#urban bush babes

[my-shameless-world]

Story Of My Life/ Cipriana Quann

“Cipriana Quann,  tu es la voix de ta génération” –HBO Girls Cipriana Quann, né à Baltimore, avec sa une sœur jumelle T.K Wonder. Elle a commencé sa carrière en tant que model et aujourd’hui elle s’occupe du blog “ Urban Bush Babes” avec son amie Nikisha Brunson. Vous me direz qu’il n’ y a rien de bien inspirant dans ça , elle fait un blog sur les cheveux, la beauté et le style on ne va pas lui…

[lboogie1906]

Yasiin Bey (born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973) known by his stage name Mos Def, is a rapper, singer, actor, and activist. Known for his music, he began his hip hop career in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and they released their eponymous debut album. He was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides. His debut was followed by The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009). The editors of About.com listed him as the 14th greatest rapper on their "50 Greatest MC's of Our Time (1987-2007)" list. Some of his top hits include "Oh No", "Definition", and "Respiration". He was born in Brooklyn, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman Smith. Before his music career, he entered public life as a child actor with roles in television films, sitcoms, and theater. He has appeared in films such as Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind, The Italian Job, The Woodsman, Bamboozled, and Brown Sugar and in television series such as Dexter and House. He is known as the host of Def Poetry Jam. He has been vocal on several social and political causes, including police brutality, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans. He married Maria Yepes (1996-2006) and they have two daughters. He has four other children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CmB_ZWpLx9e/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[demidelanuit]

The Quann sisters...

[15x20]

more like this ♡

[sophiaisthatgirl]

[bechloeislegit]

PITCH PERFECT HORROR WEEK 2020

Day 1 - Creature Feature/Cryptid

A/N:  Not really a scary fic, per se. Just something fun to hopefully bring a smile to the horror about to be unleashed by others during this spooky week.

Summary: Bigfoot has been spotted in the woods near Barden University. Beca Mitchell wants to find him and decides to camp out in the woods to do just that and get a good photo of the elusive creature.

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The Bellas sat around the common room when the show they were watching was interrupted by Breaking News.

"Amy, turn up the TV," Beca yelled excitedly.

"Witnesses claim to have seen the hairy creature in Barden woods late yesterday evening," the news anchor said. "We're going live to Sonya Hastings, who is at the edge of the woods where the sighting took place. Sonya, what do you know so far."

"Thanks, Jim," Sonya said. "I'm here with Tim McCarthy and Greta Michaels, the young couple who saw the creature. Tim, what did you see?"

"We were in the woods looking for a place to camp when we heard someone, or something, running through the bushes," Tim said. "Suddenly, this big hairy creature came running at us. He was huge; at least seven feet tall-"

"And he had long brown hair all over his body," Greta added. "I think it was Bigfoot."

"Bigfoot?" Sonya asked.

"Yeah," Tim said, nodding his head. "I took a picture of him on my phone."

Tim pulled out his phone and showed a photo to Sonya. Sonya's eyes widened as she held the photo up to the camera.

"There you have it, Jim," Sonya said. "It's blurry but it looks like it could actually be Bigfoot."

"Do you see that?" Beca asked, pointing to the photo on the TV screen. "Bigfoot is real, and they have a picture to prove it." Beca's excitement is palpable. "And he's been sighted in the Barden Woods. That's like six blocks from here."

"Bigfoot is not real," Stacie said with a laugh. 

"Did you not see the picture?" Beca asked in disbelief. "How can you look at that picture and say he's not real?"

"It's a blurry blob and does not prove Bigfoot is real, because he's not," Stacie said, shaking her head "He's a cryptid."

"A what?" Chloe asked.

"A cryptid," Stacie replied. "Something that's like an urban legend; not real. A myth."

"You're wrong," Beca said, shaking her head. "And I'm going to prove it to you."

"How pray tell, are you going to do that?" Stacie asked, trying to hide her smile.

"I'm going to camp out in Barden Woods and find him," Beca said.

"What?!" Chloe screeched. "No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"NO! You're not!"

"Yes, I-"

"Beca!" Fat Amy yelled, causing Beca's mouth to snap closed. "Don't mess with that which you do not understand."

"What?" Beca asked with a confused look on her face.

"Urban legends are not to be messed with," Fat Amy said. "They are scary, and can kill you dead."

"I-I-I'm not afraid," Beca said with false bravado. "I'll find Bigfoot and get a better picture of him to prove you all wrong."

"Beca, please don't do this," Chloe implored. "Please? For me?"

"I'll be fine, Chloe," Beca said, patting Chloe on the arm. "I'm going to get my stuff and go out tonight."

Beca left everyone sitting in the living and went upstairs to prepare for her campout. Chloe chewed on her lip and looked around at the girls.

"Stacie?" Chloe said, her gaze stopping on the brunette. "Can you talk Beca out of doing this, please? I'm worried about her being out there along."

"If she wouldn't listen to you," Stacie said with a laugh. "What makes you think she'll listen to me?"

"She considers you one of her best friends," Chloe said.

"She thinks of Fat Amy as one of her best friends, too," Stacie said. "Let Amy talk to her."

"Stacie's not wrong," Fat Amy said, smirking and nodding her head.

"Fine," Chloe huffed. "Fat Amy can talk to her."

"No can do, Chloe," Fat Amy said. "She really wants to find Bigfoot, and nothing I say will change that."

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Fat Amy. She then looked around the room at the rest of the girls.

"I have a better idea," Chloe said. "We're all going to go with Beca to camp out and look for Bigfoot. Consider it a Bella bonding exercise. A mandatory Bella bonding exercise. Anyone who doesn't want to go can stay here and do an extra hour of cardio for the next three, no, four rehearsals."

The Bellas all groan. "That's not fair, Chloe," Fat Amy whined. "You know how much I hate cardio."

"Yes, I do know how much you hate it," Chloe said with a big grin. "Now, let's go! We need to get everything together for a night of camping in the woods. Don't forget your flashlights."

The girls grumble as they get up and slowly make their way upstairs. Fat Amy is mumbling under her breath. She walks upstairs next to Stacie and follows Stacie into her room.

"Can I help you?" Stacie asked when Amy ran into the back of her.

"Yes, you can," Fat Amy said. "I have a plan to have this campout over before it really gets started."

"I'm listening," Stacie said and sat on the side of her bed. "Let's hear it."

~~ Pitch Perfect Halloween Week 2020 - Day One ~~

Meanwhile, Chloe made her way up to Beca's room.

"Beca?" Chloe called up the steps.

"Yeah, Chlo?" Beca called back.

Chloe continued up the stairs to find Beca standing in the middle of the room, looking around.

"What's up?" Beca asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that all the Bellas are going to camp out with you tonight to help look for Bigfoot," Chloe said. "We're all excited to be a part of your excursion."

"What did you threaten them with?" Beca asked with a grin.

"Nothing," Chloe said, looking away from Beca. "I merely prefaced it by calling it a mandatory Bellas bonding event."

"And?" Beca prompted.

