STARZ making Stars in “Survivor’s Remorse"

Jessie T. Usher who plays basketball phenom Cab Calloway, in the new original Starz series “Survivor’s Remorse”and Ronreaco Lee , who plays his manger and "voice of reason," are two artists that are headed toward long, and fruitful careers in television,film and in Mr. Lee's case—theatre.

At the risk of sounding like a hippie, Jessie and Ronreaco give off good vibes and they inspired me to push my own creative envelope.  That might sound simple but I'm a New Yorker and seasoned Hollywood veteran with a veneer that rarely cracks.  Yet, these "youngsters" had me smiling all week and dreaming.

"Survivor’s Remorse," which is set in Atlanta is a modern morality tale about the lure of fame, riches and family ties.

The story follows Cam Calloway (Jessie T. Usher) the b-ball wonder who, just in his early 20’s is suddenly thrust into the limelight after signing a multi-million dollar contract with a professional basketball team.

More money equals more problems and the comedy/drama around that rise to fame is what makes this story bounce. It's that microscopic examination of what happens when you “make it out" that makes this Starz original series "one to watch."

When Cab's cousin and confidant Reggie Vaughn (Ronreaco Lee) relocates to Georgia (to participate in his journey to success) they both confront the challenges of balancing their colorful family and upholding those inherited values.

Their roots are planted inside an impoverished community and it's those experiences that shape them for better or worse.

In the end, this series has created powerful,and unforgettable characters that wrestle with the rewards and pitfalls of stardom, love and loyalty.

The cast also includes Erica Ash  as M-Chuck, the sister of Cam  and Tichina Arnold as Cassie, Cam’s mother and Mike Epps (“Being Mary Jane") as Cam’s Uncle Julius.

“Survivor’s Remorse” premieres Saturday, October 4th at 9pm ET/PT exclusively on STARZ with a six-episode season. It's executive produced by actor/writer Michael O' Malley, who played Burt on the series "Glee"—a role that was created for him by Ryan Murphy. 

Here's what Mr. Usher and Mr. Lee shared about working in Hollywood.

myNewYorkeye: Are there any similarities between you and your character?

Jessie Usher: Yes, Cab is new to the game and this is my first leading role. So, I connect with the pressure. He's also has a giving heart and I'm also very close to my family. I still live at home  with my parents.

Ronreaco Lee: There are a few parallels with Reggie. I am cautious and always thinking and planning ahead.  I'm the "consilleri" ( Robert Duvall) character.

myNewYorkeye: I enjoyed the dialogue, it flowed.  Can you give me some insight?

Ronreaco Lee: One of the most exciting elements about the series is the writing.  The show runner is Michael O' Malley.  He's also earned an Emmy nomination for his role as Burt on "Glee."

Jessie Usher: Michael is wonderful to work with.  The pacing of the show and the camaraderie that he makes happen, it just inspires you to want the best from yourself.

myNewYorkeye: I'm getting the strongest sense that you both aspire for careers behind the camera. Correct?

Ronreaco Lee: Correct,  The writing drew me to this project and Michael is an excellent show-runner. He has the actors and the show's best interest firmly in hand. That's a solid quality. 

John Nelson, our first AD also makes the working experience special.

myNewYorkeye: The series feels cinematic. Why?

Ronreaco Lee: Good eye Lapacazo, Our director of photography Oliver (from "Scandal") really knows how to make every frame beautiful. It's by design not accident.

myNewYorkeye: You both spoke about being "ahead of the game" —elaborate.

Jessie Usher: I'm falling in love with the art of the DP (director of photography). I'm working on that journey. 

Ronreaco Lee: I'm on the directing path. I'm paying my dues. Matt Nicks, who is a show runner and creator of "Burn Notice" noticed that I really wanted to direct, so he extended an invitation to shadow a director.  It was a tremendous opportunity and that's part of my creative journey.  I also feel the stage calling.

myNewYorkeye: I'm feeling an EGOT for you both. Well maybe not the "Grammy" so well make up our own word to describe the winning circle.

ONLY ON NETFLIX: MARCO POLO - FIRST TEASER

Here's the first teaser for the highly anticipated Netflix original series Marco Polo premiering on Friday, December 12, 2014 at 12:01am PT in all regions where Netflix is available.

In a world replete with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, Marco Polo, starring newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy, is based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s court in 13th century China.

First Tease of Marco Polo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWtv5Ht4YZE

Source File:

https://netflix.box.com/s/x0btzlxipotm7o2zb6ak

password: MPonline 

The sweeping drama’s ten episodes were shot in Italy, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.  The global cast includes Richelmy, Benedict Wong (Prometheus), Joan Chen (Twin Peaks), Chin Han (Arrow, The Dark Knight), Zhu Zhu (Cloud Atlas), Olivia Cheng (The Flash, Broken Trail), Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Mahesh Jadu (Neighbours), Tom Wu (Skyfall), Remy Hii (Treading Water), Uli Latukefu (Devil’s Playground) and Rick Yune (Olympus Has Fallen, The Fast and the Furious). John Fusco, who wrote the Academy-Award nominated feature Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, created the series and is executive producer and showrunner along with Dan Minahan, whose previous work includes Homeland and Game of Thrones. Academy-Award nominated directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) directed the first two hours and serve as executive producers. Marco Polo is produced by Netflix and The Weinstein Company.

For more information leading up to the December 12 premiere #MarcoPolo, follow @MarcoPoloMP on Twitter and Instagram and at www.Netflix.com/MarcoPolo.

First Look Images from Marvel's Daredevil, Exclusively on Netflix in 2015 - Available Now

FIRST LOOK Images from "MARVEL'S DAREDEVIL," the highly-anticipated live action 13-episode show will premiere in 2015 in all territories where Netflix is available. Images are available now on pr.netflix.com and materials from New York Comicon (NYCC) also available on EPK.tv shortly.

About the Show:

"Marvel's Daredevil" follows the journey of Matt Murdock, who was blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, now fighting against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell's Kitchen, New York City.

Marvel's first original series on Netflix is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Steven S. DeKnight ("Spartacus," "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer," "Angel") and Drew Goddard ("Cabin in the Woods," "Lost," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," in addition to writing the first two episodes of "Marvel's Daredevil"), along with Marvel TV's Jeph Loeb ("Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Smallville," "Heroes"). "Marvel's Daredevil" is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.

NEW Confirmed Casting Announced out of New York Comicon:

New confirmed casting out of NYCC: Ayelet Zurer ("Vanessa Marianna"), Vondie Curtis Hall ("Ben Urich"), Bob Gunton ("Leland Owlsley") and Toby Leonard Moore ("Wesley").  These four stars join Charlie Cox (“Matt Murdock”), Deborah Ann Woll (“Karen Page”), Elden Henson (“Foggy Nelson”), with Rosario Dawson (who role was revealed as “Claire Temple”) and Vincent D’Onofrio (“Wilson Fisk”) in the critically-lauded cast of Marvel’s Daredevil. 

About the Iconic Costume:

Marvel's Daredevil first costume is inspired by Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s seminal Daredevil: Man Without Fear, a series that is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential Daredevil stories of all time. The image harkens back to the original art by Romita Jr. that inspired the costume. 

NYCC Footage

Footage will be available on EPK.tv

For more information in the coming weeks, please go to netflix.com/daredevil or check out our social handles @Marvel and @Daredevil or Marvel.com

 

Release and First Photos: Netflix Announces First Original Movie

NETFLIX ANNOUNCES FIRST ORIGINAL MOVIE

 CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: THE GREEN LEGEND TO PREMIERE  SIMULTANEOUSLY ON NETFLIX AND IN SELECT GLOBAL IMAX® THEATERS

 Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen star under the direction of Yuen Wo-Ping in the Sequel to the Academy Award®-winning 2000 film

Beverly Hills, Ca. and New York, September 29, 2014--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, the stunning next chapter in the saga started by the critically and popularly acclaimed Ang Lee martial arts epic, will premiere exclusively on Netflix and in selected global  IMAX® theaters on August 28, 2015.

Produced by The Weinstein Company, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend echoes the themes of the original movie, but tells its own story -- one of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption, set against breathtaking action in an epic martial arts battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of the Martial World.

Directed by the renowned martial arts choreographer (The Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill 1&2) and director (Tai Chi Master) Yuen Wo-Ping, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend stars Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Lady) reprising her role as Yu Shu-Lien and Donnie Yen (Ip Man 1&2, Monkey King 3D) as Silent Wolf.

The film is to be the first of several major films backed by Netflix to premiere on the same day on the world’s leading Internet TV network and in select IMAX theaters globally, giving consumers and exhibitors around the world unparalleled flexibility in how, when and where they enjoy a major motion picture.

“Fans will have unprecedented choice in how they enjoy an amazing and memorable film that combines intense action and incredible beauty,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “We are honored to be working with Harvey Weinstein and a world-class team of creators to bring this epic story to people all over the world and to partner with IMAX, a brand that represents the highest quality of immersive entertainment, in the distribution of this film.”

“The moviegoing experience is evolving quickly and profoundly, and Netflix is unquestionably at the forefront of that movement,” said TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein. “We are tremendously excited to be continuing our great relationship with Netflix and bringing to fans all over the world the latest chapter in this amazing and intriguing story.”

“IMAX has a terrific opportunity, via this partnership with Netflix, to release Crouching Tiger – a high-quality, action-packed film that is right in our wheelhouse -- at the end of the summer blockbuster season,” said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. “We are particularly hopeful it will play in our highly successful China market. In territories where we simultaneously release with Netflix, we are excited to offerconsumers the option of deciding how, when and where they want to view the film, and exhibitors the opportunity to participate in this alternative form of content in a new and innovative way.”

Based on the acclaimed novel, Iron Knight, Silver Vase, by Wang Dulu (book 5 in the Crane-Iron Pentalogy) and written by John Fusco (Marco Polo)  the new film is produced by Harvey Weinstein (Academy Award winner - The King’s Speech, The Artist) and Peter Berg (Emmy Award winner - Friday Night Lights; Lone Survivor, Hancock) and Sarah Aubrey (Friday Night Lights; Lone Survivor, Hancock) and executive produced by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters, The Imitation Game), Ralph Winter (X-Men franchise), Anthony Wong, and Bey Logan (The Medallion).

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend also stars Harry Shum Jr (Glee, Revenge of the Green Dragons), Jason Scott Lee  (Seventh Son, Hawaii Five-O), Roger Yuan (Bulletproof Monk), Eugenia Yuan (Revenge of the Green Dragons) and newcomer Natasha Liu Bordizzo.

Principal photography is now underway in New Zealand. The film’s director of photography is Tom Sigel (Drive, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and design is led by the Academy Award®-winning Lord of the Rings team of costume designer Ngila Dickson, production designer Grant Major and visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson.  

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with over 50 million members in nearly 50 countries enjoying more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series. For a low monthly price, Netflix members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein. During Harvey and Bob’s tenure at Miramax and TWC, they have received 348 Oscar nominations and won 82 Academy Awards.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; SCRE4M; SPY KIDS: THE KING’S SPEECH; THE IRON LADY; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; SCARY MOVIE 5; LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER; PHILOMENA; THE GIVER and THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY. Upcoming releases include ST. VINCENT; THE IMITATION GAME; PADDINGTON and BIG EYES.

TWC boasts an active television production division which garnered nine Emmy nominations in 2013 and five in 2014. TWC Television produces the reality powerhouse Project Runway, with its spin-off series Project Runway All Starsand Under The Gunn.  Recent TWC television productions include Mob Wives, Million Dollar Shoppers, Rodeo Girlsand Trailer Park: Welcome to Myrtle Manor. Scripted projects currently in production include John Fusco's Marco Polo. Scripted projects in development include Ten Commandments and Daniel Stashower’s The Hour Of Peril. TWC also developed Nanny Diaries and produced The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. 

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are using IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of June 30, 2014, there were 868 IMAX theatres (735 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 114 institutions) in 59 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation.  More information about the Company can be found atwww.imax.com.  You may also connect withIMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

‘KEY AND PEELE’ RETURNS FOR SEASON 4

Season 4 of Key and Peele’s outrageously funny and unapologetically smart series, “Key and Peele,” roars back to Comedy Central Wednesday, Sept. 24.

Happy days are here again! If you haven’t caught on to the fact I’m a fan, let me state it plain: I’m a fan! These savvy businessmen can also wear the tag “comic genius” with ease. And if you’re not familiar with Key and Peele by now, what the hell’s the matter with you?

