WarnerMedia Day 2019: All the new HBO Max and HBO shows announced so far

October 29, 2019

HBO Max

The following is a press release from WarnerMedia:

HBO MAX, WarnerMedia’s new streaming platform launching in May of 2020, will offer an impressive direct-to-consumer experience with 10,000 hours of premium content for everyone, ranging from families with young children to adults of all ages. Anchored with and inspired by the legacy of HBO’s excellence, unparalleled quality and innovative, award-winning storytelling, the new offering will bundle all of HBO together with an extensive collection of new original programming produced exclusively for HBO Max (Max Originals), select favorites from WarnerMedia’s enormous portfolio of beloved brands and libraries, and key third-party acquisitions.

HBO Max Social
Twitter: @HBOMax
YouTube: youtube.com/hbomax
Instagram: #HBOMax
Facebook: #HBOMax

MAX ORIGINALS
*Announced Today, October 29, 2019

KIDS AND FAMILY

Adventure Time: Distant Lands
These four new specials will continue the Adventure Time stories that captured imaginations and introduced unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, best buds who traversed the mystical Land of Ooo and encountered its colorful inhabitants.
BMO follows the lovable little robot from Adventure Time. When there’s a deadly space emergency in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, there’s only one hero to call, and it’s probably not BMO. Except that this time it is!
Obsidian features Marceline & Princess Bubblegum as they journey to the imposing, beautiful Glass Kingdom—and deep into their tumultuous past—to prevent an earthshaking catastrophe.
Wizard City follows Peppermint Butler, starting over at the beginning, as just another inexperienced Wizard School student. When mysterious events at the campus cast suspicion on Pep, and his checkered past, can he master the mystic arts in time to prove his innocence?
Together Again brings Finn and Jake together again, to rediscover their brotherly bond and embark on the most important adventure of their lives.
Genre: Animation
Creator: Pendleton Ward
Executive Producer: Adam Muto
Produced by: Cartoon Network Studios

Craftopia
Craftopia is an epic kids crafting competition show hosted by YouTube influencer Lauren Riihimaki (aka LaurDIY). Contestants, nine to fifteen years old, put their imaginations to the test and make their crafting dreams come true in a magical studio. After racing to fill their carts with inspiring materials, crafters meet larger-than-life challenges, making the most amazing creations the world has ever seen.
Genre: Non-fiction
Host: Lauren Riihimaki
Executive Producers: Lauren Riihimaki, Rhett Bachner, Brien Meagher
Produced by: B17 Entertainment

Esme & Roy
Esme & Roy follows a young girl, Esme, and her best monster friend, Roy, on their adventures as the best monstersitters in Monsterdale. Aimed at children ages four to six, it offers a creative new approach to teaching “learning through play” and mindfulness strategies. The series invites children into a colorful world where even the littlest monsters can overcome big challenges together.
Genre: Animation
Produced by: Sesame Workshop

*The Fungies!
A prehistoric comedy, The Fungies! explores Fungietown through the whimsical quests of Seth, a young student at Fungietown Elementary. Seth loves science and sharing his exciting discoveries with all his Fungie friends. But in his search for the ultimate scientific adventure, Seth often stirs up trouble for Fungietown’s colorful inhabitants leading to hilarious and heartwarming surprises.
Genre: Animation
Creator: Stephen Neary
Executive Producer: Rob Sorcher
Produced by: Cartoon Network Studios

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
Set in 1920s Shanghai, this animated series is an epic adventure comedy for the whole family that traces the origins of the Mogwai to the lush and perilous Jade Valley, in the Western Chinese countryside.
Genre: Animation
Writer: Tze Chun
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register
Co-Executive Producers: Tze Chun, Brendan Hay
Supervising Producer: Dan Krall
Produced by: Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation

*Jellystone
Welcome to the town of Jellystone – a charming place where your favorite Hanna-Barbera characters live, work and play together…but, at the same time, can’t help but stir up trouble for one another. The animated series includes classic characters such as Yogi, Boo Boo, Snagglepuss, Adam Ant, Huckleberry Hound, Jabberjaw, Magilla Gorilla and more.
Genre: Animation
Executive Producers: Carl Greenblatt, Sam Register
Produced by: Warner Bros. Animation

Karma
Sixteen contestants, ranging in age from 12 to 15, go off the grid to overcome physical challenges, with the laws of karma setting the rules. This adventure competition series, hosted by YouTube sensation Michelle Khare, tests mental and physical stamina as the kids unravel how their social actions impact their success in the game. Focus, giving, humility, growth, connection, change and patience are the path to becoming the “Karma Champion.”
Genre: Non-fiction
Host: Michelle Khare
Showrunner: Fred Pichel
Executive Producers: JD Roth, Adam Greener, Sara Hansemenn
Produced by: GoodStory Entertainment

Little Ellen
This animated children’s show explores the world through the eyes of a hilarious and unpredictable seven-year-old Ellen DeGeneres, on her adventures in her musical hometown of New Orleans. Little Ellen takes big risks and makes big mistakes, but she’s always able to laugh at herself and bounce back when things don’t go as planned.
Genre: Animation
Executive Producers: Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin A. Leman II, Sam Register
Co-Executive Producer: Jennifer Skelly
Producer: Jason Blackman
Produced by: Warner Bros. Animation and Ellen Digital Ventures

*Looney Tunes Cartoons
An all-new Looney Tunes Cartoons series featuring the marquee characters in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories. HBO Max has ordered 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Fans can also look forward to holiday-themed specials.
Genre: Animation
Voice Cast Members: Eric Bauza, Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen
Executive Producers: Pete Browngardt, Sam Register
Produced by: Warner Bros. Animation

Mecha Builders
A spin-off of Sesame Street, Mecha Builders features favorite Sesame Street characters as heroes in a robot-animation style.
Genre: Animation
Produced by: Sesame Workshop

The Monster at the End of This Story
Starring lovable, furry Grover from Sesame Street, The Monster at the End of This Story is a new animated version based on the acclaimed children’s picture book, The Monster at the End of This Book.
Genre: Animation Special
Produced by: Sesame Workshop

The Not Too Late Show with Elmo
A family-centric live-action take on a late night talk show, hosted by Elmo and featuring Sesame Street’s many celebrity friends.
Genre: Talk Show
Produced by: Sesame Workshop

Sesame Street
For 50 years, Sesame Street has helped children grow smarter, stronger, and kinder by providing preschoolers with the gold standard in educational programming. Five new 35-episode seasons of this legendary series come to HBO Max.
Genre: Puppets/Live Action
Produced by: Sesame Workshop

*Tig N’ Seek
Tig N’ Seek is about eight-year-old Tiggy and his gadget-building cat, Gweeseek, as they search for the lost items of Wee Gee City. With Tiggy’s cheerful attitude and Gweeseek’s exceptional inventing capabilities, the duo humorously navigate day-to-day dilemmas at the Department of Lost and Found.
Genre: Animation
Creator: Myke Chilian
Executive Producer: Rob Sorcher
Produced by: Cartoon Network Studios

GEN Z

15 Minutes of Shame
Monica Lewinsky and Catfish’s Max Joseph’s documentary takes an in-depth look at the public shaming epidemic in our culture and explores our collective need to destroy one another. The film will feature individuals from around the globe who have been publicly shamed – while exploring the bullies, the bystanders, the media, psychologists, politicians and experts in between.
Genre: Documentary Film
Executive Producers: Monica Lewinsky, Max Joseph, Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat
Produced by: Six West

Brad & Gary Go To…
The six-episode series will follow Hollywood power couple, Brad Goreski and Gary Janetti, as they go on a jet-setting culinary adventure around the globe, inspired by their Instagram stories that went viral this summer.
Genre: Non-fiction
Cast: Brad Goreski, Gary Janetti
Executive Producers: Brad Goreski, Gary Janetti, Matt Anderson, Nate Green, Cooper Green, Tara Long
Produced by: Purveyors of Pop and Entertainment One (eOne)

*College Girls (wt)
From Mindy Kaling, this comedy follows three 18-year-old freshman roommates at Evermore College in Vermont. A bundle of contradictions and hormones, these sexually active college girls are equal parts lovable and infuriating.
Genre: Comedy
Writer/Showrunner: Mindy Kaling
Executive Producers: Mindy Kaling, Howard Klein
Produced by: Kaling International in association with Warner Bros. Television

*DC Super Hero High
This half-hour comedy executive produced by Elizabeth Banks follows a group of students experiencing the fun and drama of adolescence at a boarding school for gifted kids. These teens are just trying to navigate the pressures of high school, but none of them realize that someday they will become legendary DC super heroes.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Scott Weinger
Executive Producers: Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman, Scott Weinger, John D. Beck, Ron Hart
Co-executive Producer: Dannah Shinder
Produced by: Brownstone Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television

Generation Hustle (wt)
From award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, Generation Hustle (wt) is a 10-part HBO Max original from CNN Original Series about the lengths young people will go to for fame, fortune, and power.
Genre: Documentary
Executive Producers: Alex Gibney, Yon Motskin, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello
Produced by: Jigsaw Productions and CNN Original Series

Gossip Girl
Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The prestige series will address just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed in the intervening years.
Genre: Drama
Executive Producers: Joshua Safran, Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz; Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo of Alloy Entertainment
Co-executive producer: Lis Rowinski of Fake Empire
Produced by: Warner Bros. Studio

Grease: Rydell High
A joyous musical series set in and around the world of Rydell High, the show reimagines the global smash hit movie with characters old and new. It’s still the 1950s, a world that rocks with big musical numbers and new original songs. It’s the peer pressures of high school, the horrors of puberty, and the rollercoaster of life in middle America with a modern sensibility that will bring it to life for today’s musical lovers.
Genre: Musical
Executive Producers: Picturestart and Temple Hill
Produced by: Paramount Television and Picturestart

*Green Lantern
Inspired by DC Comics’ Green Lantern and introducing characters from this iconic comic, this will be one of the biggest shows Berlanti Productions has ever done.
Genre: Action Drama
Executive Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter
Produced by: Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television

*Strange Adventures
A superhero anthology executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Strange Adventures will feature characters from across the DC canon. The drama will explore close-ended morality tales about the intersecting lives of mortals and superhumans.
Genre: Drama
Writer/Showrunner: John Stephens
Executive Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, John Stephens
Produced by: Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television

*Tooned Out
Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis, Tooned Out is a half-hour, hybrid live-action and animated comedy in development for HBO Max. Things get a little cartoony for Mac when he starts seeing iconic cartoon characters, but they’re not just there for laughs, they’re helping him get through a very rough patch in his life.
Genre: Comedy
Creator/Writer: Jared Stern
Executive Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Jared Stern, Jack Rapke, Jackie Levine
Produced by: A Stern Talking To Productions and Compari Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Television

UNpregnant
Adapted from the young adult HarperCollins novel of the same name that tells the story of 17-year-old Veronica, who never thought she’d want to fail a test—that is, until she finds herself staring at a piece of plastic with two solid pink lines. With a promising college-bound future now disappearing before her eyes, Veronica considers a decision she never imagined she’d have to make, embarking on a three-day, 900+ mile road trip to New Mexico with her ex-best friend Bailey. The film offers a mix of humor and grounded human emotion as it tackles complicated friendships and the difficult road to adulthood…all while in a stolen car.
Genre: Feature Film
Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Barbie Ferreira
Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Writers: Jenni Hendriks, Ted Caplan
Executive Producers: Michael McGrath, Lucy Kitada, Jessica Switch
Producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Erik Feig
Produced by: Picturestart and Berlanti Productions

ADULTS

Americanah
Based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling novel of the same name, Americanah is an epic love story of a woman born in Nigeria who leaves for America and her extraordinary experiences with love, heartache, adversity and self-discovery.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o
Executive Producers: Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o for Eba Productions; Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardener for Plan B Entertainment; Andrea Calderwood for Potboiler Television; Didi Rea and Danielle Del for D2 Productions; and Nancy Won

Birth, Wedding, Funeral
In each episode, Lisa Ling will immerse viewers in a different country to reveal their cultures through the lens of the three universal rituals—births, weddings, and funerals. In a quest to understand what connects us and celebrate the diversity of deeply-rooted customs around the world, the series is a riveting investigation of the human experience.
Genre: Documentary Series
Host: Lisa Ling
Executive Producers: Lisa Ling, Dan Rather and Philip Kim for News and Guts, and David Shadrack Smith
Produced by: Part2 Pictures

*Bobbie Sue
After being raised among four rowdy brothers in a blue-collar neighborhood, Bobbie Sue, a headstrong young lawyer lands a career-making case with an upper crust law firm, only to realize she’s been hired for optics and not her expertise. But after discovering her powerful client, a lifelong idol of hers, is trying to cover up exploiting workers within her company, Bobbie decides to take both her and the law firm on, caution and etiquette be damned.
Genre: Feature Film
Cast: Gina Rodriguez
Director: Charles Stone III
Executive Producers: Gina Rodriguez, Emily Gipson
Producer: Donald De Line

The Boondocks
Based on the comic strip created by Aaron McGruder, The Boondocks both depicted and presaged the nation’s most roiling cultural issues. HBO Max has two new reimagined seasons and a 50-minute special.
Genre: Animation
Showrunner: Aaron McGruder
Executive Producers: Aaron McGruder, Norm Aladjem for Mainstay Entertainment, Seung Kim, Meghann Collins Robertson.
Produced by: Sony Pictures Animation in partnership with Sony Pictures Television

Bourdain
A documentary film about the uncommon life of the late storyteller, explorer and chef, Anthony Bourdain.
Genre: Documentary Film
Director/Producer: Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville
Consulting Producers: Zero Point Zero Production
Executive produced by: CNN Films and HBOMax
Produced by: Morgan Neville’s Tremolo Productions
Theatrical Distributor: Focus

Circe
An adaptation of Madeline Miller’s International bestseller of the same name, Circe is a modern take on the world of Greek mythology told from the powerful feminist perspective of the goddess Circe, who transforms from an awkward nymph to a formidable witch, able to challenge gods, titans and monsters alike.
Genre: Drama
Writers/Executive Producers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Produced by: Chernin Entertainment in partnership with Endeavor Content

Crime Farm
Crime Farm is a psychosexual love story that follows Selma and Richard Eikelenboom, forensic homicide experts whose marriage thrives on their all-consuming investigations into the depravity of the world’s most notorious criminals. As a seminal case upends the paradigm of their relationship, their unique, unconventional and sometimes dangerous arrangement stretches the boundaries of marriage and science.
Genre: Drama
Executive Producers: Nicole Kidman and Per Saari from Blossom Films; Janine Sherman
Consulting Producers: Selma and Richard Eikelenboom
Produced by: Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films and Warner Horizon Scripted Television

Doom Patrol
With all-new original episodes, the critically acclaimed series features a band of superpowered freaks, part support group, part superhero team, who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby
Executive Producers: Greg Berlanti, Jeremy Carver
Produced by: Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Studio

Dune: The Sisterhood
An adaptation of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s book based in the world created by Frank Herbert’s Dune, Dune: The Sisterhood explores this universe through the eyes of a mysterious order of women, the Bene Gesserit, whose extraordinary mastery of body and mind allow them to expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium.
Genre: Drama
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Executive Producers: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, and Dana Calvo; and Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate
Co-Producer: Kevin J Anderson

Ellen’s Home Design Challenge
Design aficionado Ellen DeGeneres is giving forward-thinking designers the chance to push their creativity to the limit. DeGeneres will be on hand to weigh in on each challenge and provide humorous, colorful commentary.
Genre: Non-fiction
Executive Producers: Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Kleeman, Arthur Smith
Produced by: Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television and A. Smith & Co. Productions in association with Telepictures and A Very Good Production

Equal
Equal pays tribute to the epic origin stories of the LGBTQ+ movement. A masterful four-part docuseries that captures the gripping and true backstories of the leaders and unsung heroes, pre-Stonewall, who changed the course of American history through their tireless activism. These warriors gave voice, often in a life-or-death battle, to millions of people yearning for equality and the desire to be themselves.
Genre: Limited Documentary Series
Executive Producers: David Collins, Michael Williams, Rob Eric and Joel Chiodi from Scout Productions; Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter from Berlanti Productions; Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak from That’s Wonderful Productions; Jon Jashni from Raintree Ventures; Mike Darnell and Brooke Karzen from Warner Horizon Unscripted Television.

Expecting Amy (wt)
An unfiltered documentary taking viewers behind-the-scenes as Amy Schumer goes through a difficult pregnancy while on tour. From hospitalizations to going out in front of a crowd of thousands, to quiet moments at home with her family, Schumer shares it all.
Genre: Documentary Film
Cast: Amy Schumer
Producer: Amy Schumer
Editor: Alexander Hammer

First Dates Hotel
Based on the hit UK format, this charming dating series set at an affluent boutique hotel will find single people from multiple generations gathering for an intensive and tailor-made romantic experience. After fun, amusing and potentially disastrous dates, if the potential lovers like each other, they can choose to stay on for a second date in the hopes of finding out if they’re ultimately a match.
Genre: Non-fiction
Executive Producers: Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Kleeman, Pam Healey, Dan Peirson
Produced by: Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television in association with Shed Media, A Very Good Production and Twenty Twenty Productions Limited

The Flight Attendant
A one-hour thriller series based on the novel by New York Times best-selling author Chris Bohjalia of how an entire life can change in one night. A flight attendant wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man – and no idea what happened.
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Kaley Cuoco, Rosie Perez, T.R. Knight, Michiel Huisman, Sonoya Mizuno, Rosie Perez, Colin Woodell, Zosia Mamet
Adapted and written by: Steve Yockey
Director: Susanna Fogel
Executive Producer: Steve Yockey, Meredith Lavender, Marcie Ulin, Susanna Fogel, Greg Berlanti, Kaley Cuoco, Sarah Schechter
Co-Executive Producer: Suzanne McCormack
Produced by: Yes, Norman Productions and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television

Full Bloom
An eight-episode, hour-long competition series hosted by celebrity florist Simon Lycett and featuring America’s budding florists vying to be crowned America’s best. With incredible artistic creations and floristry face-offs, Full Bloom allows audiences to escape into a surreal world, as contestants design and execute some of the most wondrous, Wonka-esque floral creations ever seen.
Genre: Non-fiction
Host: Simon Lycett
Judges: Legendary floristry artists Elizabeth Cronin and Maurice Harris
Created and produced by: Eureka Productions
Executive Producers: Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening

gen:LOCK
The half-hour animated series focuses on a near-future dystopia undergoing a new, technologically driven world war. Fifty years in the future, an oppressive authoritarian force threatens to conquer the world. A daring team is recruited to pilot a new form of devastating mecha, but they must be willing to sacrifice everything to save the world.
Genre: Animation
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Dakota Fanning, Maisie Williams, Golshifteh Farahani, David Tennant
Executive Producers: Michael B. Jordan and Alana Mayo of Outlier Society; Matt Hullum and Ryan P. Hall of Rooster Teeth

The Greatest Space
A 10-episode epic design competition show features interior designers traveling around the world to transform an eclectic mix of empty rooms into spectacular spaces.
Genre: Non-fiction
Executive Producers: Bertram van Munster, Elise Doganieri, Mark Dziak, David Collins, Michael Williams, Rob Eric
Produced by: New Media Collective (NMC), Scout Productions

Heaven’s Gate
An intimate, four-part series that explores the infamous religious movement and the stranger-than-fiction circumstances that culminated in the biggest mass suicide to ever take place in the U.S.
Genre: Limited Documentary Series
Director: Clay Tweel
Executive Producer: Clay Tweel
Producers: Ross Dinerstein, Chris Bannon, Eric Spiegelman, Peter Clowney, and Erik Diehn for the digital media company Stitcher
Produced by: Campfire and CNN Original Series

