Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV was a bombshell documentary series which put the spotlight on the toxic and disturbing culture behind the scenes at Nickelodeon during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Particular focus was paid to Dan Schneider, the producer behind many of Nickelodeon’s biggest hits during that time, but he’s fighting back with a lawsuit against the producers of Quiet on Set.
While Dan Scheider has apologized for the behaviour that was depicted on Quiet on Set, he feels that the documentary series has destroyed his “legacy and reputation” by alleging that he was a sexual abuser. The documentary revealed that dialogue coach Brian Peck and former production assistant Jason Handy were child sexual abusers, with Peck serving 16 months in prison for sexually assaulting Drake Bell. While Scheider hasn’t been accused of any sexual abuse, he believes the documentary implies that...
While Dan Scheider has apologized for the behaviour that was depicted on Quiet on Set, he feels that the documentary series has destroyed his “legacy and reputation” by alleging that he was a sexual abuser. The documentary revealed that dialogue coach Brian Peck and former production assistant Jason Handy were child sexual abusers, with Peck serving 16 months in prison for sexually assaulting Drake Bell. While Scheider hasn’t been accused of any sexual abuse, he believes the documentary implies that...
- 5/1/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider has filed a defamation lawsuit over Investigation Discovery’s bombshell docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
The five-part docuseries aired earlier this year and featured many former child actors sharing allegations of abuse and misconduct while they worked on several wildly popular Nickelodeon shows during the Nineties and 2000s. Schneider created and oversaw many of these shows, and the docuseries included various claims against him, including gender discrimination, overlooking actors of colors, making inappropriate jokes, and asking employees for massages. (Schneider...
The five-part docuseries aired earlier this year and featured many former child actors sharing allegations of abuse and misconduct while they worked on several wildly popular Nickelodeon shows during the Nineties and 2000s. Schneider created and oversaw many of these shows, and the docuseries included various claims against him, including gender discrimination, overlooking actors of colors, making inappropriate jokes, and asking employees for massages. (Schneider...
- 5/1/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Former children’s television producer Dan Schneider is suing the producers of ID’s Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries, calling the show a “hit job” that implied he was a sexual abuser of children.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by TVLine, states: “While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by TVLine, states: “While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself.
- 5/1/2024
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Dan Schneider has sued Investigation Discovery for defamation over his portrayal in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, accusing the company of falsely implying that he sexually abused children who worked on the Nickelodeon series he created and ran.
Schneider, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, says his depiction in the five-part docuseries is a “hit job.” While it’s true that two child sexual abusers worked on network shows, he says he had “no knowledge of their abuse,” condemned it and “was not a child sexual abuser himself.”
“But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that,” the lawsuit says.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which distributed the project on Max, and producers Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television are also named in the complaint.
Schneider, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, says his depiction in the five-part docuseries is a “hit job.” While it’s true that two child sexual abusers worked on network shows, he says he had “no knowledge of their abuse,” condemned it and “was not a child sexual abuser himself.”
“But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that,” the lawsuit says.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which distributed the project on Max, and producers Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television are also named in the complaint.
- 5/1/2024
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dan Schneider has filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers of the Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which uncovered alleged abuse and misconduct at Nickelodeon and became Max’s biggest streaming title ever.
The lawsuit, obtained by Variety and filed by Schneider’s attorneys Jana Moser and Richard McKie, reads in part: “‘Quiet on Set’s’ portrayal of Schneider is a hit job. While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself. But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that.
The lawsuit, obtained by Variety and filed by Schneider’s attorneys Jana Moser and Richard McKie, reads in part: “‘Quiet on Set’s’ portrayal of Schneider is a hit job. While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself. But for the sake of clickbait, ratings, and views — or put differently, money — Defendants have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy through the false statements and implications that Schneider is exactly that.
- 5/1/2024
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Showrunners are the creative visionaries of a series.
They might not be the original creators, but they cover all aspects of the creative elements, evolve the show's vision, and decide where the story and character arcs will go.
They run the writing rooms, head the development, hire writers, and ensure actors are kept happy and that the budget is not exceeded.
Series are usually a collective effort, with writers giving their thoughts, but showrunners have the final say and are essential.
Where would the industry be without people like Shonda Rhimes, Matt and Ross Duffer (Stranger Things), and Ryan Murphy?
It would be mundane and repetitive.
Intelligent and prolific showrunners are the difference between a hit and a flop.
They set an unwavering tone for their ideas, and consistency is vital.
If the reason you fell in love with a series is altered or gone one day, then the connection created is absent,...
They might not be the original creators, but they cover all aspects of the creative elements, evolve the show's vision, and decide where the story and character arcs will go.
They run the writing rooms, head the development, hire writers, and ensure actors are kept happy and that the budget is not exceeded.
Series are usually a collective effort, with writers giving their thoughts, but showrunners have the final say and are essential.
Where would the industry be without people like Shonda Rhimes, Matt and Ross Duffer (Stranger Things), and Ryan Murphy?
It would be mundane and repetitive.
Intelligent and prolific showrunners are the difference between a hit and a flop.
