Unspool Hollywood

2021 TCM Classic Film Festival Broadcast Premiere and Interviews

let me come in (11 min, 2021)

A film by: Bill Morrison
Words and music by: David Lang

Following its LA Opera online premiere, "let me come in" will receive its broadcast premiere as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival on May 7th.

Produced and directed by filmmaker Bill Morrison, "let me come in" features a new song by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang performed by soprano Angel Blue, one of opera's brightest stars. The short film incorporates rediscovered (and heavily damaged) footage from the lost 1928 silent film Pawns of Passion to astonishing effect.

Filmmaker Bill Morrison, director of the highly acclaimed films Decasia and Dawson City: Frozen Time, has long been fascinated with ancient, decayed nitrate film stock from long-forgotten films—what he describes as "goopy, sticky films deemed not worth saving." For "let me come in," he has resurrected footage from what may be the last surviving reels of the 1928 German silent romance Pawns of Passion, discovered in a Pennsylvania barn in 2012. After decades of expanding in hot summers and contracting in freezing winters, the deteriorated nitrate film stock now reveals, in Morrison's words, "imagery that seems to be pulled from a state of semi-consciousness, asleep but dreaming."

Morrison describes Lang's song as "a rumination on love and the borderline separating two souls, seemingly from the precipice of consciousness. When I heard Angel Blue’s incredible interpretation, my mind immediately recalled the ambiguous tension in this scene from Pawns of Passion. Left to rot in a barn, and then scanned and archived again for another eight years on my own personal hard drive, it has found a new life through David’s words and music, and Angel Blue’s voice. It was very exciting to see how quickly it came together and how perfectly the image, words and sound meshed."

Bill Morrison makes films that reframe long-forgotten moving images. His films have premiered at the New York, Rotterdam, Sundance, and Venice film festivals. In 2014 Morrison had a mid-career retrospective at MoMA. His found footage opus Decasia (2002)was the first film of the 21st century to be selected to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. The Great Flood (2013),was recognized with the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award of 2014 for historical scholarship. Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) was included on over 100 critics’ lists of the best films of the year, and on numerous lists ranking the best films of the decade, including those of the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Vanity Fair. His work has previously been seen at LA Opera in productions of David Lang's "anatomy theater" (2016) and David T. Little's Soldier Songs (2019).

Co-presented by Los Angeles Opera with composer David Lang and soprano Angel Blue. Special thanks to the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center

2021 TCM Classic Film Festival

Thursday, May 6th through Sunday, May 9th at two virtual venues: the TCM network and the Classics Curated by TCM Hub on HBO Max.

View Turner Classic Movies Schedule

View HBO Max Lineup

View Linear Schedule

For more information, please visit http://filmfestival.tcm.com

View 2021 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL TRAILER

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting the entire spectrum of film history. TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed series like The Essentials, along with annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the TCM Big Screen Classics series in partnership with Fathom Events, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City and Los Angeles. In addition, TCM produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs, and hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app. Fans can also enjoy a TCM curated classics experience on HBO Max.

SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS AT 2021 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL

TEX AVERY: THE KING OF CARTOONS
(1988) Documentary

$Tex Avery-TCM Classic Film Festival 2021$

Tex Avery-TCM Classic Film Festival 2021

Saturday, May 8th- 6:00am ET

TEX AVERY: THE KING OF CARTOONS (1988) Documentary about the life and career of animator and director Frederick Bean “Tex” Avery.

Saturday, May 8th- 7:00am ET

TEX AVERY AT MGM (1943-1955) -54M- TV-G - Compilation of cartoons directed by Tex Avery during his years at MGM.

Featured cartoons: Red Hot Riding Hood (1943), Bad Luck Blackie (1949), Deputy Droopy (1955), Screwball Squirrel (1944), King-Size Canary (1947), T.V. of Tomorrow (1953) and Symphony in Slang (1955).

TEX AVERY BIOGRAPHY

One of the most influential theatrical animators of the 20th century, Tex Avery shepherded Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes series from a second-tier interest for the studio to one of the most iconic franchises in animation history thanks to such enduring characters as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. Avery's work was defined by a strong sense of visual and verbal anarchy, with characters gleefully breaking the fourth wall or the laws of nature in pursuit of a madcap ideal that married the lunacies of the Marx Brothers with the free-form structure and refusal to adhere to the sweetness and gentility that defined the work of their greatest competitor, Walt Disney Studios. Avery's shorts for Warner Bros. and later MGM, where he created the phlegmatic canine Droopy and the hot-blooded "Red Hot Riding Hood" (1943), had a profound influence on countless subsequent animated shorts and television, from Hanna-Barbera to John Kricfalusi's "Ren & Stimpy" (Nickelodeon 1991-95) to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Tex Avery continued to provide blueprints for animation writers and artists into the 21st century.

