Roy Rogers "MACKINTOSH AND T.J./UNDER WESTERN STARS" 4K Restoration and Remastered Collector’s Blu-Ray Box Set

 

Verdugo Entertainment Celebrates Roy Rogers’ Career With Release of 4K Restoration and Remastered Collector’s Blu-Ray Box Set

Showcasing “The King of Cowboys” first and last starring roles, the Holiday 2021 Box Set includes the fully remastered 1938 classic Under Western Stars and 4K Restoration of the
1975 western Mackintosh and T.J.

Available on November 23rd

Burbank, CA, September 28, 2021 – Just in time for the 2021 holiday season, Verdugo Entertainment launches a collectors Blu-ray Box Set featuring “King of the Cowboys” Roy Rogers’ first and final starring role films. The box set, which bookends Rogers’ career, includes the newly remastered 1938 film Under Western Stars, and the newly restored 4K version of the 1975 modern western classic Mackintosh and T.J.  
 
The perfect gift for classic collectors and western movie fans, the Blu-ray box set, which includes special bonus features for each title, will be available through Amazon.com (North America) and Walmart.com on Friday, November 26, 2021. (suggested retail price: $40.00/distributed by Verdugo Entertainment).

Under Western Stars | 4K Remaster
 
Official trailer:  https://vimeo.com/592498127/f8a6e14c85

Originally intended for Gene Autry, Under Western Stars was the first starring role for Roy Rogers (previously Leonard Slye) at Republic Pictures and launched his legendary career. When severe drought and the greedy exploits of a local water company threaten the prosperity of ranchers in the Dust Bowl, Roy Rogers comes to the rescue. Selected for the National Film Registry in 2019, Under Western Stars, which also stars Smiley Burnett, Carol Hughes and Maple City Four, is presented newly remastered from a print that was made for the film’s director Joe Kane and thought to be the only complete, uncut 16mm print still in existence.
 
Bonus Features:

    Exploring the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA (Lone Pine Location Documentary)
    New Trailer for Under Western Stars
    Mackintosh and T.J. original 1976 Theatrical Trailer

 
The film's song "Dust,” written by Johnny Marvin, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1938 and was performed by Rogers at the live ceremony. In 2009, Under Western Stars was selected for the National Film Registry Award by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.
 
“Under Western Stars isn’t just a classic western, it is the film that launched one of the most famous names, and voices, in western film history,” said Steve Latshaw, Post Producer, Verdugo Entertainment. “Doing this film justice meant creating a newly remastered version in today’s formats while staying as close to the original studio’s in-house style as possible both from a visual and audio perspective. We believe we have achieved that.”  

The newly remastered Under Western Stars will premiere at the Lone Pine Film Festival on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at 2:30 pm PST. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Verdugo Post Producer, Steve Latshaw, and will feature Roger’s daughter Cheryl Rogers-Barnett along with film notable restoration and preservation experts. The panel will provide a real behind the curtain view of preserving Under Western Stars, other films like it and the growing challenges faced as films age and formats evolve.  

Mackintosh and T.J. | 4K Restoration
 
Official trailer: 

 
In his triumphant final film role, Rogers stars as Mackintosh, a migrant cowboy traveling across West Texas plains in his run-down pickup truck. While looking for work breaking horses, Mackintosh befriends T.J. (future Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Clay O’Brien), a runaway teen. The two form an unlikely bond and find jobs together at a cattle ranch where Mackintosh impresses the owner with his bronco-taming skills. Trouble, however, is on the horizon, but Mackintosh proves himself as a man who is not afraid to take a stand.
 
Bonus Features:

    Lone Pine Cast Reunion with Clay O’Brien, Andrew Robinson and Larry Mahan
    Interview with Billy Green Bush
    Audio Commentary with Clay O’Brien, Andrew Robinson, and moderator C. Courtney Joyner
    Original On-set Footage

 

Screenwriter Paul Savage, most known for his TV work in Wagon Train, Big Valley, and Gunsmoke, penned the film specifically with Rogers in mind and is one of the few films in which the actor did not play himself.
 
The film is essentially a moving photo album of ranch life in Texas in the mid-1970s,” said Sean Lawrence, Restoration Colorist. “Our approach was to try and be as true to the original intention and not impose modern aesthetics. So, we restored to 4K from the original 35MM camera negative and went through a color correction process to match the original film.”
 

 

 
Mackintosh and TJ’s original score is by Waylon Jennings and the soundtrack features songs by Jennings and country music icon Willie Nelson.
 
Verdugo Entertainment launched the single 4k restoration of the title on Blue-ray, DVD and streaming platforms Amazon Prime, Vudu, You Tube and Google Play in May 2021.  

 
About Verdugo Entertainment

Verdugo Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment distribution company dedicated to rediscovering, restoring and distributing cult classic and retro films. Located in Burbank, California, the company provides complete film-distribution services and the highest level of technical quality in restoration so that each film is presented in its intended brilliance – bringing today’s fans closer than ever to the original experience.  Verdugo films are made widely available through streaming services, VOD, OTT, Broadcast, on VHS collectors sets, on DVD and Blu-ray, and can be seen at outdoor screenings, cinemas and festivals across the U.S. and Canada.   
 
https://www.facebook.com/people/Verdugo-Entertainment/100059037491865/

https://www.instagram.com/verdugoentertainment/

"LOURDES" Stunningly Beautiful Doc Follows Pilgrims Seeking Healing At World Famous Site On DVD 9/28

 

Icarus Films

"LOURDES"

A film by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai
From Distrib Films • An Icarus Films Release

On to DVD  September 28th

Lourdes: A stunningly beautiful mountainous village in the Southwest foothills of the Pyrenees went from a sleepy scenic town to a sacred wonder after 1858, when a 14-year-old peasant girl claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in a remote grotto. Today, the town is second only to Paris in the number of annual visitors (6 million), part venerated shrine, part Disneyland (shops selling bottled holy water and Virgin Mary-related tchotchkes). 

WATCH THE TRAILER:

 

Vast processions of people seeking a miracle fuel a small army of caregivers who accompany them. These pilgrims are a surprising cross-section of humanity: accident victims, the terminally ill, an overweight and bullied teenager, a contingent of aging Paris prostitutes, et alia. LOURDES is an insightful meditation on the human capacity for empathy and hope and the mystery of religious faith in the face of profound tribulation.

 

LOURDES
A film by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai
From Distrib Films • An Icarus Films Release
2019 • France • 92 min • Color • In French with English Subtitles SRP: $26.98 • UPC # 8-54565-00367-5

After Boffo UK Reception, Local Buffalo Filmmaker's "LAGUNA AVE." Crosses the Pond To US Premiere and Party at BIFF

 

AFTER BOFFO UK RECEPTION, DAVID BUCHANAN’S "LAGUNA AVE." CROSSES THE POND TO US PREMIERE AND PARTY AT BIFF OCTOBER 7 (PARTY OCTOBER 8), 2021

Family Affair Brings Hometown Filmmaker and Hometown Venue Operator to Historic Theatre and Legendary Tralf Music Hall. “Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Horror Comedy” Film plays in-person at North Park Theater:

https://buffalo.eventive.org/welcome

 

“Aesthetically [Laguna Ave] is impressive…recalling Lynch’s work on Eraserhead…it’s a refreshing piece of cinema that shows the potential that Buchanan and Papadeas has.” -Pip Ellwood-Hughes, Entertainment Focus

“Think of John Waters meets technology in this surreal tale of paranoia and Artificial Intelligence in Los Angeles. It’s strange, it’s funny, it’s filled with WTF moments. One for lovers of the bizarre who want their horror with a side of the darkest humour.” -Sabina Stent, Sabina Stent

“Embrace the madness within! Laguna Ave is a demented vision of budgeted cyberpunk, paranoid frenzy and comedic surrealism. An easy highlight of this FrightFest 2021!” -Adam Symchuk, Grimoire of Horror

Buffalo, NY, September 24, 2021—LAGUNA AVE., director David Buchanan, Buffalo native producer Ali Barone and producer/writer/actor Paul Papadeas’ gender/genre-bending slacker lo-fi-sci-fi horror comedy follows one man’s mystical misadventures in and surrounding a rambling Echo Park apartment. After its’ successful screening at London’s prestigious FrightFest, LAGUNA AVE will make its U.S. premiere at the 15th annual Buffalo International Film Festival (BIFF) in Buffalo, New York. The film will screen in-person at Buffalo’s historic North Park Theater on Thursday 7 Oct 09:30PM EST. A post screening party for the film takes place the next day, 8 October at 9:30PM at Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14202; phone 716-835-3500.

LAGUNA AVE. defies easy description. The film stars Russell Steinberg (ADVENTURELAND; DAY OUT OF DAYS; BELOW THE BELT (as “Johnny Fayva”)) as Russell, a middle-aged, burned-out TV editor with a prosthetic hand who futilely searches for work in Hollywood's brutal, exploitative underbelly. His former boss (Paul Papadeas) owes him money, his partner Rita (Stephanie Brait) is indifferent, always out of town and inaccessible, and his new downstairs neighbor Gary (Jamie Hall/James Markham Hall Jr. (NEIGHBORS)) keeps him awake at night with mysterious, disturbing noises. But everything changes one evening when Gary pays Russell a visit and introduces him to his sinister world of renegade accelerationism and a collection of outrageous, unstable but captivating fellow travelers and co-conspirators.

Russell Steinberg and James Markham Hall Jr. in LAGUNA AVE

"A film found on a trash heap after the apocalypse. That was Paul’s pitch when he sent me the script for Laguna Ave.,” Buchanan recalls. “I loved its many contradictions: cheap but ambitious, sleazy yet intellectual, funny and dark. It perfectly captures the trashy times we’re living in." The two former bandmates and Barone bootstrapped the production, drafted friends to help out, and let everyone add their own individual brand of insanity to the mix. “The production took on a life of its own, like some a self-propelled, malfunctioning cyborg bent on self-destruction."

Director DAVID BUCHANAN started making films in his local woods aged 14, and to this day is still driven by that same DIY thrill: of having a fun idea, getting a team together, and making it all happen with a budget of £20. Writer/Producer PAUL PAPADEAS has produced four features including AN INNOCENT KISS with Burt Reynolds in 2019, which premiered at the Vancouver’s Just for Laughs Film Festival and is repped by Shoreline Entertainment. Producer/production Designer ALISON BARONE, the founder and CEO of Polytime Atelier, has been a behind the scenes production director for fashion brands such as Rodarte, Libertine, Jeremy Scott and Marchesa. Ali's experience has allowed her to translate those skills into film production. LAGUNA AVE. is her first feature film.

Stephanie Brait in LAGUNA AVE

For the last 15 years, The Buffalo International Film Festival has been championing “regional, national, and international films that push the limits of independent cinema.” Established in 2006, BIFF helps support local artists and filmmakers through its workshops, seminars, fiscal sponsorships and internships. BIFF proudly celebrates the diversity of their community of Buffalo, NY, as well as amplifying the voices of filmmakers in underrepresented communities. This year, BIFF will host over 120 films from 24 countries bringing together a diverse cast of innovative storytellers and films. LAGUNA AVE. will make its U.S. premiere in the BIFF Narrative Features section of the festival.

The BIFF Screening represents a homecoming of sorts for its producer Ali Barone, who was raised in Buffalo and whose father, Tom Barone, has operated the Tralf for the past 15 years. Barone recently saved the theatre from development. The Tralf, as music and sci-fi cognoscenti know, is short for Trafalmadore, the fictional planet that has figured prominently in the writings of Kurt Vonnegut. Lo-fi sci fi and highbrow sci-fi: too close for coincidence?

"Laguna Ave. is very much a story for the present moment, dealing with artificial intelligence, post-truth paranoia, the way that technology separates us from our own bodies,” concludes Buchanan. “But it also grapples with more timeless themes such as drink, drugs, poo and dildos, so basically there’s something in there for everyone. It’s a unique film that could only have been made by this group of people, at this point in history. After the positive reception the film received in the UK, we’re looking forward to seeing how American audiences receive the film. We’re ecstatic to be at BIFF.”

House Angus Productions, LLC and Succulent Films Present: LAGUNA AVE
Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi/Horror; Running Time: 80 minutes;
Rating: NR; Language: English
Director: David Buchanan
Writer: Paul Papadeas
Producers: Ali Barone, Paul Papadeas
Co-producer: Gordon Gee
Director of Photography: David Speck
Principal Cast:
Russell Steinberg, Jamie Hall, Stephanie Brait, Sheridan Ward, Dan Crane, Zachary Taylor, Felixe de Becker, Jane Reardon, Jeff Hilliard, Paul Papadeas, Carlos Marentes.

Web and Social
Web: https://lagunaave.com/
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt10666594
Instagram: @Laguna.Ave.movie
Twitter: @Laguna.Ave.movie
Facebook: @Laguna.Ave.movie

Joe Bob Saves The Planet -- Elvis' Environmental Footprint?

 

Due to the efforts of pioneering environmentalist Elvis Presley, 100 percent of the objects, flooring, ceiling and walls of the Jungle Room at Graceland are recyclable

NEW YORK—People ask me all the time, “How do you do it, Joe Bob? How did you achieve that negative-27,000 environmental footprint?”

Easy. I recycle everything. I once recycled a One-Oh-Eight Freightliner dump truck with a flat-leaf spring suspension and a stand-up right-hand drive that I inherited from Chubb Fricke when he went to jail for getting drunk in San Diego and stealing a penguin from SeaWorld.

But for day-to-day recycling, I’m gonna give you the foolproof Joe Bob Briggs Guide to Loving the Earth. If you follow these 21 easy steps, you won’t just be loving the earth, you’ll be having kinky sex with the earth. Other planets will be asking you for your phone number.

First off, you’re gonna need two dozen 55-gallon whiskey barrels, the kind used for Wild Turkey, then reused for Macallan single malt, then frequently used to dispose of dead bodies.

 

 

 

We’re gonna arrange our whiskey barrels into four groups—plastic, paper, metal and glass—and then we’re gonna put a single slime bucket next to each group. The slime bucket is for stuff you can’t categorize, like egg cartons.

What the fuck do they make egg cartons out of? Somebody please tell me. It’s not paper, it’s not cardboard, it’s not plastic, it’s some kind of spongy white Frankenbucket substance that’s cranked out through a 3D printer fed with squirrel manure.

And yet, I will recycle it. Do not challenge me. I have recycled machine-gun-toting members of the Medellin cartel.

Okay, let’s start with plastic. You’re gonna take seven barrels and label them as follows:

Styrofoam Coffee Cups: We use 24 trillion of these a year, and everyone believes they can’t be recycled. We’re gonna recycle these mothers anyway. We’re gonna smush em down into that barrel, tens of thousands of Styrofoam coffee cups in a single barrel, until that foam polystyrene becomes rigid polystyrene. They’re going right in with the plastic razors, CD cases, license plate frames, and Uber Eats utensils. America uses 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour, and I’m determined to increase that pace by proving that every Poland Spring container can become yet another Poland Spring container if we just shovel this stuff back into the Plastic Mash-up Factory.

Okay, let’s move on.

High-Density Polystyrene: This is your Lysol bottle, your Oreo tray, and your Tide dispenser. And we’re gonna make lawn chairs out of em.

Polyvinyl Chloride: This is all that stuff you thought was leather when you bought it but turned out to be made out of kitchen linoleum. We’re gonna use it to make traffic cones for use in midwestern cities that maxed out their budget subsidizing the B-B gun factory.

Polypropylene: Tic Tac boxes, Tupperware, prescription drug containers, beer coolers, and those little trash cans that you kick across the room in motels. This is stuff that is made to last. But it won’t. We’ll mash that molded deck chair into oatmeal residue.

Polyethylene: This is virtually everything plastic that you use in your daily life, from Head and Shoulders bottles to all those quilts they sell at Family Dollar—those things are 110 percent petrochemical-based, which is why we have heat-stroke victims in January. Here’s the part you’re gonna love, though. We’re gonna compact all that stuff and feed it to the Greater Wax Moth, an ugly little monster that normally feeds on beehives. The Chinese have determined that these creatures can live on polyethylene, and that means that it’s only a matter of time before Michael Bay makes the movie about China using its overwhelming polyethylene stockpile to breed monster Wax Moths that attack en masse and eat their way through redneck packing plants all over the South.

Okay, what else we got here?

  

READ THE FULL COLUMN HERE

SEE JOE BOB IN PERSON AT THESE EVENTS!

▪     9/24-9/26 Monster-Mania, Hunt Valley, MD. Tickets
▪     10/9 How Rednecks Saved Hollywood, Columbus, OH. Tickets
▪     10/22-10/24 Monster-Mania, Oaks, PA. Tickets
▪     10/30 Scarefaire, Victorville, CA. Tickets
▪     11/19-11/21 Preserve Halloween Festival, Irving, TX. Tickets


©2021 Joe Bob Briggs | NY, NY 

“Elysia: The World in Children’s Dreams,” Making the Dream Alive on Screen — TV Show or Film

 

“Elysia: The World in Children’s Dreams,” Making the Dream Alive on Screen — TV Show or Film 

 

London, UK, September 23, 2021 – It’s time to wake up in the fabulous world of Elysia. With now fully completed film treatment and screenplay, Malcolm Chester’s “Elysia: The World in Children’s Dreams” is now eyeing to become the next great series or film adaptation.

After his publishing success on both the first book and sequel, Chester endorses his beloved story to be produced and turned into a movie. It’s a magnificent tale filled with a whimsical charm that has the potential to become a box office success.

A coming-of-age story in a fantasy setting about a young girl and boy whose nightly adventures in a dreamland teach them compassion, bravery, and love. Waking up in a strange and surreal place, Courtney finds herself in a dreamland. Welcome to the world of Elysia, a place of wonder and magic, light and beauty, purity and evil—an endless imagination of adventures and friendship.

The book begins with young Courtney, unsettled by the lights and sound of a police car, covering her ears as she lies down in bed. As she closed her eyes and fell asleep, she finds herself waking in a front of an iron gate with a sign reading ELYSIA.

Where… Where am I? Is this a dream or…

Inside the gate, greets a fantasy Funland with iridescent colors, candy mounds, fantastic creatures, and different amusement rides that every kid would enjoy. Each time Courtney falls asleep, she is transported into the dreamland. There, she meets new odd friends and encounters frustrating series of events.

In the real world, Courtney has troubles at home and only longs to come back to Elysia. She also fears puberty and hates to confront the thought of becoming a fully grown woman. As the story unfolds, the fine line between reality and fantasy becomes blurred. Although rich in fun and magic, Elysia is in grave danger as the Crystal of Light has been stolen. Apparently, the walls of Elysia are becoming weaker as days passed, and a journey to retrieve the crystal must be done in haste. The journey to the Maelstrom begins.

It’s a perilous quest that no one even dared to tread and most adventurers have failed to come back ever. Along their voyage, the Light Swords have to defeat a huge black snake, a pack of wolves, the Dark King’s soldiers, and a speaking dragon. Together with her newly formed friends, Courtney must complete the quest to return the magic crystal from the evil king and restore balance to the land.

“Chester keeps the vocabulary and subject tightly geared toward those things that interest and confuse children as they begin to grow up. At the same time, he provides children with a message of empowerment no matter what difficulties they may be facing in the sometimes all-too-real world of adults.”

--US Review of Books

Readers around the world love the wonderland Elysia, a convincing world of imagination that speaks of terror and tenderness, innocence and chaos in life. Book reviewers praise the author for depicting a fantasy novel that is not only fit for kids but also offers a timeless lesson for adults alike. It’s a beloved book that stirs your imagination with poignant words, keeping you in slumber into the dreamland, Elysia.

Away in the real world, reading Chester’s Elysia brings you into a dreamy land of childlike wonder. As interesting and imaginative in the text, creating a film about the world of Elysia will dazzle young ones and educate them with lifelong lessons. 

Lovely and enjoyable, author Malcolm Chester charms his reader into weaving an extraordinary world while introducing fantastic and charming characters. And also, these tales are about many things, like growing in different phases is also talk about: learning to feel, getting in love, and becoming an adult. Indeed, it’s a brilliant story that has a making of a great film, plunging the viewer into the extraordinary hidden beyond the ordinary.

 

Get a copy of the book, Elysia: The World in Children’s Dream from:

www.aegadesign.co.uk
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.kobo.com

 

- - -

AEGA Design Publishing Ltd
www.aegadesign.co.uk

Elysia: The World in Children’s Dreams
https://www.aegadesign.co.uk/product/elysia-le-monde-dans-les-reves-des-enfants-french-edition-malcolm-chester/

US Review of Books
https://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Elysia-Chester.html#.YUuXpbgzZD8

Hulu Original "MARVEL'S HIT MONKEY" Premieres 11/17/21 With All 10 Episodes -- Watch Teaser HERE!

 

"MARVEL'S HIT-MONKEY"

A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES

Hulu Original "Marvel's Hit-Monkey" premieres on November 17th, 2021 with all ten episodes

 

SYNOPSIS: After a Japanese snow monkey’s tribe is slaughtered, he joins forces with the ghost of an American assassin and together, they begin killing their way through the Yakuza underworld.

CAST: George Takei, Jason Sudeikis, Olivia Munn, Ally Maki, Nobi Nakanishi and Fred Tatasciore.

CREDITS: Co-created and executive produced by Josh Gordon & Will Speck. Executive produced by Joe Quesada. 

WATCH THE TEASER TRAILER:

 

CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS:

Shinji (voiced by George Takei)

A lifelong public servant who has been the man behind the political career of Ken Takahara, his friend and political mentor. But when tragedy strikes, it falls to Shinji to pick up the baton and carry their political dreams forward. A good and honest man who raised his niece Akiko all by himself after the death of her parents. Shinji is the kind of politician everyone wishes they could have.

Bryce (voiced by Jason Sudeikis)

A world-weary Assassin who’s made some unbelievably poor life choices. He drowns his sorrows in work, travel, and gambling but when it comes to doing hits, there’s no one better. After he’s killed in the Japanese Alps, the ghost of Bryce and Monkey are tied together on a revenge quest. A terrible mentor with a sarcastic, cynical view of the world, Bryce must ultimately dig deep within himself in order to complete his final mission and help Monkey become who he was meant to be.

Akiko (voiced by Olivia Munn)

Smart, ambitious and powerful, Akiko is the niece of Shinji Yokohama the future Prime Minister of Japan. Having spent time in the west for College and Law School, she has returned with strong opinions about the future of her Uncle’s campaign. Her inherently good nature however masks a darker side, one that will emerge as the season progresses.

Haruka (voiced by Ally Maki)

An honest cop from a small town in the north, Haruka comes to Tokyo with dreams of reforming a corrupt city. But can she hold on to her values in the face of so much vice? Her new partner Ito will test her sense of right and wrong and ultimately prove to be the mentor she has always looked for. But when it falls to her to complete their case, will she have what it takes to become the cop she has always felt she could be?
 
Ito (voiced by Nobi Nakanishi)

The laughing stock of the Tokyo Police Department, and struggling with a drinking problem, Ito is the only one in Tokyo who suspects that Hit Monkey may actually be one of the good guys. But no one, not even his new partner Haruka believes him. He will have to dig deep into his past, and face his demons in order to finally restore his honor.

Monkey (voiced by Fred Tatasciore)

Monkey’s peaceful existence in the Japanese alps is shattered by the tragic loss of his tribe—setting him on a course of revenge and violence in the very world of humans that are responsible for his plight. He’s a killer of killers with a bit of a rage problem. Throughout the series, he must learn to navigate the struggle between his inherently sweet nature and the evil acts he must commit. It’s through his complicated friendship with the Ghost of Bryce (a former assassin and now, Monkey’s unwanted conscience), that will determine whether Monkey will be consumed by his rage or channel it for good. This is the story of Hit Monkey. 

 

Social: 

IG | FB: @OfficialHitMonkey
TW: @HitMonkey
#HitMonkey

Freestyle Digital Media Acquires Horror-Thriller "THE INVISIBLE MOTHER" for October VOD Release -- Watch Trailer HERE!

 

FREESTYLE DIGITAL MEDIA ACQUIRES “THE INVISIBLE MOTHER” FOR OCTOBER RELEASE 

Psychedelic Horror/Thriller Feature Sets Digital Debut on North American VOD Platforms October 12th


Los Angeles, CA – September 20, 2021 – Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios, has acquired North American VOD rights to the psychedelic horror-thriller feature film, THE INVISIBLE MOTHER. THE INVISIBLE MOTHER will be available to rent and own on North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms on October 12, 2021 through Freestyle Digital Media.

THE INVISIBLE MOTHER tells the story of a lesbian stoner, Marcy, and her grandparents, being tormented by the psychedelic spirits of an old photo album. Marcy returns to her grandparents’ home to find a hell of surreal ghosts and psychedelic visions, and Marcy must un-blur the lines of reality to save her family.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

 

 

In this color-saturated psychedelic thriller, Marcy, having initially dismissed these visions as part of her grandmother’s dementia, quickly succumbs to horrors of her own, plagued by the warping reality and psychosexual ghosts seeping into her home.

But when a deadly entity from a Victorian photograph steals her grandfather in the night, Marcy has no choice but to team up with her eccentric southern belle neighbor, her ice-cream-truck-driving weed dealer, her ailing grandmother, and an enigmatic phone psychic to confront the dark phantasm before everyone she knows is snatched to the deadly bosom of THE INVISIBLE MOTHER.

Written and directed by Jacob Gillman & Matthew Diebler, THE INVISIBLE MOTHER was produced by Matthew Diebler, Zack Imbrogno, Ned Christensen, Dylan Sherman, and Andie Donelly.

 

 

The ensemble cast of THE INVISIBLE MOTHER features Fayelyn Bilodeau (‘Marcy’), Debra Wilson (‘Glorianna’), Kiersten Warren (‘Coco’), Richard Rhiele (‘Archie’), Helen Slayton-Hughes (‘Mona’), and Kale Clauson (‘Wyatt’).

Filming an independent movie is kind of traumagic, like child birth in a taxi. Releasing a movie is like sending that child to college, only its professors are John Waters, David Lynch, an anthropomorphic ouija board, and old tales from the darkside episodes,” said filmmakers Jacob Gillman & Matthew Diebler. “Making THE INVISIBLE MOTHER has been an artistic labor of love that we've bled our hearts and souls into. We're thrilled to finally be unleashing our twisted and beautiful baby into the world"

Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire THE INVISIBLE MOTHER directly with filmmakers Jacob Gillman & Matthew Diebler.

THE INVISIBLE MOTHER website: www.invisiblemother.com

 


About Freestyle Digital Media

The digital distribution unit of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films. Recent releases include THE WEDDING YEAR starring Sarah Hyland and Anna Camp, THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH starring Danny Houston, BERSERK starring Nick Cannon, UNTOGETHER starring Jamie Doran, Jemima Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Eve and Billy Crystal. Other Freestyle titles include the action-comedy BETTER START RUNNING starring Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons and Maria Bello, THE BACHELORS starring Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons, Julie Delpy and Odeya Rush, the award-winning documentary HONDROS produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal, horror documentary DEMON HOUSE starring Zak Bagans, host of Travel Channel’s highest rated show Ghost Adventures, sci-fi thriller THE RECALL starring Wesley Snipes, MILES starring Molly Shannon and Paul Reiser, the animated feature HELL & BACK starring Nick Swardson, Mila Kunis and Bob Odenkirk, and THE GIRL IN THE BOOK with Emily VanCamp and Michael Nyqvist.

What's A Web Page? Something Ducks Walk On? (video)

 

"What's a web page? Something ducks walk on?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"No, it's the name of the different sites you can look up on the internet."


Original video "Kids Guide To The Internet"
Wendy & Lisa "White"

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Uncover the Paranormal Thriller "THE SECRET OF SINCHANEE" On VOD October 8th -- Watch The Trailer HERE!

 

Vertical Entertainment Unlocks 

"THE SECRET OF SINCHANEE"

Paranormal Thriller from Dallas Buyers Club Executive Producer Joe Newcomb

Available October 8th on Digital HD and On Demand

 

Los Angeles, CA - Vertical Entertainment has announced the release of Steven Grayhm's The Secret of Sinchanee. Following a string of awards on the international festival circuit, The Secret of Sinchanee will be available in select theaters and on all major digital and cable platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Comcast, Spectrum, Cox and more.

Grayhm stars opposite Green Beret and former NFL player Nate Boyer ("Mayans M.C") and Tamara Austin ("The Walking Dead"), who play Boston homicide detectives lured to a small-town after the disappearance of a single mother. The Secret of Sinchanee also stars breakout Netflix child star Laila Lockhart Kraner ("Gabby’s Dollhouse"), Jacob Schick (American Sniper, A Star Is Born), and Rudy Reyes ("Generation Kill").

WATCH THE TRAILER:

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Steven and his skilled filmmaking team on his first feature film and to bring a new chilling experience to horror/thriller fans,” said Josh Spector, SVP of Acquisitions at Vertical Entertainment. “We look forward to audiences feeling the same gripping suspense we did when we first saw the film as they truly experience The Secret of Sinchanee.” 

The Secret of Sinchanee was produced by Steven Grayhm and Nate Boyer under their Team House Studios banner and Grayhm directed from his own script. Joe Newcomb (Dallas Buyers Club) served as executive producer through Truth Entertainment.

 

"This is a deeply personal film that tackles incredibly challenging themes of xenophobia, childhood trauma, and mental health issues, testing the confines of the horror/thriller genre." Grayhm shared of his first feature.

Of his work with the first-time director, Newcomb said, “Steven is one of the most exciting emerging filmmakers: both as an original storyteller and a producing partner committed to diversity and veteran empowerment. Sinchanee is shockingly beautiful and absolutely terrifying!”

The Secret of Sinchanee: 115 minutes / USA / English 

The Film Detective Presents: "THE AMAZING MR. X" (1948) & "FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER" (1958) Coming To Blu-ray and DVD in October

 

The Film Detective has two special-edition titles arriving on Blu-ray and DVD just in time for Halloween …

"THE AMAZING MR. X" (1948) Oct. 5th, and "FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER" (1948) Oct. 19th

####

Atmospheric Film Noir Masterpiece, "The Amazing Mr. X" (1948) Coming to Special-Edition Blu-ray & DVD, Oct. 5th

Starring the Mysterious Turhan Bey, With Exclusive Special Features

From Out of the Surf It Came ... A Familiar Voice ... A Voice That Belonged to the Afterlife!


LOS ANGELES — October 2021 — For Immediate Release: Cinedigm, the leading independent streaming company super-serving enthusiast fan bases, announced today that The Film Detective (TFD), the classic media streaming network and film archive that restores and distributes classic films, is releasing a special- edition version of the mystifying, film noir classic, The Amazing Mr. X (1948), on Blu-ray and DVD, Oct. 5.

The Amazing Mr. X stars Turhan Bey as Alexis, a mystery man who claims to communicate with spirits. Appearing on the beach one night, Alexis easily charms a depressed widow (Lynn Bari) and her sister (Cathy O'Donnell). The sly Alexis makes a living by separating gullible people from their money, but before this tale is over, he will learn that the living are far more dangerous than the dead.

 

Featuring exceptional cinematography by John Alton, director Bernard Vorhaus delivers a film that oozes weird passion and sinister suspense. The film’s striking 4K restoration from original 35mm film elements and Bey’s performance as the debonair, yet lurking mystic, contributes to one of the most unforgettable film noir restorations to be released in recent years.

Featured alongside The Amazing Mr. X (1948) release will be an exclusive opportunity to own the film with The Amazing Mr. X NFT Auction, live on Rad. The winner of the auction will receive an exclusive physical framed lithograph of the movie poster, two Blu-ray copies of The Amazing Mr. X and NFT tokenized access to view the movie on Rad. The auction is currently available and will close on Oct. 4. For more information, visit: https://rad.live/nft/0x7b5435058ce23328bb918e815c4c13558e468964/14

 
SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio commentary from professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney ● a full-color booklet with essay, “The Amazing Mr. Bey,” by Don Stradley ● Mysteries Exposed: Inside the Cinematic World of Spiritualism, an original documentary from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures.

The Amazing Mr. X will be available Oct. 5 on Blu-ray ($24.95) and DVD ($19.95) and can be pre-ordered now via Amazon and MVD. For more information or to pre-order, visit: https://www.thefilmdetective.com/amazing-mr-x

WATCH THE TRAILER:




 

The Amazing Mr. X

The Film Detective

Genre: Film Noir

Original Release: 1948 (BW)

Not Rated

Running Time: 78 Minutes

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

SRP: $24.95 (Blu-ray) / $19.95 (DVD)

Discs: 1

Release Date: October 5, 2021 (Pre-order Now)

UPC Code:  760137652588 (Blu-ray) / 760137658092 (DVD)

Catalog #:  FB1013 (Blu-ray) / FD1013 (DVD)

       

# # #

 
 

 
Richard E. Cunha’s Cult Classic, Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958) Coming to Special-Edition Blu-ray & DVD, Oct. 19th

1950s Re-Imagined Frankenstein Film is Reaching From Beyond the Grave to Relive the HORROR and TERROR on Special-Edition Blu-Ray and DVD, With Exclusive Bonus Features


LOS ANGELES — October 2021 — For Immediate Release: Cinedigm, the leading independent streaming company super-serving enthusiast fan bases, announced today that The Film Detective (TFD), the classic media streaming network and film archive that restores and distributes classic films, is releasing a special-edition version of the 1950s cult classic, Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958), starring John Ashley and Sandra Knight, on Blu-ray and DVD Oct. 19.

Fans of low-budget horror will recognize many familiar faces, including John Ashley, Harold Lloyd, Jr., and former Playboy Playmate of the Month, Sally Todd. For director Richard E. Cunha, Frankenstein's Daughter was released in the heat of a historic year for low-budget favorites, also having directed such cult classics as She Demons (1958), Giant from the Unknown (1958) and Missile to the Moon (1958).

Frankenstein’s Daughter finds Dr. Oliver Frank (Donald Murphy) carrying on the legacy of his late grandfather, the notorious Dr. Frankenstein, by building his own hulking beast with the transplanted brain of a beautiful, young woman. Bringing a fresh twist to Frankenstein films, Frankenstein’s Daughter takes place in ''modern'' Los Angeles, where—despite news reports of a female monster menacing the neighborhood—nothing stops the local sun-soaked teenagers from partying poolside.

This special-edition release marks the latest in a series of collaborations between The Film Detective and The Wade Williams Collection. Restorations of Flight to Mars (1951), Giant From the Unknown (1958) and The Other Side of Madness (1971), have also been released recently on special-edition Blu-ray and DVD.

 
 

 
SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio commentary track with author and historian Tom Weaver ● Full color booklet with original essay by Weaver ● Richard E. Cunha: Filmmaker of the Unknown, a new retrospective from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, featuring an archival interview with the famed director ● John Ashley: Man from the B’s, a new career retrospective featuring film historian C. Courtney Joyner

Frankenstein’s Daughter will be available Oct. 19 on Blu-ray ($24.95) and DVD ($19.95) and can be pre-ordered now via Amazon and MVD. For more information or to pre-order, visit https://www.thefilmdetective.com/frankensteins-daughter

 
Frankenstein’s Daughter

The Film Detective

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi

Original Release: 1958 (BW)

Not Rated

Running Time: 85 Minutes

Language: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

SRP: $24.95 (Blu-ray) / $19.95 (DVD)

Discs: 1

Release Date: October 19, 2021 (Pre-order now)

UPC Code:  760137658283 (Blu-ray) / 760137658191 (DVD)

Catalog #:  FB1014 (Blu-ray) / FD1014 (DVD)

 

About The Film Detective:

The Film Detective (TFD) is a leading distributor of restored classic programming, including feature films, television, foreign imports, and documentaries and is a division of Cinedigm. Launched in 2014, TFD has distributed its extensive library of 3,000+ hours of film on DVD and Blu-ray and through leading broadcast and streaming platforms such as Turner Classic Movies, NBC, EPIX, Pluto TV, Amazon, MeTV, PBS and more. With a strong focus on increasing the digital reach of its content, TFD has released its classic movie app on web, Android, iOS, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. TFD is also available live with a 24/7 linear channel available on Sling TV, STIRR, Plex, Local Now, Rakuten TV and DistroTV. For more information, visit www.thefilmdetective.com


About Cinedigm:

For more than 20 years, Cinedigm has led the digital transformation of the entertainment industry. Today, Cinedigm entertains hundreds of millions of consumers around the globe by providing premium content, streaming channels and technology services to the world's largest media, technology and retail companies.

