Rideback Rise, the nonprofit content accelerator announced last summer by Rideback producer Dan Lin to help level the playing field for Bipoc creators, has revealed its inaugural cohort.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
Six Fellows will each receive a $50,000 grant, while 10 Residents will each receive $10,000 in funding to develop their own film and television projects, which they will own and be free to set up or sell anywhere. The Fellows also have access to an Intellectual Property Fund to help them obtain rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to help them create high-quality presentations and sizzle reels to pitch their projects. Rise is supported by a growing mix of private and institutional donors, led by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation.
During the yearlong program, Rise seeks to foster a community among the inaugural cohort of Fellows and Rise, encouraging them to learn about and provide feedback on one another’s projects.
- 12/5/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rideback Rise, the 501c3 non-profit Bipoc content accelerator launched by producer Dan Lin to advance racial equity, has selected its inaugural cohort of 16 writers and filmmakers who will be financially and creatively supported as they seek to develop their own market-ready mainstream TV and film projects.
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
The cohort revealed Tuesday is composed of six “fellows” who will receive $50,000 grants for the year-long fellowship, and 10 “residents” who each receive $10,000 in funding. Fellows are additionally eligible to access an Intellectual Property Fund to secure underlying rights to material as well as a Visuals Fund to create presentations and reels for their projects.
The Fellows and Residents, selected from more than 400 applicants, will work from Rise’s offices located at Rideback Ranch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown.
A key feature of the Rise initiative is the collaborative approach that brings Fellows and Residents together to become familiar with each...
- 12/5/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Director James Gunn has been named PETA’s 2023 Person of the Year. Per the animal rights organization, Gunn has been selected “for using impressive and stunningly well-crafted CGI animals to inspire tens of millions of moviegoers—who flocked to theaters to see ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’—to have compassion for the millions of animals killed by experimenters in laboratories.”
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
The third installment of “Guardians of the Galaxy” explains Rocket Raccoon’s origin story as a test subject in a lab, alongside other animals.
“By telling the story of the millions of vulnerable animals abused in experiments, James Gunn has shown himself to be a true animal guardian,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is delighted to honor him for encouraging exactly what the world needs: empathy for all living beings.”
Gunn also adopted his dog, Ozu, in May 2022 and promoted #AdoptDontShop on each post related to his dog’s journey.
- 12/4/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay, Valerie Wu, Clayton Davis, Jaden Thompson and Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd returns to television with season 3 of his Fxx/Hulu series Dave. This season, Lil Dicky is on tour a quest for love and gets into plenty of genital-joke-filled shenanigans along the way. Featuring an incredibly talented cast and team of creatives behind the scenes who give the storytelling dimension, Dave Season 3 gets a 4.5 star review. Here’s what made the third season of the rapper’s Fxx series excellent.
‘Dave’ Season 3 is excellent | Showbiz Cheat Sheet ‘Dave’ cast reverts back to the basics in season 3
Season 1 of Dave was about Burd’s initial viral success and his quest to achieve long-lasting fame. In season 2, that fame quickly went to the rapper’s head. As a result, fame compromised some of the most important relationships in his life, especially his girlfriend Ally (Taylor Misiak).
Dave Season 3 strikes a balance between the versions of Lil Dicky we saw in the first two seasons.
‘Dave’ Season 3 is excellent | Showbiz Cheat Sheet ‘Dave’ cast reverts back to the basics in season 3
Season 1 of Dave was about Burd’s initial viral success and his quest to achieve long-lasting fame. In season 2, that fame quickly went to the rapper’s head. As a result, fame compromised some of the most important relationships in his life, especially his girlfriend Ally (Taylor Misiak).
Dave Season 3 strikes a balance between the versions of Lil Dicky we saw in the first two seasons.
- 3/29/2023
- by Lauren Anderson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Stand-up comedian and viral video star Teddy Ray has died. The news was confirmed this weekend by Comedy Central and Deadline, with the latter reporting that memorial details or cause of death have been announced. The performer was 32 years old.
A hilarious and good-natured improviser and a talented stand-up comic, Ray appeared on series like HBO Max's "Pause With Sam Jay," Biniam Bizuneh's comedy show "How To Be Broke," and the web series "Bsu," made by Issa Rae's Hoorae Media. The comedian was also featured on Comedy Central, in a set where he professed his preference for "chill outs" on stage as opposed to "act outs," and talked about singing Keysha Cole songs around gangsters as a child.
Many of Ray's most memorable viral moments came from seemingly off-the-cuff comments, as when he coined the popular phrase "double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon" in an All Def Digital...
A hilarious and good-natured improviser and a talented stand-up comic, Ray appeared on series like HBO Max's "Pause With Sam Jay," Biniam Bizuneh's comedy show "How To Be Broke," and the web series "Bsu," made by Issa Rae's Hoorae Media. The comedian was also featured on Comedy Central, in a set where he professed his preference for "chill outs" on stage as opposed to "act outs," and talked about singing Keysha Cole songs around gangsters as a child.
Many of Ray's most memorable viral moments came from seemingly off-the-cuff comments, as when he coined the popular phrase "double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon" in an All Def Digital...
- 8/13/2022
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Sope Aluko, who is best known for playing the Shaman in Marvel’s Black Panther, is joining Bammas.
The actor, who also featured in The CW’s Legacies and Sony and Marvel’s Venom, will star alongside Opeyemi “Opey” Olagbaju & Biniam Bizuneh in the Hulu pilot.
Bammas follows a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends, played by Olagbaju and Bizuneh, who struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington, D.C.
2022 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
Aluko will play Tolu, a doting mother and devout Christian who is very protective of her two kids. She is focused on her children achieving the American dream she and her late husband had hoped for them by emigrating.
The comedy is written and exec produced by Olagbaju and Bizuneh. Grandfathered creator Danny Chun, who serves as showrunner, Portlandia and Baskets co-creator Jonathan Krisel, who is directing,...
The actor, who also featured in The CW’s Legacies and Sony and Marvel’s Venom, will star alongside Opeyemi “Opey” Olagbaju & Biniam Bizuneh in the Hulu pilot.
Bammas follows a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends, played by Olagbaju and Bizuneh, who struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington, D.C.
2022 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
Aluko will play Tolu, a doting mother and devout Christian who is very protective of her two kids. She is focused on her children achieving the American dream she and her late husband had hoped for them by emigrating.
The comedy is written and exec produced by Olagbaju and Bizuneh. Grandfathered creator Danny Chun, who serves as showrunner, Portlandia and Baskets co-creator Jonathan Krisel, who is directing,...
- 4/13/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Hulu Orders Comedy Pilot ‘Bammas’ Starring Opeyemi Olagbaju & Biniam Bizuneh, Ramy Youssef Producing
Hulu has ordered the comedy pilot “Bammas” written by and starring Opeyemi Olagbaju and Biniam Bizuneh, Variety has learned.
The show follows a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends as they struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington DC.
Olagbaju and Bizuneh serve as executive producers in addition to starring and writing. Danny Chun (“The Office” “The Simpsons”), who mentored the pair at the Sundance Lab in 2019, will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Jonathan Krisel will direct and executive produce. Ramy Youssef will executive produce under his Cairo Cowboy banner with Andy Campagna overseeing for the company. ABC Signature is the studio.
Bizuneh is Ethiopian-American and has written for shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Dave,” and “Resident Alien.” He is also a stand up comedian, having performed as part of Comedy Central’s “Stand Up Featuring” as well as starring in...
The show follows a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends as they struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington DC.
Olagbaju and Bizuneh serve as executive producers in addition to starring and writing. Danny Chun (“The Office” “The Simpsons”), who mentored the pair at the Sundance Lab in 2019, will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Jonathan Krisel will direct and executive produce. Ramy Youssef will executive produce under his Cairo Cowboy banner with Andy Campagna overseeing for the company. ABC Signature is the studio.
Bizuneh is Ethiopian-American and has written for shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Dave,” and “Resident Alien.” He is also a stand up comedian, having performed as part of Comedy Central’s “Stand Up Featuring” as well as starring in...
- 3/15/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Hulu is proceeding with a pilot order to Bammas, a comedy written, executive produced by and starring Opeyemi “Opey” Olagbaju & Biniam Bizuneh.
