Photo from ANIMAL
When the Notorious BIG said, “I hope you niggas sleep,” he didn’t mean it literally. But Jamal “Gravy” Woodard took those words to heart and was caught napping while “Notorious,” the Biggie Smalls biopic, was filming in Brooklyn. He’s either tired of early call times or of playing the blunt smoking Bed-Stuy bandit. [ANIMAL]
The legendary Ol Dirty Bastard lives on as a new trailer for the ODB Ason Unique documentary on the Wu Tang Clan member and man of many names hits the web. The film was directed by ODB’s cousin Raison Allah and is being released by Zu Films sometime in the future.
It came to our attention in 2006 when we saw a mural of ODB going up in Bed Stuy. Raison commissioned Victor Goldfeld to paint the mural of ODB’s infamous food stamp card for the film. Unfortunately, the mural was defaced earlier this year, but Victor Goldfeld is ready and willing to fix it up, if he can get permission.
Production of the Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious continues, with filming taking place outside today at the corner of St. Marks Ave and Franklin Ave in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In preparation, a team of set dressers came through to give the block a slight makeover; storefronts are boarded up and a church is hidden completely. The local graffiti has been supplemented with Hollywood approved tags, which fit in fairly well if you don’t notice the lack of Blood and Crip tags or the protective plastic it’s painted on. By the looks of it, they’re staging a scene inspired by video of Biggie rapping outside a Bed Stuy grocery store at age 17.
If you want to be in the production and you’re between the ages of 17 and 35, they’re looking for unpaid extras for a few concert scenes being shot this Thursday and Friday.
It’s cold and barren outside, but soon it will be summer. Besides being able to cruise around in shorts and a tee, its also time for the 8th annual Bicycle Film Festival from May 30th to June 1st. The deadline for submitting work to the festival has been extended to March 7th, so stop holding back and send in your bike themed video or film.
The Bicycle Film Festival is a celebration of bicycles through film, art and music.
We are accepting entries for films with a strong theme or character of bicycles. A fine thriller with one scene of a bicycle chase does not count. We encourage all films with these guidelines to enter:
All lengths 1 minute on up Short films under 10 minutes are easier to program for our popular shorts program. Of course all lengths are accepted and screened.
All types: BMX, narratives, docs, experimental, Hollywood, cycling, and so on.
The Bicycle Film Festival, plus art show, parade and block party, is always fun and draws a crowd, so don’t miss out on the chance to make your work a part of it.
Ever notice that every post-apocalyptic, natural disaster, future fantasy movie features an image of the Statue of Liberty in ruin? When you see dozens of variations on this, you realize what an iconic shot it is, perhaps over-used. [Gerry Canavan]
Don’t forget that Sunday is time for Bike Shorts (a night of short films centered on bikes) at Galapagos in Williamsburg.
We have lots of fun stuff this time. Girls on bikes in bikinis, a subtitled recumbent touring piece, highlights from last year’s X-Days, para-Olympians, drunk polo players in Canada, cyclo-cross and more!
And after our regular screening, we have a special treat: the world premiere of Bootleg Sessions.
Before hand, join the Slow Sunday and Peel Sessions crew at the Banks at 3pm to drink some beer in public, get pitted and ride/relax. They’ll be leading a group ride to Bike Shorts. Look for John Prolly or anyone from the Phillie crew.
You’ve already seen the original trailer for The Bootleg Sessions, so check out the new trailer. Some of my photos from the Cycle Messenger World Championship in Dublin and biking around Europe will also be on display. Be there!
Tonight WHOLETRAIN a new graffiti-feature film by Florian Gaag, screens at the Hip-Hop Odyssey International Film Festival.
It tells of the Keep Steel Burning (KSB)-Crew, four young people, fighting for fame and respect: at any price. That means always looking for the next big thing and defending their status. When another crew injures their honor it leads to a heated creative conflict. The KSB set off to spray an entire commuter train unleashing a chain of events that will change their lives.
The film won “Best Narrative Feature” at the Urban World Vibe Film Fest and features a soundtrack produced by Gaag with tracks from KRS One, Freddie Foxxx, O.C., Planet Asia, Afu-Ra, Tame One, Grand Agent, Akrobatik, Last Emperor and El Da Sensei.
Watch the trailer and check it out tonight where the filmmaker will be in attendance.
Friday, June 15, 9:30pm at Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street (at Laight Street).
Subway 1, A, C, E, trains to Canal Street.
If you like bikