7/13/15 O&A Hollywood Monday: The Egyptian Pyramids

Hollywood-Mondays

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The Egyptian Pyramids, set in Cairo, 1920, an archaeologist is about to discover the secret of the Egyptian Pyramids. Directed by Corentin Charron, Lise Corriol, Olivier Lafay, Nicolas Mrikhi with music by Kalina Świątnicka.

The Egyptian Pyramids

7/6/15 O&A Hollywood Monday: Halle Berry- Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (excerpts)

Hollywood Mondays

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Introducing Dorothy Dandridge is the 1999 biography of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies, including becoming the first black actress to win a Best Actress Nomination in 1954 for “Carmen Jones”, to her death from prescription drugs, which remains debated whether it was suicide or accidental. In 2000 production won five Emmy Awards including Outstanding Art Direction, Cinematography, Costumes, Hairstyling and Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie—Halle Berry.  Continue reading

(Repost) O&A NYC TGIF : The L.A. Complex

 

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The L.A. Complex follows the lives of twenty year olds living in the same apartment complex in L.A. trying to make it as actors, dancers, producers and comedians. The story centers around Kaldrick King (Andra Fuller) a successful but troubled and bad-tempered rapper. King, originally from Oakland, California, is attempting to make a comeback in the music world while dealing with the secret of being a closeted homosexual. Continue reading

6/8/15 O&A Hollywood Monday Celebrates LGBT Month: Silent T

Hollywood Mondays

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Silent T is a short film exploring the social injustice that transgender individuals face, their daily struggles and turmoil they suffer with. ‘Silent T’ aims to promote equality for trans* people by exposing the topic to educate people about transgender issues within society. Continue reading

O&A Hollywood Monday Celebrating LGBT Month: Love is All You Need? (Imagine A World Where Being “Gay” The Norm & Being “Straight” Would Be The Minority!- Short Film)

Hollywood Mondays

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Love is All You Need?– imagine a world where being gay was the norm. Where children are born and raised in a society that sends the message that being straight is disgusting and a sin. Ashley Curtis, a girl born to two mothers discovers her opposite-sex attraction as a girl and constantly hears from everyone her parents, religious leaders and school officials  that she cannot love a boy. Continue reading

Hollywood Monday: Vin Diesel- Multi-Facial (1995)

Hollywood Mondays

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Multi-Facial is a 1995 short film directed, written, produced, scored by and starring the 22 year old Vin Diesel. The story depicts the professional and emotional issues faced by Mike (Diesel), a multiracial (Italian and African American) actor. The twenty-minute film is semi-autobiographical, drawing on Vin Diesel’s own frustration trying to find work as an actor of mixed ethnicity. The film was noticed by director Steven Spielberg, who would cast Diesel in Saving Private Ryan (1998). 

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Multi Facial

In the early 1990s, Diesel returned from Los Angeles to New York, frustrated with his failures in Hollywood. Diesel’s mother gave him a copy of Feature Films at Used Car Prices, a book about producing low-budget movies. Diesel said that he found the book “truly empowering,” and it motivated him to make his own movies and wrote the script for Multi-Facial in five days. He produced and directed the film, shooting it over the course of three days for three thousand dollars.

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Vin Diesel also wrote and performed music for the film. However, Diesel became disillusioned by the response to the film and stopped work on it. With encouragement from his stepfather, Diesel finished the final edit and screened the film at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan. He received a strong response, and the film was accepted for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. The film was screened to standing-room only crowds.

The closing audition scene in the film is unexpectedly emotional, and effortlessly, it organically concludes the themes built up throughout the film. A great showcase for Diesel, the film works amazingly well cinematically, making it one of the great short films on acting ever made. 

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR DREAM !

5/3/15 O&A Hollywood Monday: Johnny Casanova the Unstoppable Sex Machine

Hollywood Mondays

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Johnny Casanova the Unstoppable Sex Machine is a short animation created in 2000. The lead character is Johnny Worms AKA Casanova, who just wants to be a hit with the girls. Despite loads of interest, the series never became a TV series. Simon Pegg played the voice of Johnny, written and directed by Jamie Rix and animation directed by Andy Wyatt. Continue reading