"Aaand, I told them I'd double their cardio time if they didn't agree to come," Chloe mumbled.

"Nice move, Beale," Beca said. "Don't say anything to the girls, but I was starting to get scared of being in the woods alone with Bigfoot."

"Your secret is safe with me," Chloe said, holding back the laugh that was threatening to come out.

"I should be ready to leave in about fifteen minutes," Beca said. "I want to find a good camping spot before he gets too dark to see."

"I'd better get to it then," Chloe said as she turned to go back downstairs.

( ) Pitch Perfect Halloween Week 2020 - Day One ( )

Chloe heard Fat Amy and Stacie talking as she got close to Stacie's door. She quickly hurried past when the door opened and Fat Amy came out.

"This should be a lot of fun," Fat Amy said as she entered the hallway.

"That's the spirit," Chloe said, enthusiastically as she looked at Amy over her shoulder.

Chloe continued to her room and grabbed her phone. She placed a call.

"Hey, it's Chloe," Chloe said when the call was answered. "I need your help with something. It's for Beca."

Chloe started packing for camping as she spoke on the phone.

~~ Pitch Perfect Halloween Week 2020 - Day One ~~

The girls met outside and Chloe, Amy, and Stacie's cars were loaded. Chloe drove off first, with Stacie following Chloe, and Fat Amy bringing up the rear.

Once they were parked, they retrieved their stuff and started into the woods.

"There are several cleared spaces we can choose to set up," Beca said as they walked. "I checked the map and there is a clearing close by that I think we should use because it's the closest to where Bigfoot was spotted."

"Alleged Bigfoot," Fat Amy said, causing Stacie to laugh.

"What was that, Amy?" Chloe asked, stopping to glare at Amy.

"What? I didn't say anything," Fat Amy said.

"Let's keep it that way," Chloe said and hurried to catch up to Beca.

Beca stopped at the first clearing and dropped her stuff.

"This looks like a good spot," Beca said. "Chlo, can you help me with my tent?"

"Can I share with you?" Chloe asked.

"Of course," Beca responded.

"Stacie, can I share your tent?" Fat Amy asked Stacie while batting her eyes at her and making kissing noises.

"Sure thing, babe," Stacie said.

"Not funny, guys," Beca yelled.

Just then they heard what sounded like growling coming from their left. Beca and the girls all stopped and looked around.

"Is that Bigfoot?" Jessica asked.

Amy and Stacie looked at each other and started quietly laughing.

"No," Beca said. "Bigfoot doesn't growl. He sounds more like Chewbacca from Star Wars; kind of guttural when he's speaking."

"Speaking?" Ashley asked, chuckling. "Bigfoot speaks."

"You know what I mean," Beca said, chuckling.

"If it wasn't Bigfoot," Chloe said. "What was it?"

Chloe frowned as she looked back to Stacie and Amy.

"What are those two up to you?" Beca asked, following Chloe's eyesight.

"I have no idea," Chloe said. "It's starting to get dark. Let's set up camp and figure out our next move."

They heard more growling and stopped to scan the surrounding area.

"I'm getting a little scared," Emily said, her eyes wide.

"It's okay, Em," Chloe said, moving to stand next to the younger girl. "We just need to make some noise to scare off whatever that is."

"Ahhhh," Emily screamed, causing Chloe to flinch and cover her ears. "Go away, scary, growling monster!"

Stacie and Amy were now laughing and holding on to each other. Chloe looked back at them again.

"Mios dio," Flo said, making the sign of the cross on her chest. "Wh-what's that?"

The girls turned to where Flo was pointing and Emily, Jessica, and Ashley started screaming when they spotted the creature Flo saw.

"Run!" Emily yelled as she turned, knocking Stacie and Fat Amy down as she, Jessica, Flo, and Ashley ran back the way they had just come from. Stacie and Fat Amy laid on the ground, laughing hysterically.

Beca ignored them all as she searched her bag for her camera. The creature lumbered toward them, moving slowly and steadily closing the distance between them.

"Found it," Beca exclaimed, holding up the camera.

Beca turned, ready to snap the photo when she realized the creature had stopped moving and was now standing about five feet away from them.

"Perfect," Beca said and snapped a photo.

"That's not Bigfoot," Lily said quietly.

"What?" Beca asked.

"That's not Bigfoot," Lily said so Beca could hear.

"How can you tell?" Beca asked, looking over at the creature.

"He's too short," Lily said. "Bigfoot is about seven feet tall. Plus, I don't think Bigfoot would be wearing sneakers."

"Dammit!" Beca yelled. "If that's not Bigfoot, then who or what is it?"

"It's probably Donald," Chloe said.

"And how do you know that?" Beca asked, jerking her head around to look at Chloe.

Stacie and Fat Amy were standing now and Chloe looked at them. "Ask these two. I heard their whole plan. They wanted you to find Bigfoot immediately so they could get back to hit up some fraternity party."

"Why would you do that?" Beca asked sadly, looking at the two Bellas.

"Hellooooo," Stacie said. "Did you not hear the part about the frat party?"

"Yeah," Fat Amy said, moving her hand up and down as if weighing two things. "Boys or Bigfoot? Bigfoot or Boys? It was a really easy decision to make."

Stacie stood, nodding her head as Fat Amy spoke.

"We should get the other girls," Chloe said. "The way they were running, they are probably back at Barden by now."

Beca put her camera back in its bag and started gathering her stuff. Chloe and Lily did the same. Once they had everything, they started making their way back to the cars.

"I have just two words for you two," Beca said, pointing at Stacie and Fat Amy as she walked past them. "Extra cardio!"

"No way, Beca!" Fat Amy screeched, running after Beca.

"Come on, Donald," Stacie called out.

"I'm sorry it didn't go according to plan," Donald said as he joined Stacie.

"It's getting darker," Chloe said as she pulled out a flashlight and turned it on.

Beca and Lily pulled out flashlights and turned theirs on as well.

"Holy shit," Beca said and stopped walking.

"Beca, what's wrong?" Chloe asked as she barely kept herself from running into the back of her.

Beca didn't say anything, she just pointed with the hand holding her flashlight.

"Oh, my God," Chloe whispered. "Is that-?"

"Yep," Beca said with a big grin on her face.

Stacie, Donald, and Fat Amy stood wide-eyed behind Beca, Chloe, and Lily. Beca slowly brought out her camera and pointed it toward what stopped her in her tracks.

"B-B-Bigfoot is real?" Stacie stuttered.

Fat Amy screamed and pushed Donald out of her way as she ran toward where the cars were parked. 'Bigfoot' turned his glance toward Donald and sniffed the air. 'Bigfoot' then took a few steps forward but quickly stepped back when Beca's camera flash went off. 'Bigfoot' gave a guttural yell.

"See," Beca said. "I told you he sounded like Chewbacca."

'Bigfoot' suddenly lurched toward Donald, causing Donald to freeze.

"I think he thinks Donald is just like him," Chloe said, looking between the two.

"Bigfoot thinks he found himself a girlfriend," Beca said, laughing as she looked over at Donald. "Or boyfriend; I don't judge."

"What?" Donald said. "You can't be serious."

'Bigfoot' reached out and ran a hand over Donald's costumed head.

"Oh, Hell no!" Donald yelled, jerking away and running in the same direction Fat Amy had gone.

'Bigfoot' looked at Stacie and tilted his head slightly.

"Look out, Stacie," Chloe said. "I think you're his next target."

"I need more pictures," Beca said and started taking more photos.

"Sorry, 'Bigfoot'," Stacie said, stepping slowly around Beca and Chloe. "I like my guys with a lot less hair."

Stacie ran off after Donald, calling out, "Wait for me!"

Suddenly, a third hairy creature came running out of the woods, stopping when it saw Beca and Chloe standing there with a shorter version of itself just a few feet away from them.

"What the Hell?" the second 'Bigfoot' asked as he reached up and pulled off its costume head; Beca's eyes widened when she saw Jesse's face.

"Jesse?" Beca said. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked him to come here," Chloe said while keeping an eye on the third Bigfoot that showed himself. "I heard Stacie and Fat Amy talking about messing with you and having Donald dress up as Bigfoot to scare us. So, I called Jesse and asked him to dress up to scare them."

"So, that means this is the real Bigfoot?" Beca asked, pointing to the third creature that now stood in front of her.

"I, uh, I think it's possible," Chloe said, nodding and slowly backing away.

"It's him," Lily said; no one heard or paid attention to her.

"Here take my picture with him," Beca said as she shoved her camera at Chloe, stopping her retreat.

"Get away from him, Beca," Chloe said, standing as still as possible so as not to spook the creature. "You don't know what he might do."

"Chloe, if he was going to hurt us," Beca said. "He would have done it already."

"I'm with Chloe on this, Beca," Jesse said, watching everything carefully. "We should really go."

"AFTER I get my picture taken with the real Bigfoot," Beca said.

Beca moved and stood next to Bigfoot and gave Chloe a thumbs up. Chloe took a couple of pictures and said, "Okay, that's it. Say goodbye to your new friend, Beca, and let's go home."

"Okay," Beca said sadly. "Sorry, Bigfoot, we have to go. Maybe we'll see you around here again."

Chloe took Beca's arm and pulled her to her and started slowly making their way toward the cars. Jesse and Lily followed behind them. All kept looking over their shoulders to make sure Bigfoot wasn't following them.

Beca took one last look back at Bigfoot and waved. A big smile came to her face when Bigfoot waved back.

[pretty-n-poppington-blog]

What's Poppington: Rapunzel is Actually a Pair of Identical Black Twins

What’s Poppington: Rapunzel is Actually a Pair of Identical Black Twins

First of all, LOOK AT THAT HAIR! Look at it. Observe it. Love it.

Cipriana (above, left) and Takenya “TK” (right) Quann are two sisters who are bringing more awareness to the beautiful capabilities of black hair. Having both previously felt that their hair was a barrier, the sister duo turned their self-created hair confidence into a lucrative, yet socially uplifting platform.

From grade school…

[uroft-blog]

These Twin Sisters Were Ashamed Of Their Incredible Hair, But Now They Became Famous For It

These Twin Sisters Were Ashamed Of Their Incredible Hair, But Now They Became Famous For It

Meet identical twins Cipriana Quann and TK Wonder – the girls that make heads turn when they walk the streets.

A while ago, the girls hated their hair: “I was beginning to actually hate my hair and seeing it as a huge obstacle,” Cipriana said. But as time passed, they decided to stop straightening it, and start embracing it. Which eventually led the girl to be recognized as the queens of…

[nysbelle]

Gel is an important part of most of my hair styling. I want to try something that's not going to leave me with a residue so this will me my project tonight ☝🏾

[lboogie1906]

Yasiin Bey (born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), better known by his stage name Mos Def, is a rapper, singer, actor, and activist. Known for his music, he began his hip hop career in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and they released their eponymous debut album. He was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides. His debut was followed by The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009). The editors of About.com listed him as the 14th greatest rapper on their "50 Greatest MC's of Our Time (1987-2007)" list. Some of his top hits include "Oh No", "Definition", and "Respiration". Before his music career, he entered public life as a child actor with roles in television films, sitcoms, and theater. Since the early 2000s, he has appeared in films such as Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind, The Italian Job, The Woodsman, Bamboozled, and Brown Sugar and in television series such as Dexter and House. He is known as the host of Def Poetry Jam. He has been vocal on several social and political causes, including police brutality, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CXV0hCfrIVUOVdZ8tfurcgzp6YAlYTtHV48H4A0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[tothediaspora]

Economic Power of #blackgirlmagic (Pt. 2)

Over the years, I have experienced a transformation in thought, behavior, and emotion. I’ve had the chance to learn about my hair, my ancestral traditions, and grown in conviction about my body being mine to portray as I see fit. I have now understood that the male gaze doesn’t define who I am and how I present myself to the world. In truth, along with many young women, I placed an immense value on how males viewed my body in my formative years. After ten years within the Natural Hair Movement, I increasingly have developed my self-image independent from others’ perception of me. I felt the freedom to change my appearance, the way the hair on my head and body grow, the different ways I express my style and personality. No one has enough influence to change the way I see myself. I also accept that others will do as they please with their own body and with their own hair. Over the years, there has also been a fluctuation in how I have been perceived by the people around me; I allowed myself to subconsciously connect with my ancestors and accept the certain attributes I chose not to change. There were many unexpected changes within my story from the movement being considered a more obscure “Afro-centric” trend of natural beauty to a very striking mainstay and economic powerhouse. I found that one of the objectives that I inadvertently learned during my stake in the Natural Hair Movement is my influence within a collective of other black women and our very own economic power.

My progress in self-knowledge accelerated in the summer of 2008. A few months after my “big chop”, I had more time to explore my hair — hair I’ve always had but never learned how to care for it. Gone were the days of multiple ponytail braids, barrettes, and ribbons I sported in Haiti as a little girl. I no longer wore a perm and felt a bit uneasy about the learning curve of taking care of my hair unaltered by chemicals. Without the corrosive chemicals, I slowly found that I began to limit other very toxic products in my life. I looked up “how to take care of “natural hair” online. In one of the very few links, Nappturality members shared scores of knowledge on African-derived concoctions. I became aware of raw African black Soap. This soap made washing my short hair an ease. After living in dorms for two years, I had sublet an apartment that summer, my first time living alone. I took some of that opportunity to experiment with homemade recipes of fair trade shea butter I ordered online. The products were made in Ghana by other black women that have known about it all of their lives. I felt that I had missed out on this common knowledge and was purposefully miseducated. I had part of my childhood in Haiti and some in the States; in both spaces, I used petroleum-laden hair grease, pomade, Pink Lotion, and Mane n’ Tail products marketed to black women with problematic and toxic ingredients. I realized that my mother and aunts might have been miseducated as well. I then found “Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America”. This book on black hair history opened my eyes to the amalgamation of African hair tradition, compartmentalized European ideal standards of beauty, and the politics of simply existing with a black body. It sickened me to know how experiences of self-hate entrenched expectations in my family and culture without my people’s knowledge or full awareness.

