming series “The Big Cigar,” from Apple TV+ starring André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, premiering on Friday, May 17. The upcoming six-episode drama which tells the incredible true story of Newton’s escape to Cuba is executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois, Jim Hecht and Joshuah Bearman, with the first two episodes directed and executive…

[dnaamericaapp]

Apple TV+ Debuts First Look At Huey P. Newton Drama Series ‘The Big Cigar’

Apple TV+ announced the release date and shared first-look photos Thursday of an upcoming limited series about Black Panther Party leader and social activist Huey P. Newton.

“The Big Cigar” follows Newton during his 1974 escape to Cuba and is inspired by the 2012 Playboy magazine article of the same name, according to a press release. The first two episodes of the six-episode series will premiere on the streamer on Friday, May 17, with new episodes dropping every subsequent Friday through June 14. Joshuah Bearman, who wrote the “Big Cigar” magazine article, will serve as an executive producer on the Apple TV+ series alongside Don Cheadle, Janine Sherman Barrois and Jim Hecht.

André Holland stars as Newton in the Warner Bros. Television-produced show, with Cheadle directing and executive producing the first two episodes. Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, P.J. Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Moses Ingram, Rebecca Dalton, Olli Haaskivi, Jordane Christie, and Glynn Turman round out the cast.

“The Big Cigar” will dive deep into the remarkable true story of Newton’s escape from FBI custody with the help of movie producer Bert Schneider, who is played by Nivola. Newton and Schneider developed “an impossibly elaborate plan – involving a fake movie production — that goes wrong every way it possibly can,” according to the release. -(source: the grio)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

[fredalan]

The Talent Pool HA! TV Comedy Network 1990

"Performance Artist" was the term of art in the late 80s. As producer Christine Ecklund remembers co-creator Albie Hecht's definition, "...longer form material, no joke tellers. A downtown feel."

Monologist Spalding Gray had a hipster success with his performance piece (and eventual film) "Swimming to Cambodia." His recitation of his travel, writing and acting experiences, mixed pathos and humor to engaged audiences for several years in New York theater.  

When MTV Networks launched HA! in 1990 we pitched channel head Debby Beece that among Gray's contemporaries were humorists with the goods that would hone the network's reputation with up and coming talent.

"The Talent Pool", an anthology of performance artists, set up shop in midtown Manhattan's Lamb's Theatre, site of a beautiful gospel brunch, and started casting. Between Chauncey Street and the network we settled on a pretty stellar bunch (pictured above from the top):  

• John Leguizamo is a writer and actor who went on to win four Tony Awards, appear in over 100 films, and whose Columbian/Latino roots and community are always up front.

• Lewis Black, who's angry rants about history, politics, religion, and cultural trends eventually gave him a regular perch on "The Daily Show."

• Jim Turner became a star when MTV presented him as his creation ‘Randee of the Redwoods’, and later acted in movies and TV. 

• Frank Maya was one of the first openly gay performers to gain a foothold in mainstream stand-up comedy, who sadly passed away from AIDS in 1995.

• Danitra Vance was a comedian and actress who came to great attention in the 1985 season of "Saturday Night Live." She was on The Talent Pool during her diagnosis and eventual death from breast cancer. She was awarded with an Obie and NAACP Image Award. 

• Chucklehead was a troupe whose comedy addressed fears of the Cold War, entropy, mortality, and the likelihood not enough tickets would be sold at their shows.

• Julie Hayden was a delightful writer and actress who was later in Ben Stiller's "The Cable Guy" with Jim Carrey, She was finding her way in the TV pilot season when she died of cancer in 1997. 

• Jeffrey Essman (not pictured) is often referred to as avant-garde, but he’s a hilarious writer, an often costumed performer and, a Benedictine monk.

• Barry Yourgrau (not pictured), a South African born writer and performer, has published several books and whose fictions have appeared in the New Yorker, Paris Review, VICE, Bomb, Poetry, Film Comment.

The show wasn't particularly highly rated, but we were completely taken by each of our fantastic cast and heartened when so many of them went on to highly visible and acclaimed careers. ..... Created by Albie Hecht & Alan Goodman Producers: Christine Ecklund, Craig Coffman Directors: Craig Coffman, Dana Calderwood Business Affairs: Elliot Krowe, Jim Arnoff Executive Producers: Alan Goodman, Albie Hecht, Fred Seibert  Chauncey Street Productions, New York

[xtruss]

Prescription drugs accumulate in a box at the Back Cove Trail parking lot in Portland, Maine, during a take-back event. Photograph By Ben McCanna, Portland Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

How You Should Dispose of Unused or Expired Medications

Flushing or throwing away leftover drugs can contaminate waterways, threatening people and wildlife. Here are some safer solutions.