Executive producing the pilot are Grandfathered creator Danny Chun, who serves as showrunner, Portlandia and Baskets co-creator Jonathan Krisel, who is directing, and Ramy Youssef. ABC Signature is the studio.
In Bammas, a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington, D.C.
Youssef executive produces through his Cairo Cowboy Banner, with Andy Campagna overseeing.
2022 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
Olagbaju, a Nigerian-American writer and comedian, and Bizuneh, an Ethiopian-American writer and comedian, developed the original pitch at the Sundance Episodic Lab in 2019. Former The Office head writer Chun was their mentor at the Sundance Lab where he read their script, brought it to ABC Signature where he had had a string of overall deals,...
Executive producing the pilot are Grandfathered creator Danny Chun, who serves as showrunner, Portlandia and Baskets co-creator Jonathan Krisel, who is directing, and Ramy Youssef. ABC Signature is the studio.
In Bammas, a pair of young Ethiopian- and Nigerian-American best friends struggle to overcome their loser reputations in a magical realist version of Washington, D.C.
Youssef executive produces through his Cairo Cowboy Banner, with Andy Campagna overseeing.
2022 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders
Olagbaju, a Nigerian-American writer and comedian, and Bizuneh, an Ethiopian-American writer and comedian, developed the original pitch at the Sundance Episodic Lab in 2019. Former The Office head writer Chun was their mentor at the Sundance Lab where he read their script, brought it to ABC Signature where he had had a string of overall deals,...
- 3/15/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
When the 14 newly minted Sundance Institute fellow step into the Episodic Labs on Thursday, they and their nine projects will be receiving guidance from some of the best of the small screen best.
Though Oz creator and City on the Hill executive producer Tom Fontana might freak some of the Fellows out with his enduring habit of writing out scripts in long hand, the multiple Emmy, Peabody Awards and Writers’ Guild Awards winner also offers the expertise of a master of the small screen form.
As a creative advisor to the Fellows (see the full list below) at the October 10 – 15 sixth annual Episodic Lab at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort, Fontana will be joined by American Gods showrunner Charles “Chic” Eglee and Justified showrunner Graham Yost.
In addition, Sex and the City Ep Jenny Bicks, Daniel Chun, Little America creator Lee Eisenberg, The Wilds co-ep Shalisha Francis,...
Though Oz creator and City on the Hill executive producer Tom Fontana might freak some of the Fellows out with his enduring habit of writing out scripts in long hand, the multiple Emmy, Peabody Awards and Writers’ Guild Awards winner also offers the expertise of a master of the small screen form.
As a creative advisor to the Fellows (see the full list below) at the October 10 – 15 sixth annual Episodic Lab at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort, Fontana will be joined by American Gods showrunner Charles “Chic” Eglee and Justified showrunner Graham Yost.
In addition, Sex and the City Ep Jenny Bicks, Daniel Chun, Little America creator Lee Eisenberg, The Wilds co-ep Shalisha Francis,...
- 10/8/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Wme has brought on filmmaker Matt Palmer, who directed and wrote his first feature, Calibre, which recently premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and picked the Michael Powell Award. The pic, which is available to stream on Netflix, is described as a brutal thriller set in the rural Scottish Highland. Jack Lowden (Dunkirk) and Martin McCann (The Survivalist) star. Prior to this feature Palmer directed and wrote the shorts The Gas Man and Island. He continues to be managed by Josh Varney at 42.
Comedic writer/actor Biniam Bizuneh has joined Paradigm Talent Agency for representation. The former Jimmy Kimmel Live staff writer recently starred as the lead opposite Beth Behrs in Lee Daniels’ single-camera comedy pilot Culture Clash (fka Our People) for Fox. Bizuneh wrote and starred in his originals for Comedy Central Digital, including How To Be Broke, which recently wrapped its second season. In addition, he performs...
Comedic writer/actor Biniam Bizuneh has joined Paradigm Talent Agency for representation. The former Jimmy Kimmel Live staff writer recently starred as the lead opposite Beth Behrs in Lee Daniels’ single-camera comedy pilot Culture Clash (fka Our People) for Fox. Bizuneh wrote and starred in his originals for Comedy Central Digital, including How To Be Broke, which recently wrapped its second season. In addition, he performs...