They set an unwavering tone for their ideas, and consistency is vital.
If the reason you fell in love with a series is altered or gone one day, then the connection created is absent,...
- 5/1/2024
- by Eve Pierpont
- TVfanatic
The anticipation surrounding Illinoise, the stage musical and dance performance inspired by Sufjan Stevens’ revered album of the same name, has been building for quite some time. Following successful runs at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater and New York City’s Park Avenue Armory, Illinois has now arrived on Broadway, opening at the St. James Theatre, just in time for eligibility at the 2024 Tony Awards.
Since its debut at Bard College in New York last spring, the production has garnered wide acclaim from critics.
Upon its release in 2005, Stevens’s concept album, comprised of 26 songs dedicated to the state of Illinois, quickly resonated with a generation of listeners. Through the album, Stevens weaved together historical figures, local references, and personal narratives, alternating between marching band arrangements and intimate banjo strums. Despite its specific geographic focus, the album’s themes of loss, rediscovery and the universal human experience connected with audiences worldwide.
Since its debut at Bard College in New York last spring, the production has garnered wide acclaim from critics.
Upon its release in 2005, Stevens’s concept album, comprised of 26 songs dedicated to the state of Illinois, quickly resonated with a generation of listeners. Through the album, Stevens weaved together historical figures, local references, and personal narratives, alternating between marching band arrangements and intimate banjo strums. Despite its specific geographic focus, the album’s themes of loss, rediscovery and the universal human experience connected with audiences worldwide.
- 4/29/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Editor’S Note: The following blog originally ran in June of 2020. We’re re-posting it here in honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 15. The updated piece includes minor edits and, more importantly, updated info re: streaming availability.
***
In the wake of international protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020, practically every big-name streaming service quickly assembled, from their selection of available titles, their own specially curated collection of Black cinema. These collections have provided an invaluable resource for film fans of all racial demographics eager to learn more about the troubled history of American racial inequality.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of truly amazing stuff being spotlighted within these curated lists. We’ve plucked out a few (but definitely not all) of our favorite titles below. Whether based on a true story or totally invented, narrative or nonfiction,...
***
In the wake of international protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020, practically every big-name streaming service quickly assembled, from their selection of available titles, their own specially curated collection of Black cinema. These collections have provided an invaluable resource for film fans of all racial demographics eager to learn more about the troubled history of American racial inequality.
Thankfully, there’s a lot of truly amazing stuff being spotlighted within these curated lists. We’ve plucked out a few (but definitely not all) of our favorite titles below. Whether based on a true story or totally invented, narrative or nonfiction,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Now a week into the new year, Max is, like many of us, cleaning house. The streamer is ushering in a new month of library additions and new originals, and, like usual, we have to give to get.
While the streamer has lost a few titles already this month, including 2018’s “The Nun,” nearly all of Max’s departures will make their exit during the final week of the month, including “Birdman,” “Barbarian,” and more!
Before January comes to an end, check out The Streamable’s top picks of what to watch before they’re gone, and see the full list of what’s leaving Max throughout the rest of the month!
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Max in January 2024? “Barbarian” | Wednesday, Jan. 24
Georgina Campbell leads the horror-thriller as Tess, a young woman who books a rental home only to...
While the streamer has lost a few titles already this month, including 2018’s “The Nun,” nearly all of Max’s departures will make their exit during the final week of the month, including “Birdman,” “Barbarian,” and more!
Before January comes to an end, check out The Streamable’s top picks of what to watch before they’re gone, and see the full list of what’s leaving Max throughout the rest of the month!
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Max in January 2024? “Barbarian” | Wednesday, Jan. 24
Georgina Campbell leads the horror-thriller as Tess, a young woman who books a rental home only to...
- 1/10/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
In 1976, audiences were introduced to Damien, a little kid with jet-black hair who may or may not be the Antichrist (spoiler: he is/was). In "The Omen," a diplomat (Gregory Peck) and his wife (Lee Remick) become the parents of a bouncing baby boy. But there's a twist: the diplomat is told that their actual baby died during childbirth. Rather than go home empty-handed, Peck's character is convinced to adopt another baby. He passes the child off as his own and neglects to tell his wife about the whole "our real kid died" thing. Men, am I right? Anyway, as it turns out, the child the couple welcomes into their home ends up being the spawn of Satan, and that could spell certain doom for us all.
"The Omen," which was helmed by "Superman" director Richard Donner, was a box office hit and has since become a horror classic.
"The Omen," which was helmed by "Superman" director Richard Donner, was a box office hit and has since become a horror classic.
- 1/3/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
A TV series based on Universal’s “Cape Fear” is in the works with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Nick Antosca.
The show, which is in development from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Amblin, would mark Scorsese and Spielberg’s first ever TV project together. They executive produce with Antosca, who is also the showrunner and created true crime and horror dramas like “Channel Zero,” “The Act” and “Brand New Cherry Flavor.” Other executive producers include Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey from Amblin Television and Alex Hedlund from Eat the Cat.
Here’s the logline for the “Cape Fear” re-imagining: “A storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison. A tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century.”
The original “Cape Fear” was released in 1962, was...
The show, which is in development from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Amblin, would mark Scorsese and Spielberg’s first ever TV project together. They executive produce with Antosca, who is also the showrunner and created true crime and horror dramas like “Channel Zero,” “The Act” and “Brand New Cherry Flavor.” Other executive producers include Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey from Amblin Television and Alex Hedlund from Eat the Cat.
Here’s the logline for the “Cape Fear” re-imagining: “A storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison. A tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century.”
The original “Cape Fear” was released in 1962, was...
- 11/21/2023
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
In 1991, director Martin Scorsese remade 1962’s Cape Fear, based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, for Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Entertainment. It appears they’re returning to the IP: Deadline reports that Scorsese and Spielberg have teamed with “Channel Zero” creator Nick Antosca for a new series that’ll take an unconventional approach.
“Cape Fear” marks the first ever TV collaboration for Scorsese and Spielberg, who are executive producing the project from creator, executive producer and showrunner Nick Antosca.
The series is described as a “a tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century. In it, a storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison.”
In every iteration of Cape Fear so far, the plot sees a lawyer’s family tormented by the criminal he helped put in prison.
“Cape Fear” marks the first ever TV collaboration for Scorsese and Spielberg, who are executive producing the project from creator, executive producer and showrunner Nick Antosca.
The series is described as a “a tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century. In it, a storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison.”
In every iteration of Cape Fear so far, the plot sees a lawyer’s family tormented by the criminal he helped put in prison.
- 11/21/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Zhang Xin, the renowned Chinese entrepreneur who used her love of architecture and brilliant business acumen to reshape Beijing and Shanghai’s skyline, has turned her attention to a new challenge: film producer. In September 2022, the billionaire businesswoman — who spent her teenage years working in Hong Kong garment and electronics factories — resigned as CEO of Soho China, one of the world’s preeminent real estate companies she built with her husband, and took up permanent residence in New York City.
Zhang will celebrate the one-year anniversary of leaving Soho at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, where the Manhattan-based Closer Media, the startup indie production and financing venture she runs with veteran indie producer William Horberg, has no fewer than three films screening. Horberg’s numerous credits include The Queen’s Gambit and The Kite Runner.
Their Toronto lineup includes the Tony Goldwyn-directed Ezra, a dramedy about an autistic 11-year-old who embarks...
Zhang will celebrate the one-year anniversary of leaving Soho at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, where the Manhattan-based Closer Media, the startup indie production and financing venture she runs with veteran indie producer William Horberg, has no fewer than three films screening. Horberg’s numerous credits include The Queen’s Gambit and The Kite Runner.
Their Toronto lineup includes the Tony Goldwyn-directed Ezra, a dramedy about an autistic 11-year-old who embarks...
- 9/9/2023
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Whatever you do, don't let the White man have my land." Amazon's Prime Video has revealed the official trailer for the new documentary film from acclaimed filmmaker Raoul Peck, of the docs Fatal Assistance, I Am Not Your Negro, Exterminate All the Brutes. His latest is called Silver Dollar Road, another story about American racism. It's premiering at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, with screenings at the Camden, Aspen, & Nashville Film Festival as well. A Black family in North Carolina has been harassed for decades by land developers attempting to take their waterfront property. For generations, the North Carolina property known locally as Silver Dollar Road was passed through the hands of an African American family, the Reels. But the Reels family's fortunes changed in the 1970s when developers sought to drive out Black landowners and profit from the real estate. Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck tells the story of how the...
- 9/9/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
When it comes to documentary filmmakers, Alex Gibney, Errol Morris and Raoul Peck are at the top of their game. Along with tremendous talent, each helmer possesses what every successful documentarian needs — business savvy — which in turn has allowed them to experience continued success over many years. The trio also has what most documentarians desire — clout and final cut.
But despite their respective success and power, Gibney, Morris and Peck agree that the film festivals where they first found success are still as important to their respective careers as ever before.
This year, Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” Morris’ “The Pigeon Tunnel” and Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road” will all screen at TIFF.
“The celebratory nature of festivals is awesome,” says Gibney. “It’s one of the reasons you make movies.”
Gibney spent three years making “In Restless Dreams,” a 209-minute film about Simon’s...
But despite their respective success and power, Gibney, Morris and Peck agree that the film festivals where they first found success are still as important to their respective careers as ever before.
This year, Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” Morris’ “The Pigeon Tunnel” and Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road” will all screen at TIFF.
“The celebratory nature of festivals is awesome,” says Gibney. “It’s one of the reasons you make movies.”
Gibney spent three years making “In Restless Dreams,” a 209-minute film about Simon’s...
- 9/9/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
This is Day 130 of the WGA strike and Day 57 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
There was fan convention energy on the picket line outside Paramount offices in Manhattan on Friday as more than 100 people marched in a Star Trek-themed rally put on by the Writers Guild of America East.
The first of two “United We Trek!” pickets in New York and Los Angeles drew a show runner and actors from spinoffs of the original Paramount-owned franchise, a Star Trek novelist, and a contingent of Trekkies marching in Starfleet garb.
On another hot morning in the late-summer heat sink of Times Square, picketers incorporated Star Trek catchphrases into chanted refrains such as “Live long and prosper/We want their offer” and “Paramount, let’s engage/We want a fair wage.”
One marcher carried a picket sign written in Klingon. Dressed in a blue jersey with black trim and a gold arrowhead Starfleet insignia,...
There was fan convention energy on the picket line outside Paramount offices in Manhattan on Friday as more than 100 people marched in a Star Trek-themed rally put on by the Writers Guild of America East.
The first of two “United We Trek!” pickets in New York and Los Angeles drew a show runner and actors from spinoffs of the original Paramount-owned franchise, a Star Trek novelist, and a contingent of Trekkies marching in Starfleet garb.
On another hot morning in the late-summer heat sink of Times Square, picketers incorporated Star Trek catchphrases into chanted refrains such as “Live long and prosper/We want their offer” and “Paramount, let’s engage/We want a fair wage.”
One marcher carried a picket sign written in Klingon. Dressed in a blue jersey with black trim and a gold arrowhead Starfleet insignia,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Sean Piccoli
- Deadline Film + TV
At a film festival with plenty of big picture movies about race (Roger Ross Williams’ “Stamped From the Beginning” and Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” among them), Raoul Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road” is a specific and damning case study of one place, one family and one monumental case of injustice.
Peck, director of the Oscar-nominated James Baldwin doc “I Am Not Your Negro,” is attuned to exploring larger issues through the reverberations of a single incident, in this case the eight-year jail terms served by two Black men for remaining on the land that had been taken from them in North Carolina.
The film, which premiered on Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, would be baffling, except that cases of racial injustice can and have been both inexplicable and predictable. It’s infuriating, to be sure, but Peck makes sure that the takeaway is not so much talking points...
Peck, director of the Oscar-nominated James Baldwin doc “I Am Not Your Negro,” is attuned to exploring larger issues through the reverberations of a single incident, in this case the eight-year jail terms served by two Black men for remaining on the land that had been taken from them in North Carolina.
The film, which premiered on Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, would be baffling, except that cases of racial injustice can and have been both inexplicable and predictable. It’s infuriating, to be sure, but Peck makes sure that the takeaway is not so much talking points...
- 9/8/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The I Am Not Your Negro director’s adaptation of a 2019 ProPublica investigation effectively connects one family’s story with the larger scourge of legal Black land theft
In swift succession, the documentarian Raoul Peck has built a reputation as a connoisseur of the visual essay. His Oscar-nominated 2017 film I Am Not Your Negro reinvigorated the astonishing legacy of essayist and critic James Baldwin through a dramatization of notes on his relationships with such civil rights luminaries as Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. The 2021 series Exterminate All the Brutes assembled an impressive bricolage of historical documents, archival footage, personal history, cultural ephemera, scripted scenes, animation and infographics to illuminate nothing less than the genocidal origins and cascading impacts of European colonialism.
Silver Dollar Road, Peck’s latest film, focuses on one Black family’s decades-long legal fight to maintain ownership of their coastal property in North Carolina,...
In swift succession, the documentarian Raoul Peck has built a reputation as a connoisseur of the visual essay. His Oscar-nominated 2017 film I Am Not Your Negro reinvigorated the astonishing legacy of essayist and critic James Baldwin through a dramatization of notes on his relationships with such civil rights luminaries as Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. The 2021 series Exterminate All the Brutes assembled an impressive bricolage of historical documents, archival footage, personal history, cultural ephemera, scripted scenes, animation and infographics to illuminate nothing less than the genocidal origins and cascading impacts of European colonialism.
Silver Dollar Road, Peck’s latest film, focuses on one Black family’s decades-long legal fight to maintain ownership of their coastal property in North Carolina,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
If Raoul Peck’s previous two films––the sweeping essay documentary I Am Not Your Negro and the painterly authorial portrait The Young Karl Marx––set aims to national and global-scale politics, then his new documentary Silver Dollar Road pulls the microscope out and offers a far more intimate, distinct example of the grander sociological themes he’s been excavating throughout his filmography. His latest forgoes the landmark figures and events of racial and class history. Instead our sights are set on an extended Black family in North Carolina and the white developers who aim to steal their rightful, generationally owned property known as Silver Dollar Road.
Peck supplements the events of the film, taken from Lizzie Presser’s in-depth reporting for ProPublica and The New Yorker, with contextual title cards that give an idea of what happened to Black-owned properties following Reconstruction in the South. A family-tree diagram takes...
Peck supplements the events of the film, taken from Lizzie Presser’s in-depth reporting for ProPublica and The New Yorker, with contextual title cards that give an idea of what happened to Black-owned properties following Reconstruction in the South. A family-tree diagram takes...
- 9/8/2023
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
In 2021, Raoul Peck released Exterminate All the Brutes, an extraordinary HBO docuseries chronicling the history of white supremacy, its mythology and the rise of fascism around the world. It was a powerful project that, like his Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro, presented a cogent thesis about the rot of racism. In these works, the director foregrounded an essayistic narrative, using words to guide viewers through the brutality of Western civilization.
Peck takes a more conventional route in his latest documentary, but the results are no less stirring. In Silver Dollar Road, the Haitian filmmaker constructs an intimate drama about one family’s decades-long struggle to protect their land from developer encroachment. The Reels’ story will be familiar to anyone attuned to the contradictions embedded in America’s legal system and the failed promises of Reconstruction.
When Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reel refused to leave the waterfront portion of...
Peck takes a more conventional route in his latest documentary, but the results are no less stirring. In Silver Dollar Road, the Haitian filmmaker constructs an intimate drama about one family’s decades-long struggle to protect their land from developer encroachment. The Reels’ story will be familiar to anyone attuned to the contradictions embedded in America’s legal system and the failed promises of Reconstruction.
When Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reel refused to leave the waterfront portion of...
- 9/8/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Raoul Peck returns to the big screen with the documentary “Silver Dollar Road,” based on the harrowing American story of the Reels family in North Carolina.
Directed by the Oscar-nominated “I Am Not Your Negro” filmmaker, “Silver Dollar Road” follows the story of the Reels family as told by the matriarch Mamie Reels Ellison and her niece Kim Renee Duhon, two strong-willed women vying to take back their ancestors’ land in the South alongside their brothers and uncles Melvin and Licurtis, who were wrongfully imprisoned for eight years, the longest amount of time anyone has ever been sentenced for civil contempt in North Carolina history.
The official synopsis adds that though they were finally released from jail in 2019, Melvin, Licurtis, Kim, and Mamie continue their painstaking struggle to reclaim the land that was unjustly ripped from their ancestral embrace.
The film is set to premiere at TIFF and is based...
Directed by the Oscar-nominated “I Am Not Your Negro” filmmaker, “Silver Dollar Road” follows the story of the Reels family as told by the matriarch Mamie Reels Ellison and her niece Kim Renee Duhon, two strong-willed women vying to take back their ancestors’ land in the South alongside their brothers and uncles Melvin and Licurtis, who were wrongfully imprisoned for eight years, the longest amount of time anyone has ever been sentenced for civil contempt in North Carolina history.
The official synopsis adds that though they were finally released from jail in 2019, Melvin, Licurtis, Kim, and Mamie continue their painstaking struggle to reclaim the land that was unjustly ripped from their ancestral embrace.
The film is set to premiere at TIFF and is based...
- 9/8/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Hollywood Reporter arts and culture critic Lovia Gyarkye shares her list of the 10 must-see films at this month’s Toronto Film Festival.
The Boy and the Heron The Boy and the Heron
How lucky for us that Hayao Miyazaki, the animation master with a gift for enchanting world-building, didn’t stay retired? The prolific Japanese filmmaker makes an exciting return with The Boy and the Heron, which opened in Japan earlier this summer. Inspired by Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel How Do You Live?, The Boy and the Heron chronicles the adventures of a young, bereft boy who discovers an abandoned tower and a persistent grey heron while exploring his new town.
Dicks: The Musical
A24’s first musical feature is a ride that, for better or worse, I’m ready to get on. Comedians Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp play two businessmen who find out they are twins and try to reunite their parents.
The Boy and the Heron The Boy and the Heron
How lucky for us that Hayao Miyazaki, the animation master with a gift for enchanting world-building, didn’t stay retired? The prolific Japanese filmmaker makes an exciting return with The Boy and the Heron, which opened in Japan earlier this summer. Inspired by Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel How Do You Live?, The Boy and the Heron chronicles the adventures of a young, bereft boy who discovers an abandoned tower and a persistent grey heron while exploring his new town.
Dicks: The Musical
A24’s first musical feature is a ride that, for better or worse, I’m ready to get on. Comedians Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp play two businessmen who find out they are twins and try to reunite their parents.
- 9/7/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," currently wrapping up its second ten-episode season, has stood apart from the many other "Star Trek" shows by possessing a much lighter, more genial tone than its immediate predecessors. Since 2009, "Star Trek" has been largely dour, violent, and dark. Some of the more recent episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Picard" have contained many, many murders, and the Kelvin-verse movies have been hyperactive action pictures (one of them is even called "Star Trek Into Darkness"). It's telling that the better Trek shows of more recent vintage have been more or less comedy shows. "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is a 30-minute animated "Star Trek" sitcom, while "Strange New Worlds" is lighter -- literally; the set is more brightly lit -- and features stories that verge on the silly. In "The Elysian Kingdom," the characters are all magically transformed into Ren Faire characters. In "Charades,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Toronto International Film Festival announced its lineup of documentaries this morning, a slate that includes the world premiere of a film on uncancelled comedian Louis C.K., as well as fresh work from nonfiction greats Raoul Peck, Frederick Wiseman, Errol Morris, Lucy Walker, and Roger Ross Williams.
Sorry/Not Sorry, directed by Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, foregrounds women comedians who accused Louis C.K. of sexual harassment and the consequences they faced as a result. C.K. admitted in 2017 that he had exposed himself and masturbated in front of several women, which appeared to cancel his thriving standup and acting career. But after a pause he resumed standup performances before sold out crowds.