— By Priyanka Runwal | Published July 22, 2022 | Sunday August 6, 2023

If you have a stash of unwanted, unused, or expired medicines in a cabinet or drawer somewhere in your home and you don’t know the best way to get rid of them, you’re not alone.

A 2021 survey conducted on behalf of Covanta, a New Jersey-based waste management company, found that 53 percent of the 2,000 Americans polled had no idea what to do with their old medications. Pill hoarding is a common outcome, and many people eventually toss these drugs into household trash or flush them down the toilet or sink—none of which may be a good idea.

Unused or expired medicines lying around at home can get into the wrong hands, leading to accidental poisoning or drug overdose. One study found that between 2000 and 2015, U.S. Poison Control Centers received roughly 32 calls a day about children accidently ingesting opioids that had either been stored or disposed of incorrectly.

When drugs are flushed or sent to landfill, the pharmaceuticals can contaminate our groundwater, lakes, rivers, and streams, threatening human and aquatic life, although our urine and feces that contain remnants of consumed medication are bigger sources of pollution. Wastewater treatment plants aren’t designed to remove these pharmaceuticals, Tim Carroll, a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says in an email. “EPA’s first message to everyone is do NOT put leftover, unused drugs down the drain.”

So how does one dispose of unneeded over-the-counter and prescription medications accumulating in our homes? There are a few options.

Drug Take-back Programs

In an effort to find a solution to drugs languishing in medicine cabinets or lurking in waterways, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration launched its first National Take-Back Day in September 2010. More than 4,000 sites across 50 states collected nearly 250,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals that people returned. Since then, DEA has hosted this single-day event biannually; in April this year, more than 5,000 sites collected about 721,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals.

People can also use mail-back envelopes or drop off their unwanted medications year-round at DEA-registered collection kiosks in police stations, pharmacies, community health centers, and hospitals. These returned drugs are then sent to medical waste incinerators.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Soldiers from the New Jersey National Guard's Counter Drug Task Force dumped prescription drugs to be incinerated at the Covanta Essex Resource Recovery Facility during Operation Take Back New Jersey in Newark, N.J., Oct. 31, 2017. Operation Take Back New Jersey is a DEA program that provides a safe and legal method for the citizens of New Jersey to dispose their unwanted, unused, and expired medicines. The New Jersey National Guard assisted with the collection and disposal of the medications. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht) Photograph By Master Sgt. Matt Hecht, AB Forces News Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

In 2021 Stericycle, the largest medical waste incinerator company in the U.S., burned 40 million pounds of unused and expired pharmaceuticals, says Jim Anderson, the company’s vice president for product management and innovation. Incineration produces an inert ash that’s sent to landfills. However, one downside of this disposal method is that transporting and burning such waste and its packaging can release greenhouse gas emissions that can be potentially greater than those generated if the drugs were dumped in landfill, according to one study estimate.

But take-back programs are preferred as they reduce the risk of drug misuse and the incineration “effectively eliminates the entrance of these pharmaceuticals into our nation’s waters,” Carroll says.

However, Steve Skerlos, a mechanical, civil, and environmental engineer at the University of Michigan argues that take-back programs could still result in medicines piling up in homes—a problem such programs were designed to address in the first place. “The question is, if I have extra, unused medication, am I going to leave my house in the next day, or week, even a month, to return that,” he says, especially in rural settings where take-back sites may not be as easily accessible. “A reasonable person may consider landfill to get it out of the house fast.”

In such cases, the DEA suggests mixing medicinal tablets and capsules with undesirable substances like coffee grounds or kitty litter and tossing the mixture into the trash inside a sealed bag or container. (Don’t crush the drugs though.)

And while the EPA advises against flushing pharmaceuticals down the drain, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintains a list of limited medications that have the potential to be misused or result in death if taken inappropriately and so can be flushed when safer disposal alternatives are lacking.

Pharmacies also sell drug destroyers such as DisposeRx that can work with pills, tablets, capsules, liquids, and powders. “It’s about the size of a packet of sugar,” says Thomas Menighan, former CEO of the American Pharmacists Association. “You open it, put it in a bottle of unused opioids, or any medicine, for example, you pour a little water in and shake it up, it turns into a white slurry,” which can then be tossed into the trash.