The Hos (wt)
Led by patriarch Binh Ho and his wife, Hue Ho, the power couple immigrated from Vietnam to the United States with little money, relying on hard work to establish the ultimate American dream. They have built a multi-million dollar bank, a real estate development company and a new generation of American Hos. The series pulls back the curtain of their lavish Houston lifestyle and showcases the tight family connections that unite them as well as the multi-generational outrageous drama that ensues.
Genre: Non-fiction
Cast: Binh Ho, Hue Ho, Judy Ho, Washington Ho, Lesley Ho, Aunt Tina, Cousin Sammy
Executive Producers: Katy Wallin, Stephanie Bloch Chambers
Co-Executive Producers: Amanda Ly, Rosalina Lydster
Produced by: Wallin Chambers Entertainment in association with Lionsgate Television

Legendary
Competition has never been this ballsy. Legendary will feature voguing “houses,” each comprised of five performers and a leader – the house “parent.” The teams rotate in a round-robin format, and each episode documents a themed ball from start to finish. The winner ultimately achieves “legendary” status in fashion and dance challenges.
Genre: Non-fiction
Executive Producers: David Collins, Michael Williams, Rob Eric, Renata Lombardo, Shant Tutunjian
Produced by: Scout Productions

Let Them All Talk (wt)
The story of a celebrated author who takes a journey with some old friends to have some fun and heal old wounds. Her nephew comes along to wrangle the ladies and finds himself involved with a young literary agent.
Genre: Feature Film
Cast: Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest, Lucas Hedges, Gemma Chan
Writer: Deborah Eisenberg
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Executive Producers: Ken Meyer, Joseph Malloch
Producer: Gregory Jacobs

Love Life
A 10-episode half-hour romantic comedy anthology series about the journey from first love to last love, and how the people we’re with along the way make us into who we are when we finally end up with someone forever. The series will follow a different protagonist’s quest for love each season, with each episode telling the story of one of their relationships.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Zoe Chao, Peter Vack, Sasha Compere, Scoot McNairy, Hope Davis, James LeGros
Executive Producer: Paul Feig, Anna Kendrick

Made for Love
A 10-episode, half-hour, series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name. Made for Love is a dark, absurd and cynically poignant story of divorce and revenge. The series shows how far some will go for love – and how much further others will go to destroy it.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Cristin Milioti, Ray Romano, Noma Dumezweni
Adapted by: Patrick Somerville
Director/Executive Producer: S.J. Clarkson

Persona (wt)
A documentary feature produced by CNN Films that explores the riveting and unexpected origin story of America’s obsession with personality testing. Embedded in everything from dating sites to job applications, Persona reveals the profound ways personality testing has formed and influenced the world around us.
Genre: Documentary Film
Produced by: CNN Films

*Raised by Wolves
An epic serialized sci-fi series executive produced and directed by Ridley Scott. The series centers on two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.
Genre: Sci-fi
Writer/Showrunner: Aaron Guzikowski
Cast: Travis Fimmel, Amanda Collin, Abubakar Salim, Winta McGrath, Niamh Algar, Matias Varela, Felix Jamieson, Ethan Hazzard, Jordan Loughran, Aasiya Shah, Ivy Wong
Director: Ridley Scott
Executive Producers: Ridley Scott, Aaron Guzikowski, David W. Zucker, Jordan Sheehan, Adam Kolbrenner, Mark Huffam
Produced by: Scott Free Productions

*Rap Sh*t (wt)
From Issa Rae, Rap Sh*t (wt) is a half-hour comedy series that follows three women – a hip-hop duo and their hustler manager – trying to make it in Miami’s music industry.
Genre: Comedy
Produced by: Issa Rae and Montrel McKay for Issa Rae Productions and Jonathan Barry and Dave Becky for 3 Arts Entertainment

The Scoop (wt)
Produced by CNN Films, this documentary feature will follow the exhilarating and exhausting lives of CNN’s fearless female political reporters as they cover the most unpredictable presidential campaign in American history. This behind-the-scenes documentary draws from unprecedented access to the campaign press corps and reveals how these powerhouse political reporters deal with the candidates as well as with the challenges of life on the road.
Genre: Documentary Film
Produced by: CNN Films

Search Party
Two more seasons of the critically-beloved comedy Search Party comes to HBO Max. Season three finds the gang swept up in the trial of the century after Dory and Drew are charged for the semi-accidental murder of a private investigator. As Elliott and Portia grapple with whether or not to testify as witnesses, the friends are pitted against each other and thrust into the national spotlight as notorious public figures. As Dory’s sanity begins to fracture, it becomes increasingly clear that they may not have brunch together for quite some time.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Alia Shawkat, Meredith Hagner, John Early and John Reynolds
Executive Producers: Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter, Jax Media’s Lilly Burns, Tony Hernandez

*Stand-up Specials Presented by Conan O’Brien
Five new comedy specials that include two hosted by Conan O’Brien showcasing short sets from multiple up-and-coming comics, as well as curated one-hour-long sets from three additional comedians.
Genre: Comedy
Executive Producers: Conan O’Brien, Jeff Ross, JP Buck, Adam Sachs
Produced by: Team Coco

Starstruck
Starstruck follows 20-something Rose, a millennial in London, juggling two dead-end jobs and navigating the awkward morning-after when she discovers the complications of accidentally sleeping with a movie star.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Rose Matafeo
Executive Producers: Rose Matafeo, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett

Station Eleven
A limited series based on Emily St. John Mandel’s international bestseller, Station Eleven is a post-apocalyptic saga that follows survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what’s been lost.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Himesh Patel, Mackenzie Davis
Adapted by: Patrick Somerville
Director: Hiro Murai

Superintelligence
Superintelligence tells the story of Carol Peters, to whom nothing extraordinary ever happens. But when she starts getting snarky backtalk from her TV, phone and microwave, she thinks she’s being punked. The world’s first superintelligence has selected her for observation, taking over her life…with a more ominous plan to take over everything. Now Carol is humanity’s last chance before this artificial intelligence-with-an-attitude decides to pull the plug.
Genre: Feature Film
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Brian Tyree Henry, Jean Smart, James Corden
Director: Ben Falcone
Producers: Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Rob Cowan
Produced by: New Line Cinema

Tokyo Vice
Based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat starring Ansel Elgort. The drama captures Adelstein’s daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe
Writer: J.T. Rogers
Pilot Director: Michael Mann
Executive Producers: Michael Mann, J.T. Rogers, John Lesher, Alan Poul, Emily Gerson Saines, Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Destin Daniel Cretton
Produced by: Endeavor Content

HBO ORIGINALS

Previously announced series coming to HBO:

Avenue 5
Avenue 5 is a space tourism comedy set 40 years in the future when the solar system is everyone’s oyster. Hugh Laurie will star as the Captain, and with him in charge, nothing can go wrong.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura, Ethan Phillips, Lenora Crichlow
Creator: Veep creator Armando Iannucci (also directs the pilot)
Executive Producers: Armando Iannucci, Kevin Loader, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, Will Smith

Bad Education
Long Island school superintendent Frank Tassone and his assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin, are credited with bringing Roslyn School District unprecedented prestige, pleasing the board and raising property values in the town. Frank, always immaculately groomed and tailored, is a master of positive messaging, whether before an audience of community leaders or in an office with a concerned student or parent. Frank can do no wrong, until the Roslyn High School newspaper decides to dig deep into some expense reports uncovering an embezzlement scheme of epic proportions, revealing secrets about Frank and forcing the community to question their values and ambitions. Inspired by a true story, Bad Education is a potent dark comedy and commentary on the cost of the pursuit of educational excellence.
Genre: Film
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano
Director: Cory Finley
Writer: Mike Makowsky
Executive Producers: Leonid Lebedev, Caroline Jaczko
Producers: Fred Berger, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Oren Moverman, Mike Makowsky
Produced by: Automatik, Sight Unseen

Betty
Inspired by the critically acclaimed film Skate Kitchen, the series, set against the backdrop of New York City, will follow a diverse group of young women navigating their lives through the predominantly male-oriented world of skateboarding.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Rachelle Vinberg, Nina Moran, Moonbear, Dede Lovelace, Ajani Russell
Executive Producer/Writer/Director: Crystal Moselle
Executive Producer/Writer: Lesley Arfin
Executive Producer: Igor Srubshchik, Jason Weinberg
Co-Executive Producers: Michael Sherman and Matthew Perniciaro of Bow & Arrow Entertainment
Co-Executive Producer: Rodrigo Teixeira of RT Features
Producer: Izabella Tzenkova of Kotva Films
Producer: Lizzie Nastro
Produced by: Arfin Material, Untitled Entertainment

The Gilded Age
The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new. Against this backdrop of change, the story begins in 1882 – introducing young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Southern general, who moves into the home of her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. Accompanied by the mysterious Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her stupendously rich neighbors, led by a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife struggling for acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set. Will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path in this exciting new world that is on the brink of transformation into the modern age?
Genre: Drama
Cast: Christine Baranski, Amanda Peet, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector
Creator/Writer/Executive Producer: Julian Fellowes
Director: Michael Engler
Executive Producers: Gareth Neame, Michael Engler, David Crockett
Produced by: An HBO co-production with NBCU

His Dark Materials
Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, this series follows Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Dafne Keen, Anne-Marie Duff, Clarke Peters, Ariyon Bakare, Will Keen, Ian Gelder, Georgina Campbell, Lewin Lloyd, Lucian Msamati, James Cosmo, Daniel Frogson, Tyler Howitt, Ruta Gedmintas, Mat Fraser, Geoff Bell, Simon Manyonda
Executive Producers: Dan McCulloch, Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner, Philip Pullman, Jack Thorne, Tom Hooper, Deborah Forte, Toby Emmerich, Carolyn Blackwood, Ben Irving, Piers Wenger
Directors: Tom Hooper, Dawn Shadforth, Otto Bathhurst, Euros Lyn, Jamie Childs

*House Of The Dragon
A Game of Thrones prequel co-created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal, with Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal to partner as showrunners. Based on Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.
Genre: Drama
Creators: George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal
Showrunners: Ryan Condal, Miguel Sapochnik
Director: Miguel Sapochnik (pilot and additional episodes)
Writer: Ryan Condal
Executive Producers: Ryan Condal, George R.R. Martin, Miguel Sapochnik, Vince Gerardis

How To…With John Wilson
How To…With John Wilson is a first person documentary series hosted by an anxious New Yorker who attempts to give everyday advice while dealing with his own personal issues. Acting as both cameraman and narrator, John covertly documents the lives of fellow New Yorkers in a comic odyssey of self-discovery, inevitably making the audience comfortable with the awkward contradictions of modern life.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: John Wilson
Executive Producer/Writer/Director/Narrator: John Wilson
Executive Producers: Nathan Fielder, Clark Reinking

I Know This Much Is True
A family saga that follows the parallel lives of identical twin brothers in an epic story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness set against the backdrop of 20th-century America. The six episode limited drama series is based on Wally Lamb’s New York Times bestseller and award-winning book I Know This Much Is True.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Melissa Leo, Rosie O’Donnell, Archie Panjabi, Imogen Poots, Juliette Lewis, Kathryn Hahn, John Proccacino
Director/Writer/Executive Producer: Derek Cianfrance
Star/Executive Producers: Mark Ruffalo
Executive Producers: Ben Browning & Glen Basner for FilmNation Entertainment
Executive Producers: Wally Lamb, Gregg Fienberg, Anya Epstein, Lynette Howell Taylor
Co-Executive Producers: Jamie Patricof

Industry
Industry is an exhilarating dive into the world of international finance, as seen through the eyes of ambitious 20-somethings struggling to secure their futures. The series follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London – but the boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs, and ego as it is by deals and dividends. As members of the group rise and fall, they must decide whether life is about more than the bottom line.
Genre: Drama
Executive Producer/Writer: Mickey Down
Executive Producer/Writer: Konrad Kay
Executive Producers: Jane Tranter, Lachlan MacKinnon, Ryan Rasmussen
Executive Producer/Pilot Director: Lena Dunham
Produced for HBO and BBC by Bad Wolf

January 22nd
A fearless, frank and provocative drama series exploring the question of sexual consent and where, in the new landscape of dating and relationships, the distinction between liberation and exploitation lies. Set in London, where gratification is only an app away, the story centers on Arabella, a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy, and a burgeoning writing career. But when she is spiked with a date-rape drug, she must question and rebuild every element of her life.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Michaela Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu, Aml Ameen, Adam James, Sarah Niles, Ann Akin, Harriet Webb, Ellie James, Franc Ashman, Karan Gill, Natalie Walter, Samson Ajewole
Executive Producers: Phil Clarke & Roberto Troni for Various Artists Ltd
Executive Producer / Writer / Director / Cast: Michaela Coel for FALKNA Productions
Producers: Simon Maloney, Simon Meyers
Director: Sam Miller
Produced by: Various Artists Ltd and FALKNA Productions

Lovecraft Country
The one-hour drama series based on the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, follows Atticus Freeman as he joins his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father. What follows is a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Michael Kenneth Williams, Courtney B. Vance, Wunmi Mosaku, Aunjanue Ellis, Jamie Harris, Abbey Lee, Jamie Chung, Jordan Patrick Smith
Executive Producers: Jordan Peele, J.J. Abrams, Misha Green, Yann Demange, Daniel Sackheim, Ben Stephenson, Bill Carraro
Showrunner: Misha Green
Produced by: Bad Robot Productions and Monkeypaw Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television

Mare of Easttown
Kate Winslet stars in this limited series as a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as her life crumbles around her.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Cailee Spaeny, David Denman, John Douglas Thompson, Patrick Murney, Ben Miles, James McArdle, Sosie Bacon, Joe Tippett, Neal Huff
Creator/Writer/Showrunner/Executive Producer: Brad Ingelsby
Director/Executive Producer: Gavin O’Connor
Executive Producers: Gordon Gray through Mayhem Pictures; Paul Lee through wiip; Mark Roybal through wiip; Kate Winslet
Produced by: An HBO co-production with wiip

The Nevers
The Nevers is an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women, known as “The Touched,” who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that could change the world.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Laura Donnelly, Nick Frost, Denis O’Hare, Olivia Williams, Ann Skelly, Zackary Momoh, Tom Riley, James Norton, Amy Manson, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ben Chaplin, Pip Torrens
Executive Producer/Showrunner/Writer/Director: Joss Whedon
Executive Producers: Bernie Caulfield, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie

The New Pope
Created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, this drama will mark his second limited series set in the world of the modern papacy, following The Young Pope.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Jude Law, John Malkovich, Silvio Orlando, Javier Cámara, Cécile de France, Ludivine Sagnier, Maurizio Lombardi, Henry Goodman, Ulrich Thomsen, Mark Ivanir, Massimo Ghini
Creator/Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Producers: Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani for Wildside
Co-Producers: Haut et Court TV and Mediapro
Writers: Paolo Sorrentino with Umberto Contarello and Stefano Bises
Produced by: Sky, HBO, Canal+

The Outsider
Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel of the same name, this dark mystery follows a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy. The crime, however, leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe to be real, as an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Bill Camp, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, Yul Vázquez, Jeremy Bobb, Marc Menchaca, Hettienne Park, Michael Esper
Producer: Ben Mendelsohn
Writers: Richard Price, with episodes written by Dennis Lehane and Jessie Nickson-Lopez
Executive Producers: Jason Bateman/Director (first two episodes). Richard Price, Andrew Bernstein (who directs three episodes), Marty Bowen for Temple Hill Entertainment, Jack Bender, Michael Costigan for Aggregate Films, and Dennis Lehane (Episodes 105-110)
Produced by Bateman’s Aggregate Films and Temple Hill Entertainment in association with Civic Center Media.

Perry Mason
Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series will focus on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason, based on characters from Erle Stanley Gardner’s novels. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. L.A. is booming while the rest of the country struggles through the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.
Genre: Drama
Cast: Matthew Rhys, John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Chris Chalk, Juliet Rylance, Shea Whigham, Nate Corddry, Veronica Falcon, Andrew Howard, Jefferson Mays, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root Gayle Rankin, Lili Taylor
Showrunners: Ron Fitzgerald, Rolin Jones
Executive Producers: Amanda Burrell, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Ron Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek, Rolin Jones, Tim Van Patten (also Director of multiple episodes)
Producer: Matthew Rhys

The Plot Against America
The Plot Against America is set in an alternate American history and centers on a Jewish family in New Jersey who watch the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator hero and xenophobic populist who becomes president, defeating Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, and turns the country toward fascism.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, Anthony Boyle, Azhy Robertson, Caleb Malis, John Turturro
Creators: David Simon and Ed Burns both serve as writers and executive producers on the series, as well as Joe Roth, Nina Noble, Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, Susan Goldberg and Jeff Kirschenbaum
Co-Executive Producers: Dennis Stratton, Philip Roth

Run
Run centers on Ruby, a woman living a humdrum existence who one day gets a text inviting her to fulfill a youthful pact, promising true love and self-reinvention, by stepping out of her life to take a journey with her oldest flame.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Merritt Wever; Guest Starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Rich Sommer
Writer: Vicky Jones
Executive Producers: Vicky Jones and Phoebe Waller-Bridge via DryWrite; Emily Leo for Wigwam; and Jenny Robbins. Kate Dennis directed the pilot and executive produces.
Produced by: Entertainment One, DryWrite, Wigwam Films.

The Third Day
The Third Day is a story told over six episodes and in two distinct halves. The first – “Summer,” directed by Marc Munden, sees Sam, a man drawn to a mysterious island off the British coast where he encounters a group of islanders set on preserving their traditions at any cost. The second – “Winter,” directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, follows Helen, a strong-willed outsider who comes to the island seeking answers, but whose arrival precipitates a fractious battle to decide its fate.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Jude Law, Naomie Harris, Katherine Waterston, Paddy Considine, Emily Watson
Writer/Executive Producer: Dennis Kelly (wrote four episodes)
Executive Producers: Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Plan B Entertainment
Executive Producer: Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk International
Creators: Felix Barrett, Dennis Kelly
Director/Executive Producer: Marc Munden
Director/Executive Producer: Philippa Lowthorpe
Producer: Adrian Sturges
Writers: Kit de Waal and Dean O’Loughlin (wrote two episodes)
Produced by: HBO and Sky Studios in partnership with Plan B Entertainment and Punchdrunk International

The Undoing
A limited series based on the book You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Grace Sachs is living the only life she ever wanted for herself. She’s a successful therapist, has a devoted husband and young son who attends an elite private school in New York City. Overnight a chasm opens in her life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Donald Sutherland, Noah Jupe, Edgar Ramirez, Lily Rabe, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Matilda DeAngelis, Noma Dumezweni
Writer/Executive Producer/Showrunner: David E. Kelley through David E. Kelley Productions
Director/Executive Producer: Susanne Bier
Executive Producers: Nicole Kidman and Per Saari for Blossom Films; Bruna Papandrea for Made Up Stories; Stephen Garrett, Celia Costas

We Are Who We Are
A coming-of-age story about two American teenagers who, along with their military and civilian parents, are living on an American military base in Italy. The series centers on friendship, first-love and all the unknowns of being a teenager, which could happen anywhere, but in this case, happens to be in this little slice of America in Italy.
Genre: Limited Series
Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Jack Dylan Grazer, Alice Braga, Jordan Kristine Seamon
Kid Cudi, Faith Alabi, Spence Moore II, Francesca Scorsese, Ben Taylor, Corey Knight , Tom Mercier, Sebastiano Pigazzi
Showrunner/Writer/Director/Executive Producer: Luca Guadagnino
Writers: Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Giordano, Francesca Manieri
Executive Producers: Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, Luca Guadagnino, Nick Hall, Riccardo Neri
Producers: Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Wildside (part of Fremantle)
Produced by: HBO and Sky Studios
International Distributor: Fremantle

HBO LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS

Series
Barry
Big Little Lies
Chernobyl
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Deadwood
Entourage
Euphoria
Game of Thrones
Insecure
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
My Brilliant Friend
Oz
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Righteous Gemstones
Sex and the City
Silicon Valley
Six Feet Under
The Sopranos
Succession
True Blood
True Detective
Veep
Watchmen
Westworld
The Wire
Find all HBO Series: https://www.hbo.com/series/all-series

Movies
Available in first year of launch:
A Star Is Born
Aquaman
Bridesmaids
Crazy Rich Asians
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Detective Pikachu
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Glass
Isn’t It Romantic?
It Chapter 2
Joker
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Little
Love Actually
Madagascar
Notting Hill
Rio
Shazam!
Smallfoot
The Town
Us
War of the Worlds

Find all HBO Movies: https://www.hbo.com/movies

HBO MAX LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS

In addition to a robust slate of originals, HBO Max will feature a vast selection of titles from Warner Media’s brands including library content from Warner Bros. Film and Television Studios, New Line Cinema, DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Looney Tunes and more, alongside key third party acquisitions.