Keegan-Michael Key (married, 43 years old, from Detroit) and Jordan Peele (single, 35 years old, from New York City) first met at a sketch club in Chicago, and then worked together on “Mad TV,” creating comedy with such a signature style of sketch writing and performance dynamics that it demands that you keep eyeballs on them at all times.

This year, they were named to Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list. They were also featured on the cover of the magazine’s “Ideas” issue. They also won a prestigious Peabody Award, which honors programming excellence.

On their busy press tour to highlight their new season, I got the opportunity to chat with the dynamic duo. It sounds easy, but a cellphone battery drama had me begging—in the rain—for Harlem store owners to let me get a quickie charge.

A final text from the tense publicist, chastising me on my tardiness that simply said, “This isn’t good,” motivated me to reframe, and I placed myself inside a Key and Peele sketch scenario.

“Yo!” I shouted at a deli owner, whose Arabic rap music was blasting through the door. “Charge me quick. I’m late for a Key and Peele.” My Brown brother didn’t miss a beat. He replied, “Brazilian [waxing] is better.” Then he added, “Naw, Comedy Central funny men—I know.”

Saved by the healing power of comedy and it’s ability to connect cultures, my interview proceeded.

Here’s what Key and Peele had to share about their new season on Comedy Central and what’s in their Netflix queue.

myNewYorkeye: Brothers, I’m sorry for the delay. My battery died and I was thrust into the 1980s. After the Time magazine coverage, do people know you by your full names?

Peele: People still don’t really know our names: Who’s Keegan? Who’s Jordan? But just this past year, there’s been a difference. We feel very lucky.

myNewYorkeye: Wow, y’all did have a bonus year! What are your favorite characters to play?

Peele: Meegan. Definitely her. I love her and it’s nice to get in touch with my femme side. It’s liberating not to always have to feel “manly.” I work to make her look pretty, even down to her heels, which are terrible to walk in. Like really, what’s that about?

myNewYorkeye: Heels? Don’t get me started! A cruel, sadistic invention by men to dominate women and make it hella hard to run! What about you, Key?

Key: No heels for me. My favorite character is Mr. Garvey, the substitute teacher. He’s clueless to his environment and just doesn’t understand the cultural clues that are all around him. He’s so afraid of the kids trying to “get over on him” that he’s missing every opportunity to connect. He’s single-minded and utterly un-PC. That also makes playing the character liberating. He doesn’t think, but he speaks—a lot.

myNewYorkeye: Your comedy is built on layers of communication, with body language being front and center. Crafted or all improv?

Key: Both. Our sketches are carefully scripted, so thank you for that observation. The funny is in layers, and the body language is definitely part of it.

myNewYorkeye: I’m getting a text from your PR rep to wrap to up. So, last question: What’s in your Netflix queue?

Key: Oh boy. Man, that’s hard. Let me think.

At this point, the conversation had become blended and peppered with laughter and the type of cross-talk that’s associated with long friendships.

Key: Counting backward, the third favorite spot is held by “BoJack Horseman,” “House of Cards” and a documentary about death ­row­—it was fascinating. I think it was called “Into the void.” I was just saying to my wife, “If that type of behavior was in a script, no one would buy it.” Then, it made me think: Is this behavior authentic, or is it just because the cameras are there?

Peele: Human beings never cease to fascinate. OK, in my cue, “Attack on Titans,” “House of Cards” and the documentary called “Let It Burn.”

*DON'T MISS OUT ON THE ALL NEW SEASON OF KEY & PEELE ONLY ON COMEDY CENTRAL TOMORROW 9/24 at 10:30pm PST/EST!*

ONLY ON NETFLIX: MARCO POLO FIRST LOOK & PREMIERE DATE ANNOUNCEMENT - DECEMBER 12, 2014

The highly anticipated Netflix original series "Marco Polo" will premiere at 12:01am PT on December 12, 2014 in all territories where Netflix is available.

In a world replete with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, “Marco Polo” is based on the famed explorer’s adventures in Kublai Khan’s court in 13th century China. The show stars Italian newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as 'Marco.' Best known for her role in The Wachowski’s "Cloud Atlas," the Beijing-born Zhu Zhu plays Marco’s love interest ‘Kokachin.’  Joan Chen ("Twin Peaks") and Benedict Wong ("Prometheus") also star in the show’s eclectic global cast as Empress Chabi and Kublai Khan.