While perusing message boards and online forums, I learned of other recipes derived from West Africa. I later learned of Whitney White’s YouTube page, Naptural85, she shared simple recipes with oils, raw African black soap, and raw unrefined shea butter. Raw African black soap was now my body wash and sometimes face wash after finishing the last bits of my bottled liquid soaps. My face glistened when I followed a wash with a drop of vitamin e oil and any acne began to dry up. My skin loved this ancestral treatment. I felt free; I was no longer a victim of basic elements of nature. Like many black girls, I was forbidden to go out in the rain, even with an umbrella, if I had just gotten my hair permed. As a child, maintenance in chlorinated water was covering my head with a swim cap over a heaping handful of conditioner streamed through my hair by my mother. At last, I could let the sudden Florida rainfall on my hair without my mood and especially my mother’s mood changing sour. As I learned more, I purchased mostly indie brands. I used the money I saved little by little to travel in the summer of 2009. I no longer needed plenty and regular supply of plastic bottles for shampoos and body washes. I became accustomed to cutting small blocks of raw African black soap from a large brown speckled loaf. With the new knowledge I had acquired, I would quickly put back on the shelf those products I used ritualistically since childhood after one quick reading of the label.

Over time, I began to learn that many products specifically formulated to be marketed to black women have toxic chemicals. I used the internet as a constant resource for information on chemical compounds included in the beauty products that I used regularly. As I read more, I aimed to pick up products that reflected simplicity. I actively avoided over-produced and loaded items in hair products and body care. I began to use tea rinses and heavy oils to replace the moisturizing effects of conditioners. I washed my hair with raw African black soap, rinsed my hair with cooled tea, then used heavy raw unrefined shea butter and oils to keep my damp hair soft and supple for days. I adopted this reductionist routine and sought simplification.

I now understand that women, in particular, have been sold to the huge campaign of commercial beauty products (not to mention apparel, toiletries, seasonal home decor, and even menstrual products). In 2008, While searching for natural products that fit my values, it had been really difficult to find items that weren’t full of artificial ingredients. When I looked up the toxic ingredients, many were correlated with cancer. There were products that claimed to moisturize on its label, yet, the second ingredient on the back was alcohol. Increasingly, the market has improved on the quantity and quality of natural hair products. These products are marketed to women with natural hair that seek natural ingredients in what they use on their skin and hair. I have divorced the idea that I need to be a “product junkie”, well-stocked with hair and skin goods, to be deemed beautiful. I have challenged my role in my assigned gender that dictates that I should have long straight hair that fits with what media deems as standard beauty. Many other black women experienced this with me and many did before me online on sites like Nappturality, with books, and through fellowship with other black women. Through my research, I’ve been introduced to women creating content for other black women who seek it. Women such as Nikisha Brunson of Urban Bush Babes, Dawn Michelle of Minimalist Beauty, Francheska Medina of Hey Fran Hey contribute their recipes and opinions.

Before Instagram sponsored content, natural beauties, black natural hair conferences, and Youtube product giveaways, there were black women sharing recipes and traditions solely for the purpose of sharing knowledge within our community. Though the variety of options now are astounding, helpful, and useful, I prefer simplicity. When in need of convenience and specific styles, I support quality indie brands products free of animal ingredients often from Quemet Biologics and Oyin Handmade. I reflect back on how my mother found good hair stylists; she simply asked other black women with beautiful hair who’s work it was. And as we have done before, in this interwoven network of black womanhood, I want to continue to support my own. These include black hair salons, black women’s hair bundle businesses (if hair sources are ethical), black-owned indie hair care. Black women have immense purchasing power. We not only need to be aware of this power but also realize that supporting other black women is supporting ourselves. Economic power is often misunderstood as solely wealth accumulated through corporate work, stock exchange and trading. I claim economic power as being aware of simply the exchange of resources. I often ask myself, for what purpose is my money being used for? I have been doing this throughout my life as I’ve become aware of the socio-economic power I have in my pocket. When it comes to natural hair and the many products on the shelves, I choose what I want as a consumer with every single dollar as one vote. I want products that do not have ingredients that have parabens. I also do not want those products to replace those parabens they advertise on the front with other detrimental items on the ingredients list that I don’t yet understand as harmful. I do not want products that put me at risk of any adverse health effects. I want products that are safe, effective for what I am using it for, and improve the health of my hair and skin. I want to know that I am supporting my community and fueling my belief that #blacklivesmatter by including the edict that black entrepreneurs matter, black business matters, black independent livelihoods matter, black women matter, and black bodies matter. I want #blackgirlmagic to not only encompass the physical beauty of black womanhood but the holistic power of black women in all aspects of life.

Contrastingly, advertisers of large white-owned corporations are increasingly responding to this growing self-love and knowledge by including black women in their advertisements. The intention is not empowerment but tapping into a market that spends a lot on hair. Black women too can support each other though exercising purchasing power for the benefit of other black women and the black community as a whole. Instead of benefiting large white-owned corporations marketing to black women, we can generate more economic solidarity within our community by investing in black people and their creations. How beautiful is empowering than supporting one’s own community of women through a self-love movement? We all know that supporting black women means that we’re supporting black community as a whole. According to an IMF profile, women in general “make institutions more representative of a range of voices” and women provide benefits for children “as a result of more spending on food and education”. Over all, women with economic power provide “greater provision of public goods”. Black women entrepreneurs are sure to spread the wealth to the black men and children in their lives may it be their fathers, mothers, partners, brothers, and their kin.

Furthermore, power also translates to autonomy and self-expression. Self-named “Naturalistas” such as Mahogany Curls, creates beautiful hairstyle ideas for other black women. Meanwhile, Fro Girl Ginny’s “Nia the Light” social media influencing gathers black women in different parts of the world to create unity and to sustain the Natural Hair Movement. This movement is beyond a trend. With the recent media troubles of Dove and Nivea, it is known that corporations often falter in including women of color in a good light. Corporations join in on the movement solely for profit and hardly for the health, wellness, and unity of black women. These corporations also exploit the buying power of black women. Even SheaMoisture, a brand originally created by a black woman has encountered scandal with a lack of representation in a recent ad. Many black women on social media commented on the lack of tact and representation in the brand’s shift to a wider white market. With $1.2 Trillion in spending power for black people over-all, women have purchasing power (including influence) of 70–80%. Influence in the sense that when a woman isn’t paying for a product with her own dollars, she is often the influence behind someone else’s purchase. This means black women as a community have approximately $960 billion at their disposal. Nielsen’s research breaks down the statistics thoroughly. With this purchasing power, we are able to change how products are made, what we spend on, how much money is directed towards the community resources that matter to us the most, and if the owners of the products we use are black-owned.