Here is a selection that will be available in our first year of launch.

Series
Adam Ruins Everything
Adventure Time
The Alienist
American Dynasties: The Kennedys
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
At Home with Amy Sedaris
The Bachelor
The Bachelorette
Batwoman
The Big Bang Theory
The Boondocks
The Carbonaro Effect
The Closer
CNN Decade Series (The 2000s, The Nineties, etc.)
Conan Travel Specials
Dexter’s Laboratory
Doctor Who
Doom Patrol
Ellen’s Game of Games
Falling Skies
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Friends
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Gossip Girl
The Honourable Woman
Impractical Jokers
The Jetsons
Little Big Shots
Looney Tunes
Mad TV
Miracle Workers
The OC
The Office (British version)
The Powerpuff Girls
Pretty Little Liars
Pride and Prejudice
Primal
Rick & Morty
Rizzoli & Isles
Robot Chicken
Samurai Jack
Sesame Street
The Smurfs
South Park
Steven Universe
This Is Life with Lisa Ling
Top Gear / BBC
United Shades of America with Kamau Bell
The West Wing
Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Movies
13 Going on 30
2001: A Space Odyssey
Austin Powers
The Bodyguard
Casablanca
Chariots of Fire
Citizen Kane
The Color Purple
The Conjuring
Dangerous Liaisons
The Departed
The Dark Knight
DC Films – All live action movies from the past decade
The Departed
Gremlins
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Hairspray
Happy Feet
The Hobbit Trilogy
The Iron Giant
Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2
The Last Samurai
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Magic Mike
March of the Penguins
The Matrix Trilogy
Million Dollar Baby
Miss Congeniality
Mona Lisa Smile
Ocean’s Eleven
The Right Stuff
Risky Business
Scooby-Doo
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
Space Jam
Spirited Away and the entire Ghibli Film Collection
Watchmen
Wonder Woman
When Harry Met Sally
The Wizard of Oz

2019 New York Film Festival review: ‘Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn’

September 30, 2019

By Carla Hay

Roy Cohn in “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” (Photo by Mary Ellen Mark/HBO)

“Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn”

Directed by Ivy Meeropol

World premiere at the New York Film Festival in New York City on September 29, 2019.

Roy Cohn will go down infamy as the attorney who helped spearhead U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy’s political witch hunt of suspected Communists in the 1950s, and Cohn later became a “fixer” for shady clients and powerful criminals, including the Mafia. Cohn (who died of AIDS in 1986, the same year he was disbarred) is the subject of two documentary films in two years, but each documentary is very different from each other.

Sony Pictures Classics’ “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” (released in U.S. cinemas in 2019) from director Matt Tyrnauer takes a more traditional approach of a Cohn biography that’s told in chronological order. HBO’s “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” (which is set to premiere on HBO in 2020) tells a more personal, non-linear story, because director Ivy Meeropol’s paternal grandparents were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, whose McCarthy-era persecution led to the Rosenbergs being executed for espionage in 1953.

“Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” gets its title from the “Bully Coward Victim” description on Cohn’s AIDS quilt panel that was part of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed in front of Washington, D.C.’s National Mall in 1987. The quilt panel for Cohn was anonymously made. “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” opens with home video that was made 25 years after Cohn’s death. The video shows Ivy Meeropol interviewing her father Michael Meeropol about the Rosenberg case. He says that the family is united in the statement that this tragedy will never happen again.

After Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair, their two orphaned sons Michael and Robert were adopted by writer/teacher/activist Abel Meeropol and his wife Anne. Because the Rosenberg/Meeropol family history is so intertwined with Cohn’s history, the documentary is partially a biography of the Rosenberg/Meeropol family, because it reveals the devastating and long-lasting effects of the execution. In that regard, “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” is almost like a spinoff to Ivy Meeropol’s 2004 documentary “Heir to an Execution,” which explored the Rosenberg case from the family perspective.

“Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” jumps around in timeline and includes a lot of archival footage and new interviews. The documentary also features Michael and Robert Meeropol’s activism and ongoing fight to prove that their parents were not guilty of the crimes which led to the Rosenbergs’ execution. Although the editing for “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” isn’t as neatly structured as “Where’s My Roy Cohn?,” Ivy Meeropol’s documentary has better interviews and packs more of an emotional punch.

For example, “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” has some exclusive interviews that are definitely outdated, including interviews with Roger Stone (a Cohn ally and conservative Republican strategist who’s had a fall from grace, due to various criminal charges) and gossip columnist Liz Smith, who died in 2016. “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” interviews an almost entirely different set of people, including Cohn’s former driver Peter Allen, attorney/Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, journalist Taki Theodoracopulos, director/actor David Lloyd Marcus and writer Tony Kushner, whose “Angels in America” about the 1980s AIDS crisis became an award-winning Broadway play and HBO miniseries.

Nathan Lane, who won a Tony Award for portraying Cohn in the 2018 Broadway revival of “Angels in America,” describes Cohn as “nerdy and creepy but lovely” on talk shows, but Lane says that Cohn was very different in private. Gossip columnist Cindy Adams (best known for her work in the New York Post) admits she did favors for Cohn “because he was my friend. It was loyalty.”

Author/journalist Peter Manso, who interviewed Cohn for Playboy magazine in 1981, calls Cohn a “lawless madman.” Meanwhile, attorney John Klotz has this to say about Cohn: “He was not just a lawyer for the Mob, he was an active participant.”

Cohn was a longtime mentor to Donald Trump, who later shunned Cohn after Cohn was federally investigated for corruption and was eventually disbarred in 1986. John LeBoutillier, a Republican former U.S. Congressman for New York, says that in 1983, when Trump and Cohn were still close, LeBoutillier was pressured by Cohn to write a letter of recommendation for Maryanne Trump Barry (Donald Trump’s eldest sister) to become a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. She received the nomination from then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan and was later confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate.

Early in his career, Cohn had his own Senate hearing that was much more notorious. During the televised Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, Cohn was accused of pressuring the U.S. Army to give preferential treatment to Cohn’s Army buddy G. David Schine, who was rumored to be Cohn’s secret lover. The hearings are part of TV history because it’s the first time that the word “homosexual” was said on U.S. television.

“Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” and “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” both include descriptions of Cohn (who was never married and had no children) as an eccentric and closeted gay man. However, “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” takes a deeper dive into Cohn’s double life by going into more details about his semi-openly gay lifestyle in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Cohn kept his law practice based in his hometown of New York City, where he worked out of his multimillion-dollar townhouse. In public, he had the image of a high-powered, conservative Republican who had attractive women as his dates for society events. However, Cohn had another life in Provincetown (a popular getaway city for gay men), where he had another home. It was an open secret in Provincetown that he was gay and had a preference for much-younger men and cocaine-fueled parties.

“Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” has interviews with Provincetown locals who were in contact with Cohn. (“Where’s My Roy Cohn?” doesn’t interview these Provincetown sources.) One of them is former hustler Ryan Landry, who says he was hired by Cohn in the 1970s to have sex with Cohn’s younger lover while Cohn watched. Landry says he spent time with Cohn on multiple occasions and was surprised to find out that he and Cohn had similar taste in music.

Anne Packard, an artist who was Cohn’s next-door neighbor in Provincetown, says: “I never saw him alone, except when he was swimming.” The documentary includes several archival photos of Cohn spending time with several “boy toys” in his company. (It’s clear that Cohn and his male friends liked to go on boats.) Openly gay filmmaker John Waters, who remembers seeing Cohn in Provincetown, says in the documentary: “I was appalled that he was here [in Provincetown].”

It’s also mentioned that Cohn would frequently hire his younger lovers to work for him at his law firm, usually as his assistant. One such employee/lover was Peter Fraser, who the documentary says was used as a “cut out” for money laundering. The documentary includes some never-before-seen paperwork that showed how Cohn would put questionable expenses in his law firm’s accounting reports. Money laundering and other corruption charges would eventually lead to Cohn’s downfall.

Toward the end of his life, when it was obvious that Cohn was in failing health, he continued to publicly deny that he had AIDS. The documentary points out that one of the most despised aspects of Cohn was his damaging hypocrisy. He was a gay man, but throughout his career, he actively worked with politicians and other people in power to prevent LGBTQ people from having equal rights. And even though he always publicly denied that he had AIDS, Cohn used his privileged position to secretly get preferential medical treatment when the government needed volunteers for possible AIDS vaccines.

Cohn had a reputation as a tyrant who liked to put fear into his enemies, but the documentary exposes that Cohn wasn’t as fearless as he portrayed himself to be. Cohn’s very public feud with Richard Dupont (a former client of Cohn’s) got so ugly that Dupont ended up in New York State Supreme Court in 1981, for various charges, including harassment and burglary against Cohn. “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” has never-before-heard voice messages of Cohn begging Dupont to stop “tormenting” him.