- 6/29/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Biniam Bizuneh has been cast in a lead role in the Fox pilot “Culture Clash,” formerly known as “Our People.”
Bizuneh will take over the role of Abel from “The Mayor” alum Bernard David Jones, who was recast following a table read for the pilot.
Based on the Endemol Shine Israeli format “Nevsu: A Young Multi-Cultural Couple,” the single-camera project follows Abel, a man from a bombastic African family who doesn’t have a word in their native language for “privacy,” and his fiancee Jenny (Beth Behrs), who hails from a mid-western family, as they try to build a normal life together.
Bizuneh and Behrs will star alongside Lea Thompson, Charles Parnell, Saidah Arrika, Matthew Glave, and Skai Jackson. Bizuneh previously served as a writer for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and starred in projects like “LieGuys” and “How to Be Broke.” He is repped by Primary Wave Entertainment.
“Culture Clash” received...
Bizuneh will take over the role of Abel from “The Mayor” alum Bernard David Jones, who was recast following a table read for the pilot.
Based on the Endemol Shine Israeli format “Nevsu: A Young Multi-Cultural Couple,” the single-camera project follows Abel, a man from a bombastic African family who doesn’t have a word in their native language for “privacy,” and his fiancee Jenny (Beth Behrs), who hails from a mid-western family, as they try to build a normal life together.
Bizuneh and Behrs will star alongside Lea Thompson, Charles Parnell, Saidah Arrika, Matthew Glave, and Skai Jackson. Bizuneh previously served as a writer for “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and starred in projects like “LieGuys” and “How to Be Broke.” He is repped by Primary Wave Entertainment.
“Culture Clash” received...
- 4/2/2018
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Fox is making some significant tweaks to its Lee Daniels-produced comedy pilot Our People. For starters, it has a new title — Culture Clash. It also has a new co-lead in Biniam Bizuneh.
The actor-writer-comedian has been tapped to replace Bernard David Jones (The Mayor) as the male lead opposite 2 Broke Girls‘ Beth Behrs, TVLine has learned. The recast was made following the pilot’s first table read.
Based on the Israeli format Nevsu: A Young Multi-Cultural Couple, the potential single-camera series centers on a married couple (played by Bizuneh and Behrs) with deeply divergent backgrounds: he’s from a...
The actor-writer-comedian has been tapped to replace Bernard David Jones (The Mayor) as the male lead opposite 2 Broke Girls‘ Beth Behrs, TVLine has learned. The recast was made following the pilot’s first table read.
Based on the Israeli format Nevsu: A Young Multi-Cultural Couple, the potential single-camera series centers on a married couple (played by Bizuneh and Behrs) with deeply divergent backgrounds: he’s from a...
- 4/2/2018
- TVLine.com
Actor-writer Biniam Bizuneh has been cast as the male lead opposite Beth Behrs in Culture Clash (fka Our People), Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot from Lee Daniels and Modern Family executive producer Vali Chandrasekaran. Bizuneh replaces former The Mayor co-star Bernard David Jones who had been originally tapped for the role. The recasting decision was made after the pilot’s table read.
The project from Lee Daniels Entertainment, Endemol Shine and 20th Century Fox TV is based on the Israeli format Nevsu: A Young Multicultural Couple.
Written by Chandrasekaran and directed by Trent O’Donnell, Culture Clash revolves around Abel (Bizuneh), a man from a bombastic African family that doesn’t have a word in their native language for “privacy,” and his fiancée Jenny (Behrs), from a Midwestern family, as they try to build a normal life together — though nobody can agree what that “normal” means.
Bizuneh’s Abel is...
The project from Lee Daniels Entertainment, Endemol Shine and 20th Century Fox TV is based on the Israeli format Nevsu: A Young Multicultural Couple.
Written by Chandrasekaran and directed by Trent O’Donnell, Culture Clash revolves around Abel (Bizuneh), a man from a bombastic African family that doesn’t have a word in their native language for “privacy,” and his fiancée Jenny (Behrs), from a Midwestern family, as they try to build a normal life together — though nobody can agree what that “normal” means.
Bizuneh’s Abel is...
- 4/2/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
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