Louis C.K.
“It’s a really nuanced telling of the story produced by the New York Times,” TIFF chief documentary programmer Thom Powers told Deadline. “It’s been six years since the original New York Times reporting on this case.
Sorry/Not Sorry, directed by Caroline Suh and Cara Mones, foregrounds women comedians who accused Louis C.K. of sexual harassment and the consequences they faced as a result. C.K. admitted in 2017 that he had exposed himself and masturbated in front of several women, which appeared to cancel his thriving standup and acting career. But after a pause he resumed standup performances before sold out crowds.
Louis C.K.
“It’s a really nuanced telling of the story produced by the New York Times,” TIFF chief documentary programmer Thom Powers told Deadline. “It’s been six years since the original New York Times reporting on this case.
- 7/26/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
New films from legendary documentarians Frederick Wiseman and Errol Morris and new work from directors Raoul Peck, Lucy Walker, Roger Ross Williams and Karim Amer will screen at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, which announced its TIFF Docs lineup on Wednesday.
The 93-year-old Wiseman will present the North American premiere of “Menus – Plaisirs Les Troisgros,” a four-hour deep dive into a fabled Michelin-starred restaurant in France. Morris will have the international premiere of “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which is built around a Morris interview with John le Carre that turned out to be the last interview the espionage novelist gave before his death in 2020.
The 22 films announced on Wednesday include 10 world premieres, including Amer’s “Defiant,” Walker’s “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road,” Williams’ “Stamped From the Beginning” and Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ “Sorry/Not Sorry.” Of the 26 directors represented by those films,...
The 93-year-old Wiseman will present the North American premiere of “Menus – Plaisirs Les Troisgros,” a four-hour deep dive into a fabled Michelin-starred restaurant in France. Morris will have the international premiere of “The Pigeon Tunnel,” which is built around a Morris interview with John le Carre that turned out to be the last interview the espionage novelist gave before his death in 2020.
The 22 films announced on Wednesday include 10 world premieres, including Amer’s “Defiant,” Walker’s “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” Peck’s “Silver Dollar Road,” Williams’ “Stamped From the Beginning” and Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’ “Sorry/Not Sorry.” Of the 26 directors represented by those films,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“Woo!”
That’s Jonathan Frakes’ reaction when he’s told he’s probably worked on more iterations of “Star Trek” than any other person alive.
“I’ll take it!” he says with a massive grin.
Frakes’ “Star Trek” history truly is something to behold. He joined the franchise in 1987 as part of the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” playing the rakish Commander William T. Riker opposite Patrick Stewart’s cerebral Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. Three years later, Frakes launched his second career as a director on “Tng” — or, as he calls it, “Next Gen” — ultimately helming eight episodes of the show. After “Next Gen” concluded in 1994, he directed three episodes each of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” before directing two of the four “Next Gen” feature films: 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact” and 1998’s “Star Trek: Insurrection.”
All told — including his work on “Star Trek: Enterprise,...
That’s Jonathan Frakes’ reaction when he’s told he’s probably worked on more iterations of “Star Trek” than any other person alive.
“I’ll take it!” he says with a massive grin.
Frakes’ “Star Trek” history truly is something to behold. He joined the franchise in 1987 as part of the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” playing the rakish Commander William T. Riker opposite Patrick Stewart’s cerebral Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. Three years later, Frakes launched his second career as a director on “Tng” — or, as he calls it, “Next Gen” — ultimately helming eight episodes of the show. After “Next Gen” concluded in 1994, he directed three episodes each of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” before directing two of the four “Next Gen” feature films: 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact” and 1998’s “Star Trek: Insurrection.”
All told — including his work on “Star Trek: Enterprise,...
- 7/25/2023
- by Adam B. Vary
- Variety Film + TV
A franchise that’s producing as much as “Star Trek” is right now shouldn’t be this good.
A year ago, “Strange New Worlds” debuted and delivered the best first season of a “Trek” show since “The Original Series.” Then “Picard” ended on a soaring and soulful note, leaving fans desperate for more. And now “Strange New Worlds” is back for Season 2, delivering the kind of character-driven episodic sci-fi that now seems downright revolutionary in the serialized streaming era.
Each one of these has been better than the last.
Somehow franchise overlord Alex Kurtzman has unlocked the secret to both quantity and quality, something which has eluded that other space-bound saga in its own streaming era. He seems to have done it by simply trusting his showrunners: Terry Matalas for “Picard” and Akiva Goldsman (never better) and Henry Alonso Myers for “Strange New Worlds.”
The result, in “Strange New Worlds...
A year ago, “Strange New Worlds” debuted and delivered the best first season of a “Trek” show since “The Original Series.” Then “Picard” ended on a soaring and soulful note, leaving fans desperate for more. And now “Strange New Worlds” is back for Season 2, delivering the kind of character-driven episodic sci-fi that now seems downright revolutionary in the serialized streaming era.
Each one of these has been better than the last.