In the documentary, Dershowitz says that Cohn admitted to him that he “framed guilty people” and that the Rosenbergs were framed. “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” isn’t the vindictive vendetta that people might assume it is. The documentary doesn’t portray Cohn as innocent of his crimes, but it definitely reveals him to be a self-hating bully who took out his hatred on other people. Cohn destroyed countless lives in the process, but he was also his own worst enemy.

UPDATE: HBO will premiere “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn” on June 18, 2020.

2019 Comic-Con International: HBO activities and exclusives

June 27, 2019

Westworld
“Westworld” cast members Jeffrey Wright, Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton (Photo courtesy of HBO)

The following is a press release from HBO:

The HBO series HIS DARK MATERIALS, GAME OF THRONES and WESTWORLD are confirmed for panels and autograph signing sessions at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2019.

WATCHMEN fans should keep a look out around the Gaslamp Quarter for a surprise in-world opportunity to engage with the new HBO series.

Below is information on the three panels.

Thursday, July 18

The HIS DARK MATERIALS panel in Hall H at 4:45 p.m. will include (in alphabetical order): James McAvoy (Lord Asriel), Dafne Keen (Lyra), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby), Jane Tranter (executive producer) and Ruth Wilson (Mrs. Coulter).

Autograph signing is at 2:45 p.m.

Friday, July 19

The GAME OF THRONES panel in Hall H at 5:30 p.m. will include cast members (in alphabetical order): Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei of Naath), Iain Glen (Ser Jorah Mormont), Conleth Hill (Varys), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark). Other panelists include creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and director and executive producer Miguel Sapochnik.

Autograph signing is at 3:30 p.m.

July 17, 2019 UPDATE:  David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Miguel Sapochnik, Iain Glen and Nathalie Emmanuel have all canceled their appearances on the Comic-Con panel. The cancellations were supposedly due to scheduling conflicts, according to HBO. All the other previously announced “Game of Thrones” panelists will be at Comic-Con as scheduled.

Saturday, July 20

The WESTWORLD panel in Hall H at 1:15 p.m. will include creators, executive producers and directors Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and cast members (in alphabetical order): Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Aaron Paul, Tessa Thompson, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright.

Autograph signing is at 11:45 a.m.

The autograph signings will take place in the DC Warner Bros. booth #4545. Attendees wishing to participate in autograph signings may log in to their Comic-Con Member ID account to submit their interest via the Exclusives Portal. WBTVG follows Comic-Con’s selection process and wristband distribution procedures. For more information visit www.comic-con.org/cci/exclusives.

HIS DARK MATERIALS fans can follow live coverage of the panel on Twitter from @daemonsanddust and use #HisDarkMaterials to join the conversation.

GAME OF THRONES fans can follow live coverage of the panel on Twitter from @GameofThrones and use #GoTSDCC to join the conversation.

WESTWORLD fans can follow live coverage of the panel on Twitter from @WestworldHBO and use #WestworldSDCC to join the conversation.

PLEASE NOTE: Cast and producers scheduled to attend are subject to change.

2019 Tribeca Film Festival movie review: ‘Wig’

May 5, 2019

by Carla Hay

Nelson Sullivan in “Wig” (Photo courtesy of HBO)

“Wig”

Directed by Chris Moukarbel

World premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on May 4, 2019.

The documentary “Wig” is a joyous and sassy love letter to Wigstock (the annual drag festival in New York City) and New York City’s drag culture. The movie comes 24 years after the 1995 documentary “Wigstock: The Movie,” which chronicled the 1994 Wigstock event. Unlike “Wigstock: The Movie,” which was essentially a concert film, “Wig” takes a deeper dive into the history of Wigstock and its underrated impact on pop culture.

Wigstock was launched in 1984 by Lady Bunny, and its first incarnation ran until 2001. The festival was revived in 2018 by Lady Bunny and Neil Patrick Harris. (Harris and his husband, David Burtka, are two of the producers of “Wig,” which had its world premiere as part of the Tribeca Film Festival’s inaugural Tribeca Celebrates Pride, an entire day of LGBTQ-themed programming. Lady Bunny performed after the film’s premiere.)

A lot has changed since Wigstock went on hiatus in 2001. RuPaul, who was one of Wigstock’s original stars, has become an entertainment mogul, as the host/showrunner of the Emmy-winning drag contest “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the founder of RuPaul’s DragCon event, which currently has annual editions in Los Angeles and New York City. The rise of RuPaul and drag culture is a direct result of LGBTQ culture overall becoming much more visible in the 21st century, with more LGBTQ characters and reality stars on screen; the launch of LGBTQ TV networks, such as Logo and Here; and more LGBTQ celebrities living their lives openly. That visibility and growing public support for LGBTQ rights also had an impact on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to make marriage equality legal for same-sex couples.

In its own unique way, Wigstock has been part of this movement. It’s important to bring up this historical context because “Wig” would have been a very different movie if it had been made in the 1990s. “Wig” director Chris Moukarbel (who directed Lady Gaga’s 2017 Netflix documentary “Gaga: Five Foot Two”) skillfully rises to the challenge of presenting the history of Wigstock in a cohesive, entertaining style that a wide variety of people can relate to and enjoy.

“Wig” includes some prophetic archival footage from the early 1990s showing RuPaul having a bathroom conversation with British filmmaker Fenton Bailey, who asks RuPaul if drag queens will be popular in America. Fast forward decades later, and Bailey’s World of Wonder production company (which he co-founded in 1991 with fellow filmmaker Randy Barbato) is producing the “Drag Race” franchise, drag queen Big Freedia’s self-titled reality series and numerous other film, TV and digital projects. RuPaul is seen frequently throughout the “Wig” movie, including RuPaul’s early club days at New York City’s Pyramid Club (which was a vital part of the city’s drag scene that birthed Wigstock), to directing an impromptu home photo session with fellow drag queen Nelson Sullivan in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, to on-stage appearances at Wigstock throughout the years.

In “Wig,” many of the drag queens comment on the mainstreaming of drag culture, compared to the early years of Wigstock. Although many of the queens appreciate that drag culture has become more accepted and has become a more viable way to make a living, some of the queens express some wistful nostalgia for the days when the community was much smaller and more tight-knit.

Drag queen Linda Simpson says that “’Drag Race’ was groundbreaking,” but the flip side is that drag culture was “more fun” when it was less mainstream. Simpson adds, “Now, drag is all about de-mystifying drag. It takes away from the insider-y feel that we had before.”

Flotilla DeBarge comments, “There are too many people right now who want to be drag queens, but they don’t know what it’s about,” adding that doing drag should be about passion, not money. “Anybody can do drag, but what kind of drag queen do you want to be?” As drag queen Naomi Smalls puts it: “RuPaul paved the way for me, but who the fuck paved the way for Ru? I love that drag is being normalized.”

For many drag queens, validation outside the drag community is the ultimate sign of success. Willam Belli, also known as drag queen Willam (a former “Drag Race” contestant who landed a cameo in the 2018 remake of “A Star Is Born”), hilariously tells a story about surprising a male intruder who had broken into Willam’s home, and the intruder backed away and called her “ma’am.” Willam laughs when remembering how the intruder acknowledged her as a woman: “I passed!”

Some of the Wigstock devotees also talk about their early influences. Charlene Incarnate says that most of her gay role models were closeted dads in her church. Harris said that drag culture appeals to him as a magician. As drag queen Tabboo! says in the film, “Wigstock was revolutionary because it kickstarted the ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are.’”

Lady Bunny adds, “We were putting something special out there in New York because this was the time of AIDS.” The AIDS crisis and its impact on the LGBTQ community is given a respectful amount of acknowledgement in “Wig,” which includes some heartbreaking testimonials of people who have lost friends and loved ones to the deadly disease.

Hate crimes against drag queens and others in the LGBTQ community are also mentioned in “Wig.” Jeremy Extravagance talks about his longtime friendship with singer/drag queen Kevin Aviance, who was the survivor of a vicious beating in 2006, outside of a gay bar in Manhattan. Aviance, who is interviewed and has some of the movie’s best scenes, describes his attack as, “I never felt so much hate in my life from someone I never met.” He says of being a hate-crime survivor: “Drag is my silver lining.”

As one commentator puts it: “Drag is hyper-femininity in response to aggressive masculinity.” If that’s the case, then Wigstock is the ultimate on-stage clapback. The heart of the movie is still about the thrill and the spectacle of performing at Wigstock, with Lady Bunny as the event’s founding mother. Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry, a previous Wigstock performer, says cheekily of Lady Bunny: “The thing that annoys me about Bunny is that she flirts like crazy…and nothing happened [between us].”

If there’s any one person who’s portrayed as a chief villain in “Wig,” it’s Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City from 1993 to 2001. (He is not interviewed in the movie.) Giuliani’s crackdown of the city’s nightclubs resulted in numerous closures that directly affected gay nightlife and drag culture. It’s perhaps no coincidence that Wigstock went out of business when Giuliani was in office.

The movie culminates with a dazzling array of footage from Wigstock’s spectacular comeback in 2018, including appearances from Lady Bunny, Bianca Del Rio, Aviance, Ladies of Lips, Amanda Lepore and Harris in full costume from his Tony-winning “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” drag role. If people still don’t understand what drag culture is about, one “Wig” commentator says it best in the movie: “Drag is about putting on the outside what you feel on the inside.”

HBO will premiere “Wig” on June 18, 2019.

2019 Tribeca Film Festival miniseries review: ‘What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali’

April 28, 2019

by Carla Hay

Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali in “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” (Photo courtesy of HBO)

“What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali”

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

World premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 28, 2019.

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali has been the subject of several movies, but “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” stands above the rest as the most comprehensive documentary about him so far.

Other documentaries about Ali have examined specific time periods in Ali’s life, such as famous boxing matches (2008’s “Thrilla in Manila”; 1996’s Oscar-winning “When We Were Kings”; and 1974’s “Rumble in the Jungle”) or Ali’s legal problems when he refused to serve in the military during the Vietnam war (2013’s “The Trials of Muhammad Ali”). “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” takes a chronological, expansive look at his life, beginning with his humble upbringing in Louisville, Kentucky; his rise to fame that led to several world championships; his awakening as a civil-rights activist and philanthropist; and his battle with multiple sclerosis that led to his death in 2016. Acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) brings a definitive cinematic feel to this two-part HBO Sports documentary, which has LeBron James as one of the executive producers.