Amazon & Blumhouse's Gothic Horror Film "THE MANOR" Releasing Worldwide on Amazon Prime Video Oct 8

 

Amazon & Blumhouse's Gothic Horror Film "THE MANOR" Releasing Worldwide on Amazon Prime Video Oct 8

 

A chilling examination of how we view aging and our treatment of the elderly, with a supernatural twist, THE MANOR centers on Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey) who recently suffered a mild stroke and reluctantly moves into a historic nursing home where she becomes convinced an unknown force is killing the residents.  

Axelle utilizes her keen eye for high-brow horror to showcase the exceptional talents of Barbara Hershey in a rare over-70 female protagonist role, supported by a star-studded cast including Bruce Davison, Nicholas Alexander, Jill Larsen, Fran Bennett and Katie Amanda Keane. Axelle’s script explores the humanity of our elderly population and how these members of our society are vibrant, capable, and not expendable.

THE MANOR will launch on Amazon as part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse series, a quartet of unique, unsettling thrillers developed and produced with an eye towards diverse, original storytelling with an emphasis on rising female filmmakers. THE MANOR will premiere as part of the series, among 3 additional titles: Black as Night, Madres, and Bingo Hell.

 

About Axelle Carolyn:
A passionate fan of genre content and a talented director to watch, Axelle has several projects under her belt across both the television and film spaces, helming several recent beloved genre stories. In addition to THE MANOR, she recently directed episodes of several prestigious TV shows in the last year, including the standout, black-and-white chapter of “The Haunting of Bly Manor” from Paramount, Amblin, and Netflix, which Rotten Tomatoes called “the year’s most haunting hour of TV”, as well as Ryan Murphy’s lauded FX series “American Horror Story”, Shudder’s “Creepshow,” and Netflix’s upcoming “The Midnight Club.” Axelle’s previous writing credits also include the “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” for Warner Bros and Netflix.  Her feature directorial debut, a slow-burn ghost story titled SOULMATE won several awards in festivals around the world and is currently streaming on Amazon.
 

The David Susskind Archive To Release Four Classic Programs On Home Video For The First Time

 

The David Susskind Archive announces four classic programs for release on home video for the first time

THE PAUL NEWMAN TRILOGY (DVD and Digital) [10/5]

THE POWER AND THE GLORY (DVD and Digital) [10/5]

HARVEY (DVD and Digital) [11/9]

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY (DVD and Digital) [12/14]

    
    
Paul Newman - The Paul Newman Trilogy

 

Three early live TV performances starring Paul Newman as a college kid, a clothing manufacturer, and a cowardly soldier.

Produced by David Susskind for inclusion in various TV anthology series, these shows have not be seen since their original air dates in 1956-57. Featuring all star casts, headed by Paul Newman and starring Jack Lord, Nehemiah Persoff, Sydney Pollack, and Frank Campanella, each episode contains the original commercials and previews of future shows.

"Five In Judgment" has 2 hitch hiking college kids forced to seek shelter from a storm in a small town diner where they're falsely accused of committing murder. The diner customers and owner terrorize the boys in the belief they committed the murder, only to discover the horrible truth. "The Rag Jungle" has Newman working for his father as a clothing manufacturer. They run up against racketeers demanding protection money, Newman refuses to pay and after his father is attacked, he organizes other manufacturers to stand up against the gangsters. "The Army Game" portrays Newman as a spoiled mama's boy, a 9 letter man in college and a narcissist who doesn't want to be in the Army. His efforts to get a discharge anger his friends and barrack mates and it's not until he's attacked in the barracks that he's given his discharge.

 

ADDITIONAL INFO/IMAGES

    
    
The Power And The Glory

 
 

 
The Graham Greene novel that made the world gasp,the drama of a priest who somehow stumbled onto the road to martyrdom

In the 1930s, a cynical Catholic priest is sent to Mexico to preach in post-revolution Mexico: a cleric who risks his life by continuing to conduct the Catholic Mass in secret after the totalitarian government has outlawed the Catholic Church. In order to confer the Christian sacraments, the priest must have wine but his attempts to obtain wine will call attention to his clandestine activities.

Featuring an All star cast with multiple Oscar winners, the film was released theatrically in Europe and was nominated for an Emmy and DGA awards. The novel was recommended reading by Barack Obama in 2008. For fans of: As You Like It, Merchant of Venice, 21 Days, The Fugitive.

WATCH THE TRAILER

ADDITIONAL INFO/IMAGES

    
    
Harvey

 

 
Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six-foot rabbit for a best friend, a man is thought to be insane

The classic stage hit gets the Hollywood treatment in the story of Elwood P. Dowd, an endlessly pleasant and delightfully eccentric bachelor living in a small town that isn't aware that its newest citizen is a invisible, 6'3" white rabbit named "Harvey" that only he sees. After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for the family to heal.

Featuring an all-star cast (Art Carney, Larry Blyden, Fred Gwynne, Marion Lorne, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charlotte Rae, Jack Weston), the film master elements were provided by the Paley Center for Media. The Elwood P. Dowd character and imaginary rabbit are referenced in a variety of places: The Simpsons, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Field of Dreams, Shawshank Redemption, Farscape, Bob’s Burgers, and Scrubs. The novel won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize, instead of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie. For fans of: The Honeymooners, Munsters, Bewitched, and Donnie Darko.

 

WATCH THE TRAILER 

ADDITIONAL INFO/IMAGES 

    

The Bridge Of San Luis Rey

 

A friar is tried by the Inquisition for questioning God's intentions when five die in the collapse of an Andean bridge.

In early 18th century Peru (1714), an old Inca rope bridge over a gorge in the Andes, collapses, plunging five travelers to their deaths. Brother Juniper, who was within minutes of being on the bridge himself, becomes obsessed with discovering how five people of differing class and circumstances came to be on the bridge at that moment. The Catholic friar wants to know if it was mere existential happenstance or part of God's cosmic plan. After researching the lives of the victims for five years and publishing his findings in a book, he is accused of heresy by the worldly Archbishop of Lima and put on trial for his life by the Inquisition.

Starring Judith Anderson (who received an Emmy nomination for her role) and Theodore Bikel, Hume Cronyn, Rita Gam, Viveca Lindfors, and Kurt Kaznar, the film originally aired as part of Dupont Show Of the Month which was watched by 47% of the available audience. The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, Thornton Wilder’s second novel, won a Pulitzer Prize and is #37 on the American Modern Library's list of “100 Best 20th Century Novels." For Fans of Our Town, and Hello Dolly. 

ADDITIONAL INFO  

Coolest Steven Seagal Ending Ever? ("URBAN JUSTICE", 2007)(video)

 

(SPOILER ALERT!)

As hokey as it may be...

...I think "Urban Justice" is one of the most fun Steven Seagal direct-to-DVD flicks.

It's a straightforward 70s-style action thriller.

And one of the best things about it...