Somehow franchise overlord Alex Kurtzman has unlocked the secret to both quantity and quality, something which has eluded that other space-bound saga in its own streaming era. He seems to have done it by simply trusting his showrunners: Terry Matalas for “Picard” and Akiva Goldsman (never better) and Henry Alonso Myers for “Strange New Worlds.”
The result, in “Strange New Worlds...
- 6/15/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Kirk and Spock’s love for each other is legendary, and now we’ll finally see how their ride-or-die friendship began.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 — premiering Thursday, June 15 on Paramount+ — will see a young Kirk (recurring guest star Paul Wesley) drop in, bringing the future Enterprise captain face-to-face with his eventual half-Vulcan bestie.
More from TVLineTony Awards 2023: Some Like It Hot, Leopoldstadt and Kimberly Akimbo Win Big -- View Complete Winners ListStar Trek: Strange New Worlds Star Anson Mount Talks Pike's 'Great Dad Personality' in Season 2Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: How to Catch Up and...
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 — premiering Thursday, June 15 on Paramount+ — will see a young Kirk (recurring guest star Paul Wesley) drop in, bringing the future Enterprise captain face-to-face with his eventual half-Vulcan bestie.
More from TVLineTony Awards 2023: Some Like It Hot, Leopoldstadt and Kimberly Akimbo Win Big -- View Complete Winners ListStar Trek: Strange New Worlds Star Anson Mount Talks Pike's 'Great Dad Personality' in Season 2Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: How to Catch Up and...
- 6/10/2023
- by Keisha Hatchett
- TVLine.com
When you think of James Tiberius Kirk, Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, what words come to mind? Heroic? Brash? Romantic? All of those words apply, thanks to decades’ worth of performances by William Shatner and the younger version Chris Pine played in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek films. With Strange New Worlds season 2, we’ll get yet another take on Kirk, this one courtesy of Paul Wesley. We got a hint of Wesley’s Kirk in the season one finale of Strange New Worlds, but that was from an alternate reality where he never became Captain of the Enterprise.
In a recent press junket (via Trek Movie), Wesley gave a few more details about how his younger Kirk will differ from not only the man he played in season one, but also the Shatner and Pine Kirks we all know so well.
“In many ways, I think Kirk is still boy,...
In a recent press junket (via Trek Movie), Wesley gave a few more details about how his younger Kirk will differ from not only the man he played in season one, but also the Shatner and Pine Kirks we all know so well.
“In many ways, I think Kirk is still boy,...
- 6/9/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Courtroom movies tend to have a winning formula that appeals to our sense of justice. We never want to see innocent people sent down for crimes they didn’t commit, so a reliable story can usually be built around the process of defending unlucky characters in a court of law. But because so much of that drama transpires on a single set, making a really good courtroom movie requires certain elements to work spectacularly.
You’ll need a great, charismatic lawyer whose life, career, or reputation depends on winning the case. Then there are your defendants, who must be at least a little relatable. After all, any one of us can get mixed up in some unfortunate circumstances given the right series of events! Then there are the witnesses, who must be cajoled into telling the truth, and the opposing counsel, who is often as antagonistic as the injustice itself.
You’ll need a great, charismatic lawyer whose life, career, or reputation depends on winning the case. Then there are your defendants, who must be at least a little relatable. After all, any one of us can get mixed up in some unfortunate circumstances given the right series of events! Then there are the witnesses, who must be cajoled into telling the truth, and the opposing counsel, who is often as antagonistic as the injustice itself.
- 6/7/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
“Obviously, there’s a lot of parts of this country where people don’t feel safe so we have to band together to make people as safe as we can,” country music star Orville Peck told the audience at the WeHo Pride’s Outloud music festival on Saturday, referring to the wave of anti-trans and anti-drag legislation that is upending lives and spreading fear in states across the country, including Texas and Florida. But, noted Peck, a judge in Tennessee had just a day earlier ruled that the state’s recently passed law forbidding drag performances in public is unconstitutional, drawing cheers from the thousands in the crowd.
That scene, mixing politics, purpose and performance, was one of many similar ones that unfolded throughout the second annual WeHo Pride, held over the weekend of June 2-4 in West Hollywood, California.
On Sunday, at the WeHo Pride Parade, Melissa McCarthy topped...
That scene, mixing politics, purpose and performance, was one of many similar ones that unfolded throughout the second annual WeHo Pride, held over the weekend of June 2-4 in West Hollywood, California.
On Sunday, at the WeHo Pride Parade, Melissa McCarthy topped...
- 6/5/2023
- by Degen Pener
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On 12 April, it was announced that The Big Bang Theory universe is expanding, with plans for a spin-off from the hit series’ original creators.
The news was made public at the Warner Brothers Discovery press day, the same day the company announced its new platform Max, a rebranded HBO Max and Discovery+ merger.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will develop a new show for Max “derived from” the original series. Plot details are still unknown. A new series based on the Harry Potter novels has also been ordered.
It’s not the first spin-off series of the show, with Young Sheldon now in its sixth season
The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019. It starred John Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco as their neighbour Penny.
During the show’s run, which spanned more than a decade,...
The news was made public at the Warner Brothers Discovery press day, the same day the company announced its new platform Max, a rebranded HBO Max and Discovery+ merger.