Before many corporations joined into the Natural Hair Movement and the #blackgirlmagic that ensued, we were here as black women with more knowledge of our roots. I have experienced an overwhelming transformation of thought and behavior from a seemingly trivial decision. I discovered that I could save on financial resources on the things that mattered more to me by making my own recipes with bulk West African ingredients and now supporting many favorite local brands such as Beijaflor Naturals and Soul Ingredients. Once again, here I am, 10 years after beginning my journey within the Natural Hair Movement. As other black women are repeatedly disenfranchised, we are also notoriously resourceful in fulfilling our own needs. We are able to change what we consume as a whole. No matter the restrictions, despite passing trends, we can build each other and our entire community up.

[15x20]

more like this ♡

[basically-jay-walker]

Just now getting to this, love ya babe

This is from my Spotify Top 100 bc playing all of my liked songs brought up wayyyy too many embarrassing likes lol

1. Panic Room by Au/Ra

2. Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart by Mitski

3. The Stand by Mother Mother

4. Babooshka by Kate Bush

5. Sleeping Lessons by The Shins

6. Valley of the Dolls by MARINA

7. I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE by Måneskin

8. Cupid by Jack Stauber's Micropop

9. Cradles by Sub Urban

10. The Record Player Song by Daisy the Great

I'll also tag people I'm not too familiar with!

@darkwingdyke @boysaints @dyketastic

Y'all are cool, spare a man ya time?

@angelguy tagged me to put my music library on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that play: 1. I/Me/Myself by Will Wood 2. You're Nothing Without Me from City of Angels 3. Bang Bang Bang Bang by Sohodolls 4. Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus 5. Love Me Dead by Ludo 6. Me & My Gun by KMFDM 7. Tree Hugger by Kimya Dawson 8. Pete Wentz is the Only Reason We're Famous by Cobra Starship 9. This Is How I Get Myself Killed by Indigo De Souza 10. Days Are Numbered by Charming Disaster I think tag games are a good way to get to know people so I'm gonna tag some mutuals idk too well! no pressure to do this at all tho lol: @boywizard, @wanshengjie, @baby-butch, @neocrows, @teehee and of my bf @rooktakesking

[sophiaisthatgirl]

[the-master-cylinder]

The rise of Empire as a low budget producer with their “Beyond Infinity” video line resembles the start-up of AIP during the drive-in boom of the late ’50s, when a definite market existed for a certain product: films for the teenage audience, the wilder and more outrageous the better. The drive-ins “made” American-International Pictures, and like AIP, the VCR spurred Empire and other companies to produce films for a new market. But-having seen most of Empire’s Beyond Infinity offerings to date-one thing is obvious: unlike AIP, Empire lacks the creative genius of a low-budget auteur like Roger Corman. Imagination is not necessarily related to a film’s budget; low-budget films could be original, entertaining, and thought-provoking. But, Beyond Infinity’s releases thus far have proved to be inane, routine, and boring.

The Empire films follow a standard pattern: an exploitative, campy title; garish ad art; scripts which slavishly follow tried-and true formulas; varying amounts of nudity, gore effects, and juvenile humor. Of course, these traits apply equally well to the offerings of Empire’s competitors, particularly Troma Pictures, although Beyond Infinity product has a California pastel plasticity as opposed to Troma’s sleazy New York sheen. The fact that there is little of real interest to be found in any Beyond Infinity film certainly contributed to the commercial downfall of Empire and its video arm. Though the films themselves may not be completely devoid of entertainment value, most of the creativity seems to have gone into dreaming up the exploitable titles.

Dave DeCoteau, director of several projects released by Empire’s “Beyond Infinity” video label, pegged the fall of Band’s Empire to “the market place. It’s changed,” said DeCoteau. “There was a time that horror and fantasy fans saw just about anything that was made available on video. These days, quality prevails among genre movies, including films that are squarely made for direct-to-video release. You have to make the best movie you can and spend the money to do it right. If someone tries to pawn off a piece of shit, they’re shown the door.”

Reflecting on his three picture stint at Empire, DeCoteau said, “Charlie Band’s company was the young filmmaker’s first stop after college. There was a lot of experimentation as young people learned to work with low budgets. As a result, Empire wound up with a lot of product that was not all that wonderful. The company has been called the Sausage Factory of the Cinema. But you can’t keep making sausages, one after the other, sometimes a steak falls off the conveyor belt. Sometimes that steak is a picture like Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR. There’s also a lot of sausages. Creepozoids is one of those sausages … but I’m learning.”

DeCoteau tied Empire’s loss of revenue to an aborted video output deal with New World Pictures, announced in August 1987, as the event which triggered Empire’s collapse. Over a two-year period, New World Video was to release five Empire titles, including Prison (1987), Cellar Dweller (1988), Buy & Cell (1988), Pulse Pounders (1988), and APPARATUS. “Empire made four of the pictures back to back,” said DeCoteau. “But because of the 1987 stock market crash, the deal between Empire and New World seemed to change; New World refused to pick up all of the Empire films as quickly as planned. They eventually released two of the films: PRISON, which had a limited theatrical run, and also CELLAR DWELLER, but the others are still being worked on.” Empire was purchased last May by Epic Pictures, a European financial consortium supervised by Eduard Sarlui, owner of Transworld Entertainment. “Basically, Empire and Transworld are owned by the same company,” said DeCoteau of the Epic umbrella. “Epic Pictures is finishing all the movies that Charlie [Band] started, which is a good dozen … ARENA, CATACOMBS, DOWN UNDER, SPELLCASTER, ROBOJOX.

DeCoteau, trained as a production assistant on films as diverse as ANGEL and Ken Russell’s CRIMES OF PASSION, made his debut as a producer-director with Empire on DREAMANIAC (1986), released on the company’s Wizard video label, distributed by Vestron. “I started pre-producing it as a picture called SUCCUBUS,” said DeCoteau. “Helen Robinson, who wrote the script knew the head of creative development at Empire Pictures, Debra Dion. Helen mentioned to Debi that she’d like to write a movie for Empire. Debi asked for a sample of her work and Helen gave her the SUCCUBUS script.” Empire, impressed with Robinson’s work, offered to purchase the screenplay; Robinson declined, insisting that De Coteau already owned it.

“Empire reacted by wanting to get involved in the production,” said DeCoteau. “Only four days before we were scheduled to start principal photography, I met Charlie Band, president of Empire Pictures.” Band not only doubled the movie’s original budget to $60,000, but vowed to reimburse DeCoteau for his personal investment “upon completion of principal photography.”

Wrapped in 15 days, the $70,000 movie was filmed in the abandoned studio of Hustler photographer Suze Randall. The film a blend of critters, slime and skin reunited DeCoteau with Kim McKamy, who made her film debut in DREAMANIAC. “Ironically,” remembers the director, “Kim refused to do any nudity. She was very shy and an all around sweet person.” McKamy later transformed herself into X-rated starlet Ashlyn Gere (aka Kim Patton), whose films-SORORITY SEX KITTENS, BUSH PILOTS, LAID IN HEAVEN—were about as demure as their titles.