...is what I consider to be a surprisingly cool ending.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

"REBOOT CAMP" Film Drops 11 NFTs With Mogul Productions Featuring The Stars From The Film

 

‘REBOOT CAMP’ FILM DROPS 11 NFTs WITH MOGUL PRODUCTIONS FEATURING STARS FROM THE FILM

DAVID LIPPER, JESSICA BELKIN, NICOLE ANISTON, CHAZ BONO, JA RULE, AND DAVID KOECHNER

NFT Auction Winners Will Also Receive Invites To Star-studded Event For Meet-and-Greet with Stars of the Film

 
HOLLYWOOD, CA (SEPTEMBER 10, 2021) – The production team behind the award-winning comedy Reboot Camp has partnered with Mogul Productions, a global non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and decentralized finance (DeFi) platform for film and entertainment, for a major NFT drop scheduled for September 16, 2021.
 
The NFTs being auctioned include a series of never-before-seen NFTs made from deleted scenes from Reboot Camp featuring David Lipper, Jessica Belkin, Nicole Aniston, Chaz Bono, Ja Rule, and David Koechner. In addition to the digitally signed collectibles, 25 digitally signed NFT movie posters will be minted, each including a personalized screener of the movie customized by the lead actor/producer David Lipper and writer/director Ivo Raza. NFT DROP:
 
The “NFT Bonanza” will include 11 one-of-a-kind NFTs and the auction winners will also receive tickets to attend the VIP Invite-only red-carpet screening of Reboot Camp, and a meet-and-greet with the filmmakers and stars of the movie.

 

 

The star-studded event will take place at the famous Cinelounge® Outdoors at 1625 N. Las Palmas Ave. in Hollywood, on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. PDT. The NFT buyers plus a guest will be introduced to cast and crew for pictures on the red carpet, autographs, and the chance to mingle at an exclusive afterparty with a guest list of less than 150 people. It will be a fan’s ultimate Instagrammable experience! The event will also be streamed live to a global audience on Mogul Productions’ YouTube channel.
 
“We’re excited to partner with Mogul to launch the NFTs to create this unique collection digital artworks from the film and use some of the exclusive materials that didn’t make it into the final cut of Reboot Camp. The NFT and Cryptocurrency world will also be the setting for Reboot Camp’s upcoming sequel,” said David Lipper, producer of Reboot Camp. 

 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

 
About Reboot Camp

Reboot Camp is a multi-award-winning independent film/mockumentary about a fake guru whose sham self-help group becomes a success and turns into a cult. It premiered at the 2020 Austin Film Festival where it won the audience award for best comedy and went on to win several other Comedy Awards on the Film Festival Circuit. The film was written and directed by Ivo Raza. It was produced by David Lipper under his Northern Productions banner, along with Tina Sutakanat, Jim Johnston, with Co-Producers Keli Price, David Roberson, and Kipp Tribble, and Executive Producers Tim Alek and Steve Gentry.
 
The film was released in May 2021 and is currently available on all major platforms including Amazon, iTunes, Fandango.
 
www.rebootcampfilm.com        TW/IG @rebootcampfilm

 
About Mogul Productions

Mogul Productions is revolutionizing film financing through decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing a global audience of film fans to directly participate in the movies and entertainment industry. It’s a platform for film fans, by film fans, empowering users to take an active role in the script-to-screen process. www.mogulproductions.com 

#####

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files. (Wikipedia)

Joe Bob's America is Back!

 

JOE BOB’S AMERICA IS BACK

After getting kicked out of every decent publication in America, I’ve found a new home at the “Lost Drive-In” Patreon (don’t worry, the column is free), where all my archived videos are being restored, digitized and preserved. This will probably be bi-weekly but I never know what fresh time-wasting hell will be thrown my way as I re-launch the “How Rednecks Saved Hollywood” live show, continue to create new specials and series for Shudder, and hit the convention circuit whenever requested. (Look for an email with my full appearance schedule soon.)

The grand plan is to continue to do the two weekly columns that I wrote for several decades—this one and “Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In”—but without any intermediaries this time. As usual, I’m dedicated to having the last non-partisan forum in America, neither left nor Right, neither Democrat nor Republican, neither conservative nor liberal, which everyone around me regards as a quaint idea doomed to failure.

So, in the words of Captain Edward Smith, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our maiden voyage!” . . .

Smushing People Together to Fight COVID

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Have you ever considered that maybe all the Customer Assistance reps—those perky people with headsets sitting in cubicles in Sandpoint, Idaho, the ones you talk to after listening to 45 minutes of cool-jazz vibraphone music or, for the especially cute mega-corporations, an endless loop of “Hold the Line” by Toto—are lifetime subscribers to QAnon Weekly and believe that the New World Order has regular meetings in a secret bunker underneath the Denver airport?

The reason I ask is that most of them seem to believe that COVID-19 is so powerful it can hamper the ability of trucks to run down the interstate, infect telephone lines, and turn tanning beds into weapons of mass destruction.

“This donut I’m buying—normally it has sprinkles on it.”

“Sorry, sir, COVID-19. We can’t use sprinkles during the pandemic.”

I mean, there are 794 new things every week that people say you just can’t do during a pandemic, none of them having anything to do with masking, vaxxing, hand-washing, or cramming 65,000 people into Raymond James Stadium, which is exactly what the Bucs will be doing Thursday night when they host the Cowboys.

Most hotels now refuse to clean your room while you’re staying in it—unless you need cleaning.

In other words, it’s excessively dangerous for a vaccinated hotel employee to enter a hotel room with mask and latex gloves in order to restock the mini-fridge and fluff a pillow or two—but if you call the front desk and say “I’d really like you to come clean the room today,” the danger disappears and they say, “Certainly, Mister Briggs, we’ll send someone right up!” The implications of this policy are that my personal preferences have the supernatural power to neutralize all respiratory droplets when my pillow needs fluffing. At the Hampton Inn, I become the CIA Mind-Control Section Chief.

The amazing thing is that most people think all the COVID-19 policies sound reasonable.

"Yeah, that makes sense, of course you can’t answer your phone at the Customer Service Answering-the-Phone Department—COVID-19!”

"You missed another deadline on the Cleveland Project write-up? Who could blame you? You probably have to Lysol your computer screen a hundred and fifty times a day.”

Am I the only person who thinks COVID-19 has become a giant version of a “Gone Fishing” sign?

Read The Full Column Here



©2021 Joe Bob Briggs | NY, NY 

Best Selling "AXIS OF TIME" Novels In Development as Time-Bending Military Series

 

John Birmingham's Best-Selling "Axis of Time" Trilogy

In Development as Historical Sci-Fi Military Epic Drama

Occupation: Rainfall's Luke Sparke to Write and Direct

Los Angeles, CA-- Sparke Films has secured the television rights to the "Axis of Time" trilogy, the best-selling novels by John Birmingham. The epic drama television series, tentatively titled "Weapons of Choice" after the first book in the series, is in late development with offers out to first-choice cast. "Weapons of Choice" will explore the far-reaching effects of time, war, and the human condition.

Written by Luke Sparke (the Occupation franchise), "Weapons of Choice" is a historical sci-fi military-techno epic drama, based on Birmingham's best-selling "Axis of Time" trilogy, comprised of "Weapons of Choice", "Designated Targets" and "Final Impact".

As talent is approached and locations are scouted, Birmingham enthused: “I am stoked to see Luke and his crew turn this favorite, much loved story into something new and madly exciting. His Occupation films are enormous fun and his plans to blast "Weapons of Choice" onto the screen promise even more. More fun, more action, more head-spinning concepts and adventures. I’ve always had a movie of this series running somewhere in my head and reading his script, seeing the artwork, it was like it suddenly exploded all around me.”