Unlike most other documentaries about Ali, there are no talking heads providing commentary. It was a wise artistic decision not to pepper the story with retrospective interviews, because they would only distract from the complete immersive experience of the archival footage that transports viewers back to the most significant moments in Ali’s life. Ali’s voice is the singular most important voice in the documentary, as it should be. When viewers hear his poetry, over-the-top bragging and preaching about black pride, it’s not interrupted by “experts” telling people what it all means. Viewers can decide for themselves what Ali meant in his words and actions.

The documentary’s title is in reference to Ali’s rejection of his birth name, Cassius Clay, which was a name that he believed was symbolic of a racist system that stripped African American slaves of their original identities. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali after becoming a member of the Nation of Islam. The name change wasn’t just about his religious conversion but it also represents his metamorphosis from celebrity boxer to outspoken, often-controversial activist who had a close friendship with Malcolm X. The documentary shows several clips of Ali being offended if anyone called him “Cassius Clay” after the name change. One of those clips was Ali’s notorious argument at a 1967 press conference with boxing opponent Ernie Terrell, in a verbal conflict that led to Ali’s famous “What’s My Name” chant. It’s not a question, but a command, for people to take him for who he really is.

Ali was so committed to protesting the Vietnam War that he was sentenced to five years in prison and was stripped of his championship title for three years because he refused to serve in the military during the war. Ali ultimately did not spend time in prison, but he became one of the first prominent athletes who used his celebrity status to protest a war. None of this is new information to die-hard Ali fans or people who were old enough to remember when Ali was vilified for his political beliefs, but people who don’t know this part of Ali’s history will have their eyes opened about how complex and influential Ali has been during and after his lifetime.

Aside from Ali’s social activism, “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” also has riveting footage of Ali’s most notable boxing matches, from the most famous opponents (George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson) to opponents whose names aren’t as familiar to the general public (Jimmy Ellis, Bob Foster, Oscar Bonavena, Henry Cooper). There are moments that also show the prickly relationship that Ali had with sportscaster Howard Cosell. Ali and Cosell probably got on each other’s nerves because they had something in common: They both loved being the center of attention, even if it meant that politeness and tact had to be thrown out the window.

The documentary shows that Ali’s stunning victories and crushing defeats have life lessons that are relatable to anyone. And when Ali’s boxing injuries and multiple sclerosis take their toll on his ability to speak with his unique rapid-fire charisma, it becomes even more obvious what a great loss this was for Ali’s larger-than-life personality. During his later years, Ali’s spark was still there, but it slowed down over time.

The most glaring omission from “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” is that it ignores Ali’s personal life, which could be a whole other movie unto itself. (He was married four times and had nine children.) But it’s clear that the filmmakers of “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” didn’t want Ali’s experiences as a husband and father to be a distraction from the main story, which is to show Ali’s legacy as an influential and unforgettable public figure.

HBO will premiere “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” on May 14, 2019.

2019 Tribeca Film Festival movie review: ‘At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal’

anbApril 25, 2019

by Carla Hay

Trinea Gonczar in “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal” (Photo courtesy of HBO)

“At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal”

Directed by Erin Lee Carr

World premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 25, 2019.

The challenge of doing a documentary film about a high-profile scandal that’s already been covered in countless news stories is that the film really has to deliver something new and extraordinary in order to stand out from all the other stories. “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal,” although well-researched, doesn’t report anything new and surprising in its chronicle of the 2016 scandal that exposed Dr. Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of hundreds of patients (many of them were underage female gymnasts) and various institutions’ cover-up and enabling of Nassar’s illegal acts, which spanned more than 20 years. (Nassar has now been stripped of his medical license. In 2017 and 2018, he received numerous prison sentences that will ensure that he will die in prison.) However, the lack of a newsworthy breakthrough in the documentary doesn’t make the film’s emotional impact any less powerful.

“At the Heart of Gold” doesn’t have new interviews with the most famous people involved in the scandal, such as abuse survivors/Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney. The documentary also doesn’t interview any of the chief villains in the story, such as Nassar (whose manufactured “nice guy” image fooled people for years) or the officials at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University (where Nassar also worked), who are accused of actively covering up Nassar’s sexual abuse after the crimes were reported to them. Many of these officials have lost their jobs and are involved in their own legal cases where they are facing criminal prosecution and/or civil lawsuits because of the Nassar scandal.

People interviewed for “At the Heart of Gold” are several abuse survivors—including Trinea Gonczar, Dominique Moceanu, Amanda Thomashow, Morgan McCaul—as well as a few of the survivors’ family members, plaintiff attorney Mick Grewal, Nassar attorney Shannon Smith, judge Rosemarie Aquilina, gymnastics professionals and journalists who covered the story. News reports have already revealed that Nassar’s sexual abuse, which he usually tricked his victims into believing was medical therapy, shockingly occurred on many occasions while the victims’ parents were in the same room, where they believed Nassar had been giving a routine physical exam. However, most of the abuse happened when Nassar was alone with a victim. In many cases, the abuse escalated from fondling to sexual intercourse.

As heinous as Nassar’s actions were, the documentary reiterates that the people who ignored the victims’ complaints and allowed Nassar to get away with committing sexual abuse for decades are just as responsible for these crimes. John Geddert (former USA Gymnastics coach)* and Kathie Klages (former Michigan State University gymnastics coach) are repeatedly singled out in the documentary as two of the most evil enablers of Nassar. As the #MeToo movement raises awareness of how to fight sexual abusers, “At the Heart of Gold” also takes a microscope to the culture that allows people to commit these crimes. The movie serves as a warning that sexual predators are particularly enabled in industries where children are being pushed to achieve fame and glory and are frequently left alone with powerful adults in the industry who are not their parents.

The documentary does an excellent job of also pointing to the abusive treatment that many aspiring Olympic gymnasts receive early on in their training, which almost always begins when they are underage children. The gymnasts are essentially brainwashed into believing that they will be kicked out of a program if they complain about or report any illegal or inappropriate behavior from an authority figure who can derail someone’s Olympic dreams. Gymnasts are also taught not to complain about injuries (those who complain are often punished), and gymnasts are sometimes forced to perform with serious injuries, such as fractured bones.

Béla and Márta Károlyi—the husband-and-wife duo who trained Olympic gold-medalist gymnasts such as Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug—are portrayed as two of the chief perpetrators of this vicious mentality. The Károlyis, who used to be USA Gymnastics coaches, are not interviewed in “At the Heart of Gold,” but they have been sued for knowing about Nassar’s abuse when it was happening at the Károlyi Ranch, the couple’s remote training facility near Hunstville, Texas, that closed in 2018. (Béla retired from gymnastics coaching in 1997, while Márta retired in 2016.)

Some of the people interviewed in “At the Heart of Gold” give disturbing descriptions of the Károlyi Ranch as being a cult-like compound where communication was cut off from the outside world, and the Karolyis were treated like gods who could be merciless in their punishment. Michigan Radio/NPR Radio’s 2018 podcast “Believed” takes a more in-depth look at the Nassar scandal, but “At the Heart of Gold” makes a worthy companion piece for those who want to get the story in a documentary film.

HBO will premiere “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal” on May 3, 2019.

*UPDATE: John Geddert committed suicide on February 25, 2021, the same day that he was indicted on 24 counts of abuse-related crimes, including human trafficking and sexual assault.

2019 Tribeca Film Festival movie review: ‘The Apollo’

April 25, 2019

by Carla Hay

The Apollo
(Photo courtesy of HBO)

“The Apollo”

Directed by Roger Ross Williams

World premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 24, 2019.

The legendary Apollo Theater in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood has been around since 1934, and there is now finally a definitive documentary film about the venue’s legacy and lasting impact on culture. “The Apollo,” directed by Roger Ross Williams, skillfully manages the enormous task of taking all of the Apollo’s rich and complicated history and making it into a cohesive and fascinating story. The movie begins and ends with the Apollo’s 2018 world premiere of the stage adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me,” his 2015 award-winning non-fiction book about what it means to be a black person in America. Angela Bassett and Common were among the entertainers who starred in the production.

The Apollo—which became a U.S. and New York City landmark in 1983—has hosted numerous actors, dancers, comedians and other entertainers, but the music artists are the ones who shine the brightest in the documentary. The archival footage in the film is breathtaking to watch, as it’s a thrilling reminder that virtually all of the most influential black entertainers from the 1930s onward have performed at the Apollo. The list reads like a who’s who of black culture: Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Gladys Knight, and every major star who’s been on Motown Records, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Frank Schiffman, the original owner of the Apollo, is described as a ruthless businessman who saw the Apollo as an opportunity to provide an important showcase for black artists, beginning when these artists were shut out of “whites only” establishments. People of all races have performed at the Apollo, but this documentary focuses on black entertainers, in keeping with the Apollo’s original intention to be a venue primarily to showcase black talent.

Anyone familiar with the Apollo already knows about its famous “Amateur Night” talent contest (which was the brainchild of longtime Apollo emcee Ralph Cooper), but the documentary gives some insight into what you might not know: Cooper kept extensive notes (many of which are shown in the movie) on each performer from “Amateur Night,” as well as the established artists who graced the stage of the Apollo. The documentary includes footage of several “Amateur Nights” over the years (including a 13-year-old Lauryn Hill’s first Apollo performance in 1987, when she was booed on stage while singing the Jackson 5’s “Who’s Loving You”), as well as more recent behind-the-scenes and on-stage footage of aspiring entertainers. Several people in the documentary note that the Apollo audience is notoriously hard to please, so getting a standing ovation from the crowd is a badge of honor for any entertainer. The TV show “Showtime at the Apollo” (formerly known as “It’s Showtime at the Apollo”) is the long-running series that has highlights from the Apollo’s “Amateur Night.”