Born Frederick Bean Avery on February 26, 1908 in Taylor, Texas, Tex Avery attended North Dallas High School, where he did some of his earliest published illustrations for the school's yearbook. After graduation in 1926, he took courses at the Art Institute of Chicago before heading west to try his hand in Hollywood, California. In 1929, he landed a job with Walter Lantz's animation studio at Universal, where he assisted on many of the unit's "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" shorts. During this period, Avery was blinded in one eye by a thumbtack fired during office horseplay with other animators. Reportedly, the incident had a significant impact upon not only his personality, transforming him from an outgoing, social individual to a solitary perfectionist, but also his perspective on animation itself: his unique, semi-surreal art and direction were credited in part by many biographers and collaborators to his lack of visual depth perception due to his injury.

Money disputes spurred Avery to leave Lantz for Warner Bros. in 1935. There, he convinced the studio's animation chief, Leon Schlesinger, to let him head his own production unit. He was granted a five-room bungalow on the Warner Sunset Blvd. lot - dubbed "Termite Terrace" due to its infestation problem - which he shared with several other up-and-coming animators, including Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett, and associate director Frank Tashlin. Charged with creating animated shorts that would compete with Walt Disney's output, Avery's unit abandoned the idea of producing material that would challenge their artistic ability in favor of shorts that were simply funnier and more anarchic than the Disney efforts. Termite Terrace's first shorts established Avery's signature style: frenetic action that often defied the laws of physics, wild visual puns laced with sarcasm and a satirical approach to the fairy tales and travelogues that were part and parcel of Disney's cartoons. Avery also played fast and loose with the inherently artificial nature of animation by having his characters speak directly to audiences or burst out the frame to decry the pomp and circumstance of title and credit sequences.

Avery's cartoons for Warners introduced or developed some of the most iconic figures in animation history. The first Termite Terrace short, "Gold Diggers of '49" (1935) boosted Porky Pig from bit player to a featured star in the Looney Tunes series, while Daffy Duck burst onto the scene two years later as Porky's berserk foil in "Porky's Duck Hunt" (1937) before bedeviling Egghead, an early incarnation of Elmer Fudd, in "Daffy Duck & Egghead" (1938). Avery also took a pesky rabbit character that had appeared in several Looney Tunes shorts and transformed him into a quick-thinking trickster with a talent for deceiving simple-minded pursuers. He also lent the rabbit -- who adopted the nickname of one of his animators, Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, for his own moniker, Bugs Bunny -- Avery's own signature phrase, "What's up, doc?" from the verbiage of his Texas youth.

In these and countless other Warner Bros. cartoons, Avery was deeply involved in nearly all aspects of production, from writing and editing to voices and catchphrases that became part of the American pop culture lexicon ("Which way did he go?" "Screwy, isn't it?"). Under Avery's supervision, Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes characters became exceptionally popular among audiences and bona fide rivals to Disney for their affections. But his perfectionism also ran afoul of his boss, Leon Schlesinger, who balked at his insistence on repeating the same gag three times in the 1941 Bugs Bunny carton "The Heckling Hare." Avery responded by quitting Warner for Paramount, where he created the offbeat "Speaking of Animals" series, which incorporated animated lip movements into live action footage of real animals. By the following year, Avery had moved to MGM, where he created some of his most inspired work. His MGM cartoons cast off any semblance to reality with their flights of fancy, which ranged from the antics of his slow-talking hound, Droopy, to the risqué rave-ups featuring sexually charged takes on classic fairy tale characters like Little Red Riding Hood ("Red Hot Riding Hood," 1943) and a lothario wolf whose reactions to the women's presence reached volcanic heights of arousal.

Avery's tenure at MGM was marked by considerable success, with his first project for the studio, the wartime satire "The Blitz Wolf" (1941), netting an Oscar nomination for Best Short Subject (Cartoons). But by 1950, he was burned out due to his relentless pace, and left MGM for a year before returning briefly to complete two Droopy shorts in 1953.