The pilot is a collaboration between executive producer and showrunner Luke Sparke and co-writer Jay Thames. Carly Imrie and Carmel Imrie will produce, alongside Trimax Media's Alan Glazier (The Bank Job, Get Smart) and Zachary Garred (Occupation Rainfall).

The "Axis of Time" trilogy deals with the radical rip in the fabric of time when a technologically advanced naval task force from the near future is accidentally transported back through time to 1942, landing in the middle of WWII.

A military experiment in the near future has thrust an American-led multinational armada back to 1942, right into the middle of the U.S. naval task force speeding toward Midway Atoll, and what was to be the most spectacular U.S. triumph of the entire war.

Thousands die in the chaos, but the changes in the time space continuum have only begun. For the veterans of Pearl Harbor, led by Admiral Spruance, have never seen a helicopter, or a satellite link, or a nuclear weapon. And they’ve never encountered an African American colonel or a mixed-race female British naval commander. While they embrace the armada’s awesome firepower, they may find the twenty-first century sailors themselves far from acceptable.

Initial jubilation at news the Allies would win the war is quickly doused by the chilling realization that the time travelers themselves, by their very presence, have rendered history null and void. Celebration turns to dread when the possibility arises that other elements of the twenty-first century may have also made the trip, and might now be aiding Yamamoto and the Japanese.

"When I read John's "Weapons of Choice" on its release back in 2004, I knew immediately it would make an amazing TV series. That book and the subsequent trilogy became my "Catcher in the Rye". When I reached out to John with my ideas, I got to work developing the first season. Five years later, we have a series that is extremely relevant and timely with everything going on in the world. There's never been a better time to look back on our history and see how far we have come, let alone throwing our current culture 80 years back in time and see the two worlds collide. This series is very dear to my heart and will developed for the screen with loving care," Sparke said in a statement as he courts interest from multiple networks, streamers and sales agents.

Luke Sparke is repped by Seth Nagel Management and John Birmingham by Russell Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.

Great 3 Stooges Running Gag: "Girlfriends With Rhyming Names" (video)

 

The Stooges are married or engaged to three girls with rhyming names...

...and very questionable taste in men.

Woo woo woo! 

(threestooges.net)

THE SITTER DOWNERS (1937)
IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE (1941)
THREE SMART SAPS (1942)
BACK FROM THE FRONT (1943)
UNCIVIL WAR BIRDS (1946)
G. I. WANNA HOME(1946)
RHYTHM AND WEEP (1946)
I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE (1948)
PARDON MY BACKFIRE (1953)
MUSTY MUSKETEERS (1954)
PALS AND GALS (1954)
SHOT IN THE FRONTIER (1954)


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

"WHAT?" Black-And-White, Silent Comedy Filmed In The Style Of Charlie Chaplin Will World Premiere at Dances With Films 9/9/21

 

THE DEAF and HEARING ENSEMBLE COMEDY FROM DIRECTOR ALEK LEV

“WHAT?”

STARRING JOHN MAUCERE

TO WORLD PREMIERE AT DANCES WITH FILMS IN HOLLYWOOD AT TCL CHINESE 6 THEATRES ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
 
THE BLACK-AND-WHITE SILENT FILM ALSO STARS
 JOSH BRESLOW, AMBER ZION, JEREMY GUSKIN, AND THE INTERATIONALLY-REKNOWNED DEAF SPANISH COMIC DUO ‘THE MALOES’ MARIANA LONGARES ESRICHS & JOSEP DANIEL ROSELLO
 
NEW Festival Trailer and Poster Were Dropped Today!
 
He’s Deaf. Listen up.
 

HOLLYWOOD, CA (AUGUST 26, 2021) – Writer/director Alek Lev’s silent movie, the Deaf and hearing ensemble comedy WHAT? will have its World Premiere at the Dances with Films festival at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Thursday, September 9, at 7:00pm PT, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and cast.

What? was filmed in the black-and-white, silent comedy style of Charlie Chaplin but set in modern-day Los Angeles, including some of the famous Hollywood locations of Chaplin and Buster Keaton’s films. WHAT? tells the story of a Deaf actor, played by John Maucere, who is tired of the disrespect and discrimination he confronts in Hollywood. He decides – through sign language, gestures, and whatever it takes - to take matters into his own… hands. 

 
WATCH THE TRAILER:

https://www.thewhatmovie.com/trailer

 

Actor/producer John Maucere explains, “A century ago, in the era of silent films, Deaf and hearing audiences could laugh and cry together, as one. With the advent of sound, these audiences split apart, and have ever since experienced films in vastly different ways. With WHAT?, we are bringing back the unifying power of silent films, allowing everyone in our audience, Deaf and hearing alike, to laugh and cry together once more.”
 
In What?, DON is Deaf, uses American Sign Language, and wants to act on the big screen. He is successful within his own community, putting on a one-man ASL show to rapt Deaf audiences. But Don wants more. He strikes a deal to look after a Hollywood director’s visiting Spanish Deaf cousins in return for a part in this director’s film. Babysitting the cousins is a nightmare, and worse, the director casts a hearing actor in the Deaf role instead. Don lowers himself to making another deal, agreeing to teach this guy ASL.

But the director backstabs Don yet again, casting Don in a small, silly, hearing role. Horribly embarrassed, Don comes up with a plan that shows the director what it feels like to be disrespected, which ultimately convinces the director to give Don the role of his dreams… but is that what it really is? In the end, Don returns to his own community, realizing that while “mainstream” success has its joys, genuine love and understanding comes from the people who truly see him.  

“The underlying story of discrimination may be serious, but the tone is light and exaggerated in the classic Chaplin/Keaton style. But like Chaplin, we do hope to make you think by making you laugh,” said writer/director Lev.
 
In addition to John Maucere, the black-and-white silent feature stars an ensemble cast of Deaf and hearing actors, including Josh Breslow, Jeremy Guskin, Marina Longares Escrichs, Josep Daniel Rosello, Amber Zion, Sheena Lyles, and Keaton Talmadge, in an homage to her great-grandfather, Buster Keaton. Cameo by Anthony Natale from MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS and JERRY MAGUIRE. The actors communicate through American Sign Language, Catalan Sign Language, German Sign Language, (silent) spoken English, title cards, subtitles, and universal gestures.

 

The filmmakers include Deaf executive producers, Deaf investors, a Deaf cinematographer, Ruan du Plessis, and a hearing writer/director, Alek Lev, who is fluent in ASL, with a majority Deaf crew. John Maucere produced with his brother Paul Maucere under their banner The Maucere Brothers, with Cassandra Jones, Lev, and his partner in Hyphenate Films, Joel Viertel, who produced and edited the recent film THE BANKER, bought by Apple TV+ as its first theatrical release. Executive producers include Thomas and Terri Otto-Bruc, Uwe and Christina Schoenfeld, Robin Taylor, John Austin, and Vanessa R. Vaughn. Co-Executive Producers: Liz Tannebaum, John Austin, and Jonathan Weiss, proprietor of Big Mango Cafe.
 
The music reflects the movie’s expansion of another era’s cinematic language to tell a contemporary story. Composer and performer Justin Asher plays silent-movie-house piano in a complicated world, defiantly delivering genre-jumping, finger-dancing bursts of sound that roll synchronously with the dynamic physical drama and comedy. The score also features brief electronic music cues to mark moments of deep departure.
 
What? is available for worldwide distribution.
 
Photo rights granted for usage in coverage of the film “What?”.
©2021 The Maucere Brothers  /  Photo by: Ruan du Plessis
 
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