Jamie Foxx, who is interviewed in the film, also noted that many black comedians felt at home at the Apollo because they could be their uncensored selves and not have to worry about watering down their stand-up acts. The documentary includes footage of comedians such as Foxx, Richard Pryor, Moms Mabley, Chris Rock and Dick Gregory. Singer/actress Leslie Uggams, who began performing at the Apollo at the age of 9, shares some fond backstage memories in the documentary. She remembered that Ella Fitzgerald was always offering people food backstage, while Dinah Washington would generously dole out $100 bills to performers who were down on their luck.

The documentary also shows that the Apollo, much like black culture in America, is a story of resilience in the face of difficult obstacles. The Apollo’s relatively small capacity of about 1,500 people made it increasingly difficult for the venue to stay in business, and it temporarily closed in 1976, after filing for bankruptcy. Even when Inner City Broadcasting chief Percy Sutton bought the Apollo in 1983, making him the Apollo’s first black owner, the business still found it difficult to make a profit. In 1991, the state of New York bought the Apollo, which is now run by the non-profit Apollo Theater Foundation.

Even though the Apollo has long been considered a prestigious venue for black artists, it’s also a place that took risks and booked entertainers who were embroiled in controversy. Pharrell Williams and Doug E. Fresh give interviews in the documentary about how the Apollo was one of the first major venues in the United States to offer a major stage platform for hip-hop artists, including those such as Public Enemy and N.W.A, who would frequently speak out against the police in their songs. The Apollo also booked Billie Holiday at a time when her song “Strange Fruit” was considered offensive to many Southern people. Bobby Schiffman, Frank Schiffman’s son who inherited the Apollo until the venue filed for bankruptcy and closed in 1976, tells a story in the documentary about Eartha Kitt being afraid for her life to perform at the Apollo in 1960, because she had recently married a white man, and had been getting death threats from white and black people. But she won over the crowd, and Schiffman said it turned out to be one of her best performances, as well as a lesson for the Apollo that great entertainment on stage could triumph over any controversy going on outside the venue.

That’s not to say that the Apollo has been unaffected by social and political events. The documentary also puts everything into historical context, from the Apollo’s earliest years in the era of legal segregation, to the civil rights movements of the 1960s, to the rise of “black power” ideology in the 1970s to the influence of hip-hop culture in the 1980s and beyond. The message of the movie is that whatever has been an important historical touchstone for African-Americans from the 1930s and beyond—whether it was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. or Shirley Chisholm running for president of the United States or the Black Lives Matter movement—the Apollo’s audiences and the entertainment on stage have been affected. The documentary also points out that the Apollo is also one of the first places that people go to for memorials when black icons die. The documentary includes footage of Apollo memorials after the deaths of Brown, Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Prince.

Even with all the superstar entertainers who have graced the stage at the Apollo, one guest remains a special favorite: Barack Obama, who became the first sitting U.S. president to do an on-stage presentation at the Apollo. The documentary includes footage of that 2012 appearance, as well as of Obama backstage. If you visit the Apollo, longtime Apollo tour guide Billy Mitchell—also known as Mr. Apollo—might show you the wall of autographs that include Obama’s signature and those of many other celebrities. (There’s footage of Mitchell giving a tour in the documentary too.)

“The Apollo” is an expertly told story that does justice to the Apollo and the people who made the venue great. The only downside is that the movie will eventually become outdated as future legends will make their own history by performing on the Apollo stage. Until there’s a sequel or updated film, this documentary will stand as the most comprehensive visual story about the Apollo.

UPDATE: HBO will premiere “The Apollo” on November 6, 2019.

2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: presenters announced

March 13, 2019

by Carla Hay

The presenters have been announced for the 34th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, which will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on March 29, 2019.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, presenting for The Cure
Brian May of Queen, presenting for Def Leppard
Janelle Monáe, presenting for Janet Jackson
Harry Styles, presenting for Stevie Nicks
David Byrne, presenting for Radiohead
John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran, presenting for Roxy Music
Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, presenting for The Zombies

The show will have a live radio broadcast on SiriusXM, and HBO will premiere a special televising highlights from the show on April 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The special will also be available on HBO on Demand, HBO Go, HBO Now and partners’ streaming platforms. Exhibits showcasing the new inductees will be on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in conjunction with the induction ceremony.

Performers eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are those whose first single or first album was released at least 25 years before the artist can be inducted. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting members (which number about 1,000 people), as well online voting from the public, determine who will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2019 Tribeca Film Festival: ‘The Apollo’ documentary is the event’s opening-night film

February 13, 2019

The Apollo Theater in New York City's Harlem
The Apollo Theater in New York City’s Harlem (Photo courtesy of HBO)

The following is a press release from the Tribeca Film Festival:

The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will open its 18th edition with the world premiere of director Roger Ross Williams and HBO’s new documentary film “The Apollo.” Helmed by the Oscar and Emmy-winning Williams (“Music by Prudence”; “Life, Animated”), The Apollo chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark, the Apollo Theater. The film will debut at the iconic theater itself on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 and later this year on HBO. The feature-length documentary weaves together archival footage, music, comedy, and dance performances, and behind-the-scenes moments with the team that makes the theater run.

“The Apollo” features interviews with artists like Patti LaBelle, Pharrell Williams, Smokey Robinson, and Jamie Foxx. The film is produced by Lisa Cortés (“Precious”), White Horses Pictures’ Nigel Sinclair (“George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” “Undefeated”), Jeanne Elfant Festa (“Foo Fighters: Back and Forth,” “Pavarotti”), Cassidy Hartmann (“The Beatles: Eight Days A Week,” “Pavarotti”), and Williams. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 24 through May 5.

The documentary covers the rich history of the storied performance space over its 85 years and follows a new production of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” as it comes to the theater’s grand stage. The creation of this vibrant multi-media stage show frames the way in which “The Apollo” explores the current struggle of black lives in America, the role that art plays in that struggle, and the broad range of African-American achievement that the Apollo Theater represents.

The Apollo Theater is internationally renowned for having influenced American and pop culture more than any other entertainment venue. The space has created opportunities for new talent to be seen and has served as a launchpad for a myriad of artists, including Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, Luther Vandross, Dave Chappelle, Lauryn Hill, Jimi Hendrix, and more.

“We’re excited to finally be going uptown to play the Apollo,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO of the Tribeca Film Festival. “’The Apollo’ gives audiences an inside look at the major role this institution has played for the past 85 years. It’s seen the emergence of everything from jazz to R&B to soul and gospel — all quintessential American music genres — and this is the time to remind people of our nation’s rich history. ”

“’The Apollo’ is about so much more than just music, it’s about how we used music and art to lift ourselves out of oppression,” commented Williams. “The story of the Apollo is the story of the evolution of black American identity and how it grew to become the defining cultural movement of our time. I was fortunate to make my first film with HBO and I am thrilled to be coming back home with The Apollo. Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem is a dream come true.”

“The Apollo Theater is a symbol of the creative spirit of New York and beyond, and I’m very happy that we’re kicking off our 18th Festival celebrating it with this documentary from Roger Ross Williams,” said Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro.

An outstanding creative team has been assembled for “The Apollo,” including editors Jean Tsien, ACE (“Miss Sharon Jones!,” “Shut Up & Sing”) and John S. Fisher, as well as Grammy-Award-winning musician Robert Glasper (“Miles Ahead,” “13th”) who is composing the score. Hartmann and Tsien also serve as co-writers on the documentary.

“The Apollo” will have additional screenings during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Passes and packages to attend the festival go on sale on February 19th, 2019 and can be accessed here.

The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 5th.

2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, The Cure, Def Leppard, Roxy Music, The Zombies are the inductees

December 13, 2018

by Carla Hay

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2019 Inductees in the performer category:

The Cure

Def Leppard

Janet Jackson

Stevie Nicks

Radiohead

Roxy Music

The Zombies

The 34th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on March 29, 2019. Information on general ticket sales will be announced in January 2019. A limited number of pre-sale tickets are available for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members who have current membership as of December 31, 2018. The show will have a live radio broadcast on SiriusXM, and HBO will have a special televising highlights from the show on a date to be announced. Exhibits showcasing the new inductees will be on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in conjunction with the induction ceremony.

Performers eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are those whose first single or first album was released at least 25 years before the artist can be inducted. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting members (which number about 1,000 people), as well online voting from the public, determine who will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Artists who were nominated for the 2019 induction but didn’t make the cut were Devo, John Prine, Kraftwerk, LL Cool J, MC5, Rage Against the Machine, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and Todd Rundgren.  Six out of the 15 nominees were on the ballot for the first time: Def Leppard, Devo, John Prine, Roxy Music, Nicks and Rundgren.

With her induction as a solo artist, Nicks has made Rock and Roll Hall of Fame history for being the first woman to receive two inductions. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. She launched her solo career in 1981.

Nicks commented on her solo Hall of Fame induction in this statement: “I have a lot to say about this, but I will save those words for later. For now I will just say, I have been in a band since 1968. To be recognized for my solo work makes me take a deep breath and smile. It’s a glorious feeling.”

Radiohead released this statement: “The members of Radiohead have been surprised to learn of the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The band thanks the Hall of Fame voting body and extends congratulations to this year’s fellow inductees.”

Jackson commented in a statement: “Thank you Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am truly honored and I am happy to be in there with my brothers.”

Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry tweeted: “We are delighted to accept this prestigious award on behalf of everyone who has been involved in the world of Roxy Music – musicians, engineers, producers, designers and numerous people behind the scenes… and of course our loyal fans.”

Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone tweeted: “This is a career-defining [and] life-defining moment,” while Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent tweeted: “This time to turn the corner and get inducted, feels fantastic … I’m just so delighted.”

Def Leppard tweeted: “It’s official, we are 2019 @rockhall Inductees. THANK YOU to all of our fans & the Rock Hall committee! What a way to wrap up an incredible year.”

 

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