That same year, he returned to his old boss, Walter Lantz, to direct five shorts, including the Oscar-nominated "Legend of Rockabye Point" (1955). His tenure there was quickly torpedoed over the same financial issues that prompted him to quit the Lantz operation in 1935, and he moved into television commercials, producing memorable shorts for Raid and Frito-Lay under his own banner, Cascade Productions. Though his career remained active and his work regarded with the utmost respect by many of his peers, Avery became depressed and withdrew from the industry in the mid-1970s.

However, he returned to television in 1980 for "The Kwicky Koala Show" (CBS 1981), a Saturday morning series for Hanna-Barbera's Australian production office that featured a titular character who shared several personality traits with Droopy. But Avery would not live to see Kwicky Koala appear on American screens; he succumbed to liver cancer at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California on August 26, 1980.

2021 TCM Classic Film Festival

Thursday, May 6 through Sunday, May 9 at two virtual venues: the TCM network and the Classics Curated by TCM Hub on HBO Max.

View Turner Classic Movies Schedule

View HBO Max Lineup

View Linear Schedule

For more information, please visit http://filmfestival.tcm.com

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)

TCM also directly connects with movie fans through events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the TCM Big Screen Classics series in partnership with Fathom Events, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City and Los Angeles. In addition, TCM produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs, and hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app. Fans can also enjoy a TCM curated classics experience on HBO Max.

VIEW 2021 TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL TRAILER!

Restrictions Lifted, Hollywood Reopens

Oscar Marquee. Photo credit: Yevette Renee

Because of the commitment of President Joe Biden, he has exceeded his goal of 100 million shots in the arms in his first 100 days in office, which has greatly help in the decline in COVID cases.

And after a year of lockdowns, with no movie premieres, music, television or film productions, Los Angeles County has been moved into the "Orange Tier" of the State's Blueprint for Safer Economy framework, and some of the restrictions will be lifted for the music, television, and film productions. To meet the requirements, the county of Los Angeles must report 3.9 or fewer daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate under 5%.

And, beginning on April 15th, Los Angeles and Orange County, will be able to lift restrictions on indoor concerts, theater performances and other indoor music, television and film productions. If you want to attend any of these indoor events, you will have to show a negative COVID-19 test result or proof that you have completed ALL vaccination requirements.

Restaurant and movie theaters can increase their indoor capacity from 25% or 100 people to 50% or 200 people. This also also applies to museums, zoos, and places of worship. Bars can open at 33% capacity.

Amusement Parks
Six Flag Magic Mountain reopened on April 3rd.
Universal Studio Tourswiil reopen to California residents only on April 16th.
Disneyland will reopen on April 30th

Education
Los Angeles Unified School District is scheduled to return preschool
and elementary school students to in-class instruction instruction in the middle of April. Middle and high school students scheduled for the end of April.

Film Festivals
Sun Valley Film Festival April 14-18, online
Hot Docs, April 29-May 9
True/False Film Festival, May 5-9, in-person and online
Tribeca Film Festival, June 9-20
Mountainfilm, May 29-31, in-person; May 31-June 6, online
Provincetown Film Festival, June 16-25, in-person and online
Comic-Con, July 22-25
CinemaCon, August 26-30
Telluride Film Festival, September 2-6
Indigo Moon Film Festival, October 8-10 is in-person, October 9-15, online
AFM-American Film Market, November 2-7

Movie Theaters that have reopened in Los Angeles County:
AMC Theatres in Century City, Santa Monica and Burbank
Cinemark at the Promenade at Howard Huges Center, Westchester
El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood
Laemmle Theatres In Santa Monica, North Hollywood, Glendale, West L.A. and Pasadena
Landmark Theatres in Westwood opened on March 26th
Nuart Theatre in Santa Monica
Pacific Theaters in the Grove, Pacific Northridge Center, Americana Glendale
Regal Cinema reopened with the April 2nd limited release of Godzilla vs. Kong.
Regency Theatres in Van Nuys, Granada Hills, Agoura Hills
TCL Chinese Theatre reopened on March 29th with the limited release of Godzilla vs. Kong

ArcLight Cinemas -Hollywood has not reopened

Museums
Have opened at 25% capacity.
The Autry Museum of the American West
California African American Museum
California Science Center
LACMA
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened on April 1st
Los Angeles Zoo
The Hammer Museum
Natural History Museum of Los Angels Countym La Brea Tar Pits, and William S. Hart Museum
Skirball Cultural Center

Museum to reopen soon
The Broad to reopen in May
GRAMMY Museum no reopening date announced
MOCA no reopening date announced
Travel Town Museum

Governor Newsom is scheduled to phase-out the four-tiered, color-coded system that has been used as the guide for the state's reopening during the year-long closure, and open up the California economy on June 15th. This is subject to change based on the trend of COVID cases.

The Los Angeles County health protocols, called Appendix J, must be agreed to in order to receive a film permit from FilmLA. This includes Employers must provide all personal protective equipment (PPE).

All productions that are one or limited-time special event or performances must submit an event safety plan for review at least 10 business days before the planned event. You must submit your event plant via email to the Public Health department at: LiaisonCOVID19@ph.lacounty.gov. It is required to include the details of the event, a completed Department of Public Health Appendix J Protocol Checklist, schematics and any additional information that PDH may need to ensure the safety of all.

All productions for live outdoor events and performances mut also follow the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health "Protocol for Outdoor Seated Live Events and Performances.

Additional requirements for music, television and film productions are as follows:
Restaurants and bars
Retail Operations
Office Spaces
Warehouse and Manufacturing
Construction

Each productions is required to provide information on how they will protect employees health, with social distancing and infection control, how they will communicate with their employees and the public and how they will ensure fairness to all their employees and their ability to access services.

See Appendix J here

12th African American Film Critics Association Awards Virtually Tonight, April 7

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world’s largest group of Black film critics, will hold its twelfth annual awards ceremony virtually on Wednesday, April 7th, sponsored by Nissan and Morgan Stanley. “Judas and the Black Messiah” was named the year’s Best Film, in addition to winning Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya and Best Supporting Actress for Dominique Fishback.

“It is an honor to help present an award to ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ because I am from Chicago where we have a tradition of community advocacy,” said RogerEbert.com publisher Chaz Ebert. “Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, lived here; the Rev. Jesse Jackson lives here; and former president Barack Obama was a community advocate here. I lived on the West Side of Chicago, and I met Fred Hampton, and I know he aspired to be a lawyer. After his death, his brother contacted me as the head of the Black American Law Student Association to help establish the Fred Hampton Scholarship at DePaul Law School for African-American students. So this film was particularly meaningful to me.”

“Serving alongside an all-Black producing team, “Judas and the Black Messiah” director Shaka King created a project that permanently enshrines pivotal Black Panther leader Fred Hampton as an American hero. Released against the backdrop of the present-day Black Lives Matter movement, the film’s message of commitment and sacrifice to social justice is empowering,” says AAFCA President/Co-Founder Gil Robertson. “Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton is literally on fire and is supported well by Dominique Fishback who increasingly has become an actress to watch. Our members are thrilled to award the film with our highest honor.”

Andra Day won Best Actress for her harrowing portrayal of the title role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” while Chadwick Boseman posthumously won Best Actor for his stunning performance in “Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.”

“Our Best Actress winner Andra Day was phenomenal as Billie Holiday,” continues Robertson. “Director Lee Daniels has a terrific knack for bringing out the very best from his actors and Day is no exception as she delivered a performance that serves as an impressive launch to an acting career we feel has great promise. The members of AAFCA are excited to see even more of her range in the future. In ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ Chadwick Boseman again showcased a great understanding and execution of the acting craft. In what is the final performance of his career, he confirmed why he will forever be considered one of the best actors of his generation. AAFCA is tremendously pleased to honor him for this extraordinary performance.”

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Picture: “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros.)
Best Director: Regina King, “One Night In Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
Best Actress: Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (Hulu)
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros.)
Best Supporting Actress: Dominique Fishback, “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros.)
Best Screenplay: Kemp Powers, “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Best Ensemble: “One Night In Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Best Foreign Film: “Night of the Kings” (Neon)
Best Documentary: “All In: The Fight For Democracy” (Amazon Studios)
Best Animation: “Soul” (Pixar/Disney)
Best Short Film: “Two Distant Strangers”
Breakout Performance: Radha Blank (Netflix)
Breakout Director: Shaka King (Warner Bros.)

The organization, whose membership spans the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe and Africa and is the largest of its kind, also announced its Top 10 films of the year (listed here in ranked order): “Judas And The Black Messiah,” “One Night In Miami,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Nomadland,” “Night Of The Kings,” “American Skin,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Minari,” “Miss Juneteenth” and “The United States Vs. Billie Holiday.”