Executive producer Chuck Lorre, who co-created the original Big Bang Theory series with Bill Prady, will develop a new show for Max “derived from” the original series. Plot details are still unknown. A new series based on the Harry Potter novels has also been ordered.
It’s not the first spin-off series of the show, with Young Sheldon now in its sixth season
The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019. It starred John Galecki and Jim Parsons as two physicist friends, with Kaley Cuoco as their neighbour Penny.
During the show’s run, which spanned more than a decade,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Eoghan O'Donnell
- The Independent - TV
Former child star Drake Bell, who was previously declared “missing and endangered” by Florida police, has been found alive.
Bell, 36, was first reported missing on Thursday morning, when the Daytona Beach Police Department shared on Facebook that the Nickelodeon personality was last seen traveling in a 2022 grey BMW, potentially near Mainland High School, Wednesday night at 9 pm Et.
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Bell, 36, was first reported missing on Thursday morning, when the Daytona Beach Police Department shared on Facebook that the Nickelodeon personality was last seen traveling in a 2022 grey BMW, potentially near Mainland High School, Wednesday night at 9 pm Et.
More from TVLineTVLine Items: It Prequel Taps Revenge Vet, Shonda Drama Adds Cast and MoreDid Succession Crisis Feel Like a Ruse? Is Heir to the Empire Movie Ahead? Was Picard Twist Conveeenient? More Qs!TVLine Items: Clark Gregg Visits Himyf, Shazam! Sequel...
- 4/14/2023
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
Nickelodeon star Drake Bell is known for the network series Drake & Josh, as the show brought him fame in his younger years. Unfortunately, Bell was featured in the news multiple times for his money issues and relationships. Now, he’s reportedly missing. Here’s Drake Bell’s net worth in 2023.
What is Drake Bell’s net worth in 2023? Drake Bell | Michael Tran/Getty Images
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Drake Bell’s net worth currently stands at $600,000.
Bell made an impact on television in his younger years. He began acting at 5 years old and had his first television appearance in a 1994 episode of Home Improvement. In 2004, he became a household name for Nickelodeon after starring in Drake & Josh with Josh Peck. And before Bell’s boom with Drake & Josh, he made multiple appearances on The Amanda Show — another Nickelodeon hit — from 1999 to 2002.
Peck spoke to E! News...
What is Drake Bell’s net worth in 2023? Drake Bell | Michael Tran/Getty Images
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Drake Bell’s net worth currently stands at $600,000.
Bell made an impact on television in his younger years. He began acting at 5 years old and had his first television appearance in a 1994 episode of Home Improvement. In 2004, he became a household name for Nickelodeon after starring in Drake & Josh with Josh Peck. And before Bell’s boom with Drake & Josh, he made multiple appearances on The Amanda Show — another Nickelodeon hit — from 1999 to 2002.
Peck spoke to E! News...
- 4/13/2023
- by Lauren Weiler
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Former child star Drake Bell is “considered missing and endangered” as of Thursday, the Daytona Beach Police Department has confirmed. Update: Bell has been found alive.
In a Facebook post, Florida authorities reveal that the Drake & Josh star was last seen traveling in a 2022 grey BMW, potentially near Mainland High School, Wednesday night at 9 pm Et. The public is encouraged to reach out with any information to Detective Jayson Wallace, who can be reached by phone (386-671-5207) or email (wallacejayson@dbpd.us).
More from TVLineDrake Bell Found Alive, Hours After He Was Reported Missing -- Bell Quips He...
In a Facebook post, Florida authorities reveal that the Drake & Josh star was last seen traveling in a 2022 grey BMW, potentially near Mainland High School, Wednesday night at 9 pm Et. The public is encouraged to reach out with any information to Detective Jayson Wallace, who can be reached by phone (386-671-5207) or email (wallacejayson@dbpd.us).
More from TVLineDrake Bell Found Alive, Hours After He Was Reported Missing -- Bell Quips He...
- 4/13/2023
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
Josh Peck has no idea if he's the father on "How I Met Your Father" - and even if he did, he wouldn't say. "If I did know and I leaked it, literally, guys in suits would descend and cart me off in some sort of van," he tells Popsugar. Despite not knowing how it all ends, Peck knows what he wants to happen. "I sure do hope," he says when asked if he'd like to be the father of Hilary Duff's son on the show.
In the "How I Met Your Mother" spinoff, Peck plays Drew, a vice principal at an elementary school where Chris (Jesse Lowell) works. Drew dates Duff's character Sophie throughout the first season, making him - along with Ian (Daniel Augustin), Jesse, Sid (Suraj Sharma), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), and even Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) - into a top contender for the father of Sophie's son.
In the "How I Met Your Mother" spinoff, Peck plays Drew, a vice principal at an elementary school where Chris (Jesse Lowell) works. Drew dates Duff's character Sophie throughout the first season, making him - along with Ian (Daniel Augustin), Jesse, Sid (Suraj Sharma), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), and even Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) - into a top contender for the father of Sophie's son.
- 4/10/2023
- by Eden Arielle Gordon
- Popsugar.com
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