If you asked me what living famous person I would like to meet I would say Stan Lee 9 times out of 10 (the other 1 I would say Muhammad Ali but I don’t think I would like to meet him in his current condition.) I would just love the chance to talk to a man who created so many timeless characters, who have all been able to be regenerated and refreshed across generations and cultures because they are all built around simple, human truths.
I wonder if my fellow Washington Heights-dweller (we don’t have a snappy “ite”) knew in the 70′s that some kid in Gaborone, Botswana would be reading stories about characters he created to help him deal with the dueling demons of racism, adolescence and sudden responsibility.
Welcome To The Imperial – Lemon Andersen x Rik Cordero
A crowd sourced creative collaboration series by Lemon Andersen and Rik Cordero
Welcome To The Imperial” is a 1-minute viral video from Brooklyn born spoken word poet and actor, Lemon Andersen and Queens-bred filmmaker, Rik Cordero to the millions of New York City basketball fans. It features a mixture of Rik’s eye for iconic New York City sights and faces seamlessly combined with the richness of Lemon’s poetry. In essence, the Big Apple exerts a powerful influence over those who live here and those who play here. Welcome To The Imperial…
“…It represents two artists on their way to the throne. It’s Majestic. It’s us. Now when you hear “Welcome To The Imperial” you will hear our stamp.” – Lemon
“…What we’ve done only scratches the surface of what Lemon and I are capable of but ultimately we achieved our goal with Imperial: to visually capture the essence and magic and complexity of New York City.” – Rik
I don’t know if every song, film, poem, video or painting that has ever used it as a subject could capture the essence, magic and complexity of New York in its entirety…but this is dope though. Shoutout to my frat Kenji for the tip.
Mugabe and The White African is a documentary film produced by filmmakers Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson. The film documents the case of Mike Campbell, a 74-Year-old white Zimbabwean who filed a law suit against Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in order to halt the confiscation of his farm during the controversial Land Reform project that began in the late 1990′s.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Mugabe and the White African is one of the best reviewed films of 2010. That fact, and the film itself caused me to attempt to examine my own personal prejudices as pertains to Zimbabwe’s present economic and political situation. Read the rest of this entry »
Light week of Blogging, new Kanye Video, directed by Marco Brambilla, the video is heavy with symbolism from ancient civilizations like Egypt and Greece. I think the most interesting symbol is the Sword of Damocles hanging above Kanye’s head, I’m not sure if there’s a more potent summary of Kanye’s career up to this point: the same reasons that we love him–outspoken passion, daring visuals, absurdly-high selfesteem–are the same things that could end his career at any moment. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people won’t be able to get past the girl with the devil horns. Full video below: Read the rest of this entry »
Reminds me of a New York summer, the Diplomat family is on a tear right now. The genius of Cam is that he really just does whatever the fuck he wants on a record…”I could do a DMX impression right now, yeah okay….”
Back in May I shared the trailers for Fear/Love, a film by Rob Chiu aka The Ronin for the I Care Revolution. Rob has now shared the complete link via his Vimeo page and it delivers on the promising trailers. It’s interesting how a lot of the trademarks of his style have carried over from his motion graphics work to his film work, the key attribute here being strong visuals with little narration and a lingering sense of tension. I’m extremely happy to see him progress to the creation of film without any graphics, and I’m excited to see him develop as a filmmaker. Best of Luck Rob and congratulations on an incredible piece
The liner notes below:
Three lives, three identities, three points of view. Set against the harsh backdrop of inner city London, Fear/Love interweaves the lives of three adolescents as they struggle with who they are, who they want to be and who they are becoming.
Directed, Written and Edited by Rob Chiu. Produced by Lincoln Waldron. DoP Paul O’Callaghan. Graded by Jamie Wilkinson @ The Mill NYC. Soundtrack by Ben Lukas Boysen + Lucio Amanti. Casting by Susana Santos. Starring Lani Jackson, Fraser Everitt & Anthony Edwards. Produced for the ‘I Care Revolution’.
Independent film produced, written and directed by two of my Frat Brothers and the founders of LR Squared Productions. Looks like an incredibly intense project, and I wish them the best as they realise their vision.
“Hello Brooklyn” Film by Greg Solenstrom. I loved this, camera projections and typography come together to bring to life New York’s second most important borough, literally painting the town with Jay’s lyrics.