“The common theme with all of our Top 10 Films this year is the grace of humanity. All of these films spotlighted different circumstances that put the human spirit to a test. During a year when COVID-19 forced everyone on this planet to unite against a common threat to our health and well-being, these films spoke to the resilience and courage we all possess to overcome challenging odds. The AAFCA members were deeply heartened and inspired by these amazing stories as we also look forward to a return to “going to the movies” with our family and friends,” said Robertson.

The public airing for the 12th Annual AAFCA Awards virtual ceremony will take place at 8pm CT on Saturday, April 17th. For updates on how to stream the ceremony, follow AAFCA on Twitter and Instagram. For more information, visit the official site of AAFCA.

ANTHONY ANDERSON RECEIVES THE 2,691st STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

Photo: Hollywood Walk of Fame

Actor, comedienne Anthony Anderson received the 2,691^st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, August 14, 2020, in the first virtual award ceremony in the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s history.

Anderson’s celebrated this significant event with his family and friends one-day before his 50^th birthday on August 15^th, at the Hollywood Museum, located inside the historic Max Factor building, the make-up artist of the Golden Age of Hollywood. His star is located at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

The day’s emcee was President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Rana Ghadban. Guest speakers were Doris Bowman, Anthony’s mother, a talented actress in her own right, and funny man and Walk of Famer, George Lopez, and Executive Brian Dobbins

Anthony is from the City of Compton, CA and s acting while attending performing arts classes at Hollywood High School. He has received 6 straight Emmy and two Golden Globes nominations for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Staying busy, Anthony stars in and executive produces the ABC hit show “black’ish”, its spin-offs “grown-ish” and mixed-ishis , and is the the host of another ABC show “To Tell The Truth”. performed in Norman Lear’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience as George Jefferson in the “ All in the Family” segment. He has received 15 Image Award nominations and has won six as Outstanding Action in a Comedy Series.

In addition to conquering the small screen, Anderson has had much success in film too, beginning in 1999 role in “Life”. His memorable role in “Barbershop”, “My Baby’s Daddy”, “Me, Myself & Irene”, “Big Momma’s House”, “Kingdome Come”, King’s Ransom”, “Hustle & Flow”, “The Departed”, “Transformers”, “Small Time Crime”, and “The Beats” to name a few.

What a great way to bring-in 50, receiving a well-deserved Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Congratulations Anthony Anderson! Happy Birthday!

Watch the virtual ceremony below.

Blackstone, Hudson $1.65 Billion Hollywood Film Production Deal

Blackstone Property Partners, an investment group, has bought a 49% stake in Sunset Bronson, 5800 Sunset Blvd., Sunset Gower, 1438 N. Gower Street and Sunset Las Palmas, 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, from Hudson Pacific Properties said Chairman-CEO Victor Coleman.

The combined square footage of the three studios is 1.2 million square feet and includes 35 sound stages, all valued at $1.65 billion.

Blackstone looks to expand development at Sunset Gower, Sunset Las Palmas Studios and make additional studio purchases din and around Los Angeles and beyond.

Lights, Camera, Action! Hollywood Productions Resume June 12, 2020

TCL Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Photo: Yevette Renee

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Order of the Health Officer has released the REOPENING SAFER AT WORK AND IN THE COMMUNITY FOR CONTROL OF COVID-19.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has announced that the Music, film and television production can reopen during Stage 3 on Friday, June 12, 2020. All productions prior to resuming must prepare, implement and post the required Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Reopening Protocol for Music, Film and Television Production.

There are five areas that all productions must address prior to reopening: Workplace policies and practices to protect employee health, Measures to ensure physical distancing, measures to ensure infection control, communication with employees and the public, measures to ensure equitable access to critical service.

Physical Distancing

They suggest any employee that can work from home, should do so. The workplace must provide all personal protective equipment (PPE), all visitors and employees must wear face covering.

All productions and recording sessions are required to have a written protocol before they can start work to ensure six (6) feet or more between people. With only essential cast and crew on or near the set at any time. If cast and musicians are unable to wear face coverings must be a minimum of 8 feet of social distancing. Whenever possible, workspaces are to have one directional traffic. When riding the elevator, the capacity limit is based on the ability to maintain six (6) feet distance. They also suggest easing elevator traffic by opening stairwells for up and down traffic.

All shops shall be by appointment only to prevent lines forming.

Television and film productions are required to give periodic testing to cast and crew, especially those in high-rick scenes requiring close contact without masks.