“During a screening of the dailies,” recalls DeCoteau, “Charlie Band looked at me and held up ten fingers. I asked what it meant and he said, ‘Ten picture deal.’ I nearly fell out of my chair. We went upstairs, he drew up a contract and opened a $100 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne and we drank it out of Dixie cups. The next day, the cover of Daily Variety read in big bold letters, ‘CHV 10 PIC PACK DEAL WITH EMPIRE.’ [Cinema Home Video partner] John Schouweiler and I went crazy. I was only 25 years-old!

“Whenever Charles had big picture deals, I would be the slave to the market and make the smaller horror, erotic, high concept T&A movies…whatever was hot. I rarely did an ‘A’ movie for him, but I was constantly working.”

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DeCoteau’s subsequent project for Empire was CREEPOZOIDS, produced as a Beyond Infinity release for $169,000. “We wanted to do our own version of ALIENS,” said DeCoteau. “So we put together a picture called MUTANT SPAWN 2000 and I was developing a picture called CREEPOZOIDS, which was actually a hybrid of GREMLINS and GHOULIES. We just flip flopped the titles, referring to the ALIENS rip-off as CREEPOZOIDS.”

“I first met David when he worked as a caterer on a short film called THE CAYTONSVILLE ELEVEN,” says Linnea Quigley. “I was excited to work with him. There’s no huge ‘I’m a director’ ego. He’s not into himself. He’s a good businessman and he talks about stuff besides movies. He even had vegetarian food for me every day, and warm Sparklett’s water for my lusty shower scene in CREEPOZOIDS.”

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DeCoteau not only directed, but also functioned as the movie’s co producer and co writer. In spite of its diminutive budget, CREEPOZOIDS was theatrically released on a double-bill with SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY. The twin bill was released by Urban Classics, the theatrical arm of Empire’s Beyond Infinity video line. CREEPOZOIDS made the transition to video a few months later in January ’88, selling 15,000 tapes for Empire, according to DeCoteau.

DeCoteau’s next film for Empire, THE IMP, was limited to a shooting schedule of two weeks. Budgeted at $190,000, with ten per cent in above the line costs for DeCoteau’s expenses as director and co-producer, locations were selected outside of Los Angeles to conserve funds. “Los Angeles is the most expensive city in the world to make a movie,” said DeCoteau, “because of the permits, location costs, and everything like that. It’s hard to rent a basic middle-class tract house in the Valley for less than a grand a day. You have to go to places like San Marcos two hours south of Los Angeles–and you can get those same locations for $100 or $200. We found all of the cooperation there we really wanted.”

A moral (“be careful what you wish for, you may get it”) is extrapolated from the film’s title character, a mean-spirited genie. Since DeCoteau was not budgeted for elaborate special effects, he settled for a cable operated puppet to play the imp, preferring Grimm’s Fairy Tale simplicity to a “realistic” interpretation. Nevertheless, the movie proved to be so ambitious that the production exceeded its budget; extra expenses came out of DeCoteau’s own pocket.

“If we went over budget, our salaries were on the line,” said DeCoteau of Empire’s modus operandi. “So I walked away from THE IMP with very little money because I ended up spending some of my own salary on pick-up shots and things like that. Charlie (Band) isn’t the type to write you a check if you go over budget; you decide on a budget, you shake his hand, and either bring it in on budget or you don’t work anymore. I didn’t make much on that film, but such is life.”

In the film. Michelle Bauer, acquitted herself not only as a B-movie sex kitten but as a thoroughly credible actress and sterling comedienne. “David has a keen sense for people,” says Bauer. “There’s a side of him which is completely understanding. He’s more relaxed than most directors, and likes to have fun. When he was under pressure, it didn’t seem to affect the cast. He kept it under control. We were having fun as friends. It never seemed like we were working at all.”

Nevertheless, production of SORORITY BABES shot during evenings in a San Diego mall and adjacent bowling alley-was sometimes grueling. “There were personal conflicts among, some of the cast,” recalls Stevens. “The late Robin Rochelle Stille drank way too much on the set, and was always beating the crap out of Linnea in their fight scenes. Poor Linnea was constantly applying muscle rub to her many livid bruises. And she had to deal with the teenage angst of young co-star Andras Jones in the room next door. He even dumped his mattress over the hotel balcony, irrationally screaming, ‘I’m in my sexual prime!’ Andras went on to become a rather famous folk singer.”

Stevens experienced her own trauma, “dealing with another actress who clearly felt threatened by me and spared no punches while shooting our fight scenes. She pushed me down so hard, I dislocated my knee, which I had to pop back into place myself.” DeCoteau recounts, “It wasn’t pretty. She had to take four days off, but was a trouper…did her job without complaint.”

Flying furniture and torn ligaments notwithstanding, the set was infused with a party panache. “It’s the only film I’ve directed where I was continuously drunk,” chuckles DeCoteau, “— many people were! It had an open bar that we put to good use.”

“It’s one of my favorite films,” says Quigley, “because I played a tough girl and kept my clothes on. It’s fun to be mean.”

Charlie’s father, Albert Band, head of production at Empire, startled DeCoteau by insisting that nudity, playfully performed for slapstick scenes, “must” be trimmed from the director’s cut of the movie. DeCoteau, realizing nudity is a commercial exponent of the exploitation formula, appealed to Charles Band. Band inquired about the running time that was assembled for the movie’s rough cut. “I told him we were well under 80 minutes,” said DeCoteau, “When I shoot a picture, rarely does the final footage pass the 80-minute length. So they can’t do much editing because a feature-length film shouldn’t run that short. As a result, Charlie told me to put the nude scenes back in.”

Band retitled the picture SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-A-RAMA (according to DeCoteau, Band had wanted to make it BITCHIN’ SORORITY BABES … ) and released it theatrically through Urban Classics on a double bill with GALACTIC GIGOLO (originally titled CLUB EARTH), directed by Gorman Bechard.

Like DeCoteau, Bechard was another Band discovery whose independently financed feature PSYCHOS IN LOVE was picked up by Empire for release. Unlike DeCoteau, Bechard had nothing good to say about his stint at Band’s company. “I know what it’s like to be raped, “said Bechard about producing and directing two other features for Empire.

For his next feature, PSYCHOS IN LOVE, a black comedy (a “working woman” addresses the camera with “I guess I thought me being both a manicurist and a psychotic killer would, well, turn a guy off”), Bechard chose to ally himself with Empire.

“They offered me what I thought at the time was a good advance for PSYCHOS IN LOVE,” said Bechard. “I didn’t know better. And they offered me a four-picture deal with it, as an enticement to give them PSYCHOS IN LOVE. When you’re an independent filmmaker, finding the money is the worst thing in the world, and here I was able to do four pictures and pretty much have control. Charlie Band gave me tons of wonderful promises, saying, “Well, you can come up here, assist in the editing …,’ and all these other lines of bullshit. Being basically a fellow who wanted this very badly, I believed everything he said.”