But it’s unclear if these products permanently bind or inactivate the medicinal compounds so that they don’t end up in the landfill liquid, which is released into wastewater treatment plants, and can eventually contaminate our waterways.

Recycling Pharmaceuticals

Perhaps surprisingly, not all unused medications need to be thrown away.

Every year five billion dollars’ worth of unexpired medicine ends up being discarded in the U.S. That could happen because a patient dies, their condition improves and they no longer need their prescribed medication, there’s a dose change, or they experience side effects and are put on new drugs. In such cases these unexpired medications—worth an estimated $700 million—can be recycled.

“We’re wasting a lot of medication which is already paid for,” says Anandi Law, a patient engagement specialist at the Western University of Health Sciences in California. “We could have somebody else who needs it have it.”

Millions of U.S. adults skip or delay getting their prescriptions filled due to high costs. Hence, at least 40 states have passed legislation to establish medication repository programs that allow pharmacies, drug manufactures, medical and long-term care facilities, and sometimes individuals to donate their unused drugs in original sealed containers or tamper-evident packaging.

A licensed pharmacist then inspects the donated medication to check the expiry date and look for signs of tampering, misbranding, or any indication that the drug could be compromised. Once approved, the drugs can be dispensed to uninsured or underinsured individuals via state-approved pharmacies, hospitals, charitable clinics, or community health centers.

Since its inception in 2007, Iowa’s drug donation program, SafeNetRx, has served more than 117,000 patients and redistributed nearly $54-million worth of medication and supplies. Georgia’s program formally launched in 2018, and it has already filled prescriptions worth over $50 million.

“Even though over 40 states have these drug donation laws, a lot of people don’t know that they exist,” says Kiah Williams, co-founder of SIRUM, a nonprofit organization that works with pharmacies and health facilities across the country to assist with drug donation.

Donating unused medications or using take-back programs are voluntary for households, but experts hope more people will use these options instead of disposing of their leftover drugs in the trash or down the drain, which tends to be more convenient.

“All of these efforts are still relatively new,” Carroll says. “We expect we have a long way to go until households change their habits.”

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 1.16

Beer Birthdays

John Stanton (1832)

M.K. Goetz (1833)

Geoff Kaiser (1978)

Michelle Wang (1979)

Five Favorite Birthdays

John Carpenter; film director (1948)

Dizzy Dean; St. Louis Cardinals P (1911)

Ethel Merman; singer (1909)

Lin-Manuel Miranda; actor, playwright, and composer (1980)

Sade; Nigerian-Englis pop singer (1959)

Famous Birthdays

Aaliyah; singer and actress (1979)

Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (1749)

Debbie Allen; dancer, actor (1950)

Fulgencio Batista; Cuban politician, dictator (1901)

Anne F. Beiler; businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne's (1949)

Jim Berry; cartoonist (1932)

Bob Bogle; rock musician (1934)

Franz Brentano; German philosopher and psychologist (1838)

Johann Conrad Brunner; Swiss anatomist (1653)

Harry Carey; actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (1878)

Joe Flacco; American football player (1985)

Dian Fossey; zoologist (1932)

A.J. Foyt; race car driver (1935)

Ralph Gibson; photographer (1939)

Anthony Hecht; poet (1923)

Marilyn Horne; singer (1934)

Barbara Lynn; singer-songwriter (1942)

James May; English journalist and television presenter (1963)

Andre Michelin; tire maker (1853)

Irving Mills; publisher (1894)

Ronnie Milsap; country singer (1944)

Dieter Moebius; Swiss-German keyboard player (1945)

Kate Moss; model (1974)

Albert Pujols; Dominican-American baseball player (1980)

Gabrielle Reece; volleyball player, model (1970)

Richard Savage; poet (1697)

Francesco Scavullo; photographer (1929)

Robert Schimmel; comedian (1950)

Peter Scheemakers; Belgian sculptor (1691)

Laura Schlessinger; right-wing talk radio blowhard (1947)

Johannes Schöner; German astronomer and cartographer (1477)

Robert W. Service; Canadian writer (1874)

Susan Sontag; novelist, essayist, and critic (1933)

Jim Stafford; pop singer (1944)

Margaret Wilson; author (1882)