Infection Control

Ventilation must be increased in all spaces. All contracts, music sheet, scripts and other documents must be distributed digitally or printed and given to everyone. Before and after filming and other sessions, all commonly touched areas must be disinfected at least three times a day. The entire facility must be cleaned daily i.e. sets, production spaces. Minor child actors can be accompanied by up to two adults. Payment portals, props, costumes, set materials, trucks and other vehicles must be disinfected after each use.

All Productions must provide a copy of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health protocol to every person that come on-set or enters the production facility.

The movie extra industry will suffer a major impact with productions being told to avoid large crowd scenes.

Craft services: people will only be able to eat and drink in a designated area. The cast and crew must eat and drink in production set area in staggered schedules.

Food buffets are not allowed as well as no communal food or drink services (no coffee pots). Food must be single serve only. People who bring in their own food cannot share their food.

The date, time and name of the crew currently in session must be recorded to assist in contact tracing when necessary.

Production locations must be completely secure from the public with enough space for everyone stay six (6) to social distance.

Little Richard, Legendary Rock n Roll Artist, Has Died at 87

On May 9, 2020, the world lost one of its most significant musical icons, Little Richard.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, “Little Richard” became a household name with the success of his hit songs, “Tutti Frutti” , “Long Tall Sally and “Rip It Up”

Known as The Innovator, The Originator, and The Architect of Rock and Roll, his flamboyant stage costumes, screaming vocals and over-the-top piano playing, make-up and hairstyle made Little Richard a dynamic musician who was able to crossover and bring people of all races in as his fans. Because he had such a diverse fan base , his concerts were successful in stopping segregation because everyone came to see him perform.

He was a major influence on Elvis Presley who covered at least four of his songs and on soul and funk, rhythm and blues, rock and hip hop music. In addition to Elvis Presley, his music was covered by Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, The Everly Brothers, Bene Vincent and Bill Haley.

Little Richard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Recording Academy and Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

The Beatles opened for Little Richard as well as The Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones and Bo Diddley. In 1964, famed guitarist, Jimi Hendrix joined his band the Upsetters.

According to Johnny Otis, R&B icon, “Little Richard is twice as valid artistically and important historically as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones put together.”

He leaves his only child, his son Danny Jones Penniman.

Andre Harrell, Hip Hop and R&B Icon, Founder of Uptown Records Has Died at 59

Andre Harrell. Photo: Yevette Renee

May 8, 2020

New York native, music trailblazer, Andre O’Neal Harrell, passed away on May 7, 2020 in West Hollywood, CA.

Harrell, a man that knew the music business from front and back as an Artist in the music duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and as an industry executive when he worked with Russell Simmons at Def Jam Records as its Vice President and general manager.

Harrell eventually left Def Jam to start his own music label, Uptown Records, in 1986. It is at Uptown where Harrel hired Sean “Diddy” Combs as an intern. Not only did this hiring lead to the start of Diddy’s mega successful career but also to the long-lasting careers of Mary J. Blige, the first successful solo Uptown artist, Heavy D and the Boys, The Lost Boyz, Anthony Hamilton, Al B. Sure, Jodeci, the Notorious B.I.G., Teddy Riley and Guy. He launched the career of Robin Thicke while at Nu America Records. He executive produced Robin Thicke and Pharrell’s mega hit song “Blurred Lines.”

His career path includes the 1995 position as CEO and president of Motown and founder of the Nu America advertising agency. Harrell came full circle in his relationship with Diddy when he became Vice Chairman of Diddy’s Revolt TV and Media.

He also experienced success in the TV and Film industry. He created and produced the highly successful tv show “New York Undercover” starring Malik Yoba and gave Halle Barry her first lead role in Strictly Business and the same is true for Jessica Alba in Honey.

Andre Harrell was a major force in the early days of Hip Hop and was able to seamlessly merge Hip Hop with R&B, a style of music that continues to endure.

He leaves his only son, Gianni.

Ja’Net Dubois Memorial Postponement

Television Star Ja'Net Dubois. Photo: Yevette Renee

March 5, 2020

After thoughtful reassessment of the coronavirus and risks associated with having many attendees who are coursing through international hubs, ultimately to intersect with family, friends, and the general public, our family has made the concerned decision to postpone the memorial service for our mother, Ja'Net DuBois.

We understand this announcement will grieve many who wish to honor her and pay tribute to her body of work on the stage, in film, in television, and behind the scenes.

We would like especially to recognize any of you who made changes to your schedule to be with us. We do not want to put anyone at unnecessary risk and hope all will understand and agree with our decision.