CLUB EARTH, the first of Bechard’s four-picture deal with Empire, was an omen of the discord and mistrust that would sour the relationship. Bechard conceived the movie as a social satire involving an intergalactic tourist. Empire preferred to push CLUB EARTH as GALACTIC GIGOLO, and re-edited Bechard’s original cut into their concept of a more exploitable product.

“When I gave them PSYCHOS IN LOVE, I had it in writing that they wouldn’t change it at all,” said Bechard. “If I had not done that, they probably would have raped that film and it would have never been a film that I’m proud of. I am proud of PSYCHOS IN LOVE. But I think GALACTIC GIGOLO was sodomized by Charlie Band. We filmed it as a non-animated adult cartoon. That was my concept. We used the brightest colors … I mean, every different set looked like a color cartoon frame from the Sunday paper. In [color] timing the film, [Empire] took out all of the colors and left it really flat and ugly. Their editing and pacing is nothing short of pathetic; they left out some wonderfully funny stuff, and they left in all of the shit. Their motto is ‘when in doubt, cut to a pair of tits.’ I found out that CLUB EARTH was retitled GALACTIC GIGOLO through a brochure from Empire’s Urban Classics; they never had the decency to tell me they were changing the name of my movie.”

Bechard’s next film for Empire, a black comedy titled TEENAGE SLASHER SLUTS, was presold by the company in foreign markets as Assault of the Killer Bimbos (1988). “They found the word ‘sluts’ to be offensive,” said Bechard of Empire’s logic behind the title change. “And then they go and propose two other movies with the word ‘sluts’ in the title!” Empire eventually completed Bechard’s movie under the title HACK ‘EM HIGH, turning over the ASSAULT OF THE KILLER BIMBOS title to DeCoteau.

“That title presold so well, at [1987’s] American Film Market, it actually scored better than the movies in Empire’s bigger budgeted, non-Infinity division,” said DeCoteau. “Gorman Bechard completed the movie and set up a screening for Empire. It turned out to be a disappointment. Let’s just say that Gorman’s movie did not justify all of the enthusiasm. ASSAULT OF THE KILLER BIMBOS had to be brilliant, or close to it, considering the enormous presales money that was attracted from its title.”

Bechard said he deserves some of the credit for the title’s fabulous presales at the AFM, having instigated an eye-catching spread on the film in People magazine which featured Ruth Collins and Debi Thibeault, the actresses in his version. Bechard laid the blame for Empire’s dissatisfaction with the final film to the manner in which Band ran his company.

Charlie [Band] never read the script,” said Bechard. “I had the script approved by David Ross, who used to be in Empire’s development department, and by Debra Dion, who is now Charlie’s wife. I have a written letter from David Ross which says, ‘Yeh, we like the script. Just make a couple of little changes here and there.’ Basically, we agreed that it was good. Afterwards, I started filming and almost two or three weeks after we wrapped, Charlie calls me up and said he finally read the script. He said he didn’t like it. I don’t know how you run a company and allow someone to use your money to make a film without ever having read the script. That, to me, is not really the way to do business but, again, Empire is not the way to do business. When it became HACK EM HIGH, I said, ‘Wait a minute, there’s no hacking and there’s no high school.’ Of course, they came up with some new scenes that we had to reshoot which were along the lines of the usual Empire quality.”

While Empire fobbed off Bechard’s film as HACK ‘EM HIGH to foreign buyers at Milan’s Mifed Film Market, ASSAULT OF THE KILLER BIMBOS, scheduled for imminent release and eagerly awaited by distributors, existed as nothing more than a concept. Empire frantically searched for an existing script that would qualify as an adaptation of their most exploitable title.

Charles Band gave up WIZARD VIDEO after he ended his deal with VESTRON. WIZARD was distributed by LIGHTENING which was owned by VESTRON and when he left that deal and went over to NEW WORLD VIDEO which then he only released one movie with them, he started a new label called URBAN CLASSICS which he would handle the physical distribution eternally. He wouldn’t do a label deal and the first released was SLAVEGIRLS and that was doing pretty well and CREEPZOIDS was doing pretty well. And they were doing okay and then they started to make these movies back in Connecticut and they were making them cheaper in Connecticut than they were here in LA. They even had a guy out in New York, Tim Kincaid, who was making movies and those weren’t that bad. But there was a guy in Connecticut named Gorman Bechard who I guess was not only producing, writing, and directing, he was the cameraman and he did lights. And he was making these 35mm movies for only $30,000. Charlie was going wow, I got this great deal. And I was saying, Charlie if you want to give me $30,000 I’ll give you $30,000 but it’s going to look like $30,000. But give me $75,000 – $90,000 and you’ll get better movies. But anyway. Gorman did his first movie and what happened was this major snafu with ASSAULT OF THE KILLER BIMBOS. It was pre-sold with huge amounts of numbers and the URBAN CLASSICS films were presented to foreign buyers as pictures made between $1-2 million. He was showing these films to people overseas after he made them to the movie here and I brought in another director, Anita Rosenberg, who at the time didn’t think she knew what she was doing. But it ended up being the best of the URBAN CLASSICS movies. – Director Dave DeCoteau on the start of URBAN CLASSICS

A serviceable script, described by DeCoteau as a “generic but cute girls-on-the run” adventure, was considered from screenwriter Anita Rosenberg, who had previously written MODERN GIRLS for Atlantic Pictures. DeCoteau postponed his preparation of Beyond Infinity’s SPACE SLUTS IN THE SLAMMER to direct the movie. Rosenberg, however, demanded complete autonomy.

Anita Rosenberg

According to DeCoteau, “Rosenberg told Empire, ‘Sure, I’ll sell you the script for 100 grand.’ I said, ‘What do you mean, 100 grand? We pay five grand per script!’ She said, “I’ll sell it to you for five grand if you let me direct it.’ I said, “What other films have you done?’ She said, ‘Nothing, though I have done a short film.’ Empire looked at her short film, thought it was adequate enough, and agreed to let Rosenberg direct it.” DeCoteau was hired as producer for “double the usual budget and triple his customary salary.

Though he was reimbursed for services rendered on GALACTIC GIGOLO and HACK ‘EM HIGH, Bechard claims he was shortchanged on the proceeds from PSYCHOS IN LOVE. “We were promised wonderful percentages of the gross, not of the net, on the film,” said Bechard. “I made sure they couldn’t pull any accounting tricks. But they did pull a great accounting trick; they just never bothered reporting to us. We were supposed to be getting quarterly statements and checks. We never got anything. My letters to Charlie Band, complaining about this situation, and the shabby treatment of my films, were ignored.”

A forthcoming documentary by Kathy Milani, B-MOVIE, traces the production of HACK ‘EM HIGH from the film’s preproduction phase to Band’s phone call alerting Bechard of Empire’s resistance to his adaptation of “a script that Band, up to that point, had not read.” Bechard promises B-MOVIE will enlighten prospective filmmakers to the hazards of low-budget filmmaking. (Milani is currently seeking completion funds and or grants.)