Rounding out "Marco Polo's" global cast of characters will be Remy Hii as ‘Prince Jingim,’ Olivia Cheng as ‘Mei Lin,’ Claudia Kim as ‘Khutulun,” Uli Latukefu as ‘Byamba,’ Chin Han as ‘Jia Sidao,’ and Tom Wu as ‘Hundred Eyes.’

Creator John Fusco ("Forbidden Kingdom," "Young Guns," "Hidalgo") and Harvey Weinstein are executive producers on "Marco Polo."  Dan Minahan ("Game of Thrones," "True Blood") also serves as executive producer and directed two episodes for the 10-episode first season. Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Academy Award nominated "Kon-Tiki," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales") directed the season’s first two episodes and serve as executive producers.  Patrick MacManus serves as co-executive producer.  Collin Creighton produced on behalf of The Weinstein Company.

“A Byrd Has Wings”

Mr. Petri Hawkins Byrd has an urgent message to encourage mentoring in our nation’s African-American community.  Television audiences know him affectionately as Byrd on the Emmy Award winning television show “Judge Judy.”  However, Petri is a man on a mission, intent on leveraging his celebrity and determined to do whatever it takes, to make a positive difference in our nation’s black communities. 

Mr. Byrd serves as the National Chairman of the O.K. Program, whose mission is mentoring African-American youth.  The O.K. Program, which stands for Our Kids, distinguishes itself from other black youth mentoring organizations by the fact that it is coordinated by police officers.  When police officers become mentors for at-risk youth, monitor behavior, offer guidance and become advocates for the youth, Petri believes good things will happen to stem the tide of bad choices, drugs, violence and despair which are epidemic in our communities. 

Today, 72% of all African-American families live in a single-parent household, along with a 50% high school drop-out rate of African-American males, and an ever-increasing black population in our nation’s prisons, there is indeed a significant cause for concern.  

This plight of the African-America family can be attributed in large part to the absence of the father in the home.  This is a story that Petri Hawkins Byrd himself knows all too well.  

Growing up in the tough Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Petri and his siblings faced many of the same challenges of today’s youth.  “My father was an intravenous drug user and a drug dealer who spent most of his time locked-up, in prison or in rehab,” states Petri.   For all practical purposes, he grew up on welfare, in a single-parent household.   

On occasions when his father was home, he offered young Petri counsel on life; this was of course between the addict’s incoherent nod and shooting up in the bathroom.  Although his father possessed a brilliant mind, it was the way he chose to live his life that was troubling.  “My father was the antithesis of everything I believed in, and everything I looked up to and respected,” says Petri.

As a young boy, he experienced a life changing moment.  One night he, his siblings and mother all huddled around their 19-inch black & white television to watch WOR TV’s Million Dollar Movie.  “The movie was ‘The Miracle Worker,’ with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft.  I remember all of us watching the movie together and we were completely riveted to the screen.  When the movie ended, we all cried - together,” says Petri.

Television became a much needed escape from the harsh realities of everyday life.  “I have an encyclopedic knowledge of television,” Petri offers.  It was television that inspired him to cultivate his own talents for telling jokes, impersonations of famous people and singing.  

But more than this, television provided him a strong sense of black pride.  Petri states, “When Diahann Carroll came on TV as Julia, she was a proud and unapologetic black woman who was a single parent and I could totally relate.  Flip Wilson had the highest rated TV show for two years.  He not only had black guests on his show, but white guests too.  Flip produced his own show with his own production company.  The pride you felt from being able to watch black people emerge from the darkness and into the light in Hollywood.  Being able to look upon these figures and to just be able to see these images with pride, it made the hard times we were living a little bit easier to take.”

It was television that allowed him to dream of a life outside of his neighborhood.  “I knew that I could aspire to be that, one of them, or to be a judge, a doctor or a firefighter.  There is not anything that is not open to me,” says Petri.

In school, pride for his community was further strengthened by the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Thurgood Marshall to amend “America’s contract,” and the writings of Nikki Giovanni and Amiri Baraka.  Petri continued his education, becoming the first in his family to graduate college.

Petri Hawkins Byrd has a powerful vision for his beloved community.  As the National Chairman of the O.K. Program, he is currently working with Tommy Davidson to produce a documentary film about the O.K. Program.

For more info, please visit www.okprogram.org.