Meanwhile, Bechard is also exorcising his frustrations with Empire through a manual titled “Assault of the Independent Filmmaker;” as the book’s author, Bechard vowed to “paint a no holds-barred picture of the making of each of my films, from the detailed budgets to the whole filming process, to dealing with not-always reputable distributors and investors. Filmmaking is, unfortunately, the sleaziest business in the world, and it bothers me that I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”

When Empire hit the financial skids last year, some theatrical projects like GHOULIES II and CELLAR DWELLER went straight to home video while others were shelved as incomplete. For a company that in the past boasted production agendas cluttered with a dozen titles pegged as either in production “or” in preparation,” in 1988 Empire launched only one-Dave DeCoteau’s Dr. Alien (1989) (I Was a Teenage Sex Mutant), started on a budget of $400.000. The company folded before production was finished.

But Band opened up shop again late last year, calling his new operation the Bandcompany, like Empire specializing in international sales, with a video line dubbed Phantom Home Video, and a production arm called Full Moon Productions. Band’s first announced project was Edgar Allan Poe’s THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, to be directed by Stuart Gordon. “He’s back into making pictures,” said DeCoteau. “He won’t be making as many and they won’t be as cheap.”

When Band jumped ship from Empire, his deal to sell the company gave him ownership of a trio of productions, according to DeCoteau. Band used the films, including DeCoteau’s I WAS A TEENAGE SEX MUTANT, THE INTRUDER (formerly NIGHT CREW), and JUNGLE HEAT (formerly PIRANHA WOMEN) to form his new company and subsequently negotiated a contract with Paramount Home Video for their release. I WAS A TEENAGE SEX MUTANT, now retitled DR. ALIEN!, was scheduled to be released in November.

Interview with Dave DeCoteau

Looking back on the beginning of your career, how would you appraise Dreamaniac? Dave DeCoteau: Dreamaniac was an experiment; it was my little film school project, wrapped up in ten days. It was like learning how to do it, and learning how do it quickly, because I only had ten days to learn a career’s worth of information and make a decent movie. It was made on a $60,000 budget.

The ending of Dreamaniac-with the abrupt disclosure of a succubus as a mental patient-seems like a postproduction afterthought. Who was responsible for the cop-out compromise? Dave DeCoteau: Me. I decided to go with kind of a triple-twist ending, just for the hell of it, since the film had nothing else to offer.

Your films have gotten even more exposure on cable TV, what with broadcasts on USA, Pay-Per-View… Dave DeCoteau: But, you know, Creepozoids and Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl A-Rama did better, during their original release, in foreign territories than domestically. We were well received in Britain. Creepozoids was number seven on the Top Ten Selling-Rental charts during the month of its release; The Untouchables was number eight! Sorority Babes, released in the United Kingdom as The Imp, did almost as good business as Creepozoids.

What’s the background of Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-A-Rama, your most unique movie? Dave DeCoteau: Charlie (Band) wanted, a “little genie” movie to be called The Imp. I came in the next day, and read off five story lines. The fifth one was a joke, never intended to be taken seriously, about a little genie that was squished inside a bowling trophy back in the 50s and unleashed upon some sorority babes and fraternity initiates on Hell Night. Charlie liked that concept more than any of the other ones, and we decided to go with it.

There’s a frantic chase scene, near the conclusion of Sorority Babes, without music on the soundtrack. Was this intentional or an accidental omission? Dave DeCoteau: The music channel of the entire Reel Seven did not make it to the one inch video master. When you do a final mix on a picture, you mix sound on three stripes-the dialogue, the music, and a (sound) effects track. You do the video mastering by taking your film, and your three channels of sound, and putting them onto broadcast-quality one-inch video tape for half-inch duplication. When they transferred the entire show, they accidentally forgot to drop the music channel from Reel Seven; they only transferred two channels, the dialogue and effects. The music’s omission marred the film. Fifteen or twenty-thousand copies of the tape went out without the musical channel on Reel Seven, which is the climax of the film and (originally) had an incredible musical score. I was very upset because Empire, at the time, did not let me quality control the one-inch masters. First-time viewers of Sorority Babes may prefer to hum their own theme.

Tell me where did you come up with the title SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIME BOWL-O-RAMA? Dave DeCoteau: I didn’t come up with the title. It was shot as THE IMP and Charlie Band came up with the title. He had a little I fun to watch. The experience was a lot of fun, Making movies is never really been that much fun. The two best days of making a movie is the day you get the financing and the rap party. And everything between is a pain in the fucking ass. You always have to compromise, you can’t do exactly what you want to do. Because the budgets are so low the schedules are tight and you can’t always get the actors you want and you get the actor, you could only use him for a couple days and you can’t use him for any overtime. The process is real tough. And I think PUPPETMASTER III as being my best film in most people’s eyes but just had a horrendous time making that film.

Which of your pre-Doctor Alien (1989) films is your favorite? Dave DeCoteau: I have to admit I have this bizarre affection for Creepozoids, I don’t know what it is, but when I was making that film I really took it deadly serious and expected it to be a lot better than it was. The reviews have been horrible, but-God!-every time I show it to somebody, they kind of, like, smile. It’s actually a serious attempt, whereas all the other films we’ve been doing seem to be a little campy or silly.

Didn’t Creepozoids get positive reviews in Europe? Dave DeCoteau: Excellent reviews! The United Kingdom is asking for a sequel and they’re ready to cut a check to finance it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the sequel rights to that film, so I probably won’t do it.

You made some of your past films for under $200,000. What was the budget on Doctor Alien? Dave DeCoteau: About $400,000. It’s a home video, a damn good example of direct-to-video product. I love it. It’s a very entertain. ing film for me, and everyone seems to enjoy it. The only problem about not releasing it theatrically is that it is a comedy, and comedies work very well with large audiences. I’m going to screen it for the Science Fiction Academy here, and for a few other people.

Why did you choose a more mainstream celebrity-Judy Landers-for Doctor Alien and Ghost Writer? Dave DeCoteau: When we were casting for the Doctor Alien role of Ms. Xenobia, we wanted to go with a Mary Woronov type. Well, we auditioned hundreds of Mary Woronov, Barbara Steele and Caroline Munroe types, and we realized it just didn’t work the way it was written… it wasn’t funny. So I said, “Let’s bring Judy in for a hoot.” I just wanted to meet the girl. She came in with the scenes memorized and gave us a reading, and we were falling on the floor laughing our heads off. She played it so wonderful, and so funny, that she was perfect for the part.

With the exception of your first film, Dreamaniac, your movies have avoided the “sex begets violence” syndrome. Did you consciously reject this routine premise? Dave DeCoteau: Yeah… women are not victims in my films. A female victim in my films is very, very rare. Women are the aggressors in my movies, they’re the ones who save the day. Look at Linnea Quigley in Sorority Babes: she never showed a nipple and she kicked ass, and she saved the day…

The History of Empire Films Part Five The rise of Empire as a low budget producer with their “Beyond Infinity” video line resembles the start-up of AIP during the drive-in boom of the late '50s, when a definite market existed for a certain product: films for the teenage audience, the wilder and more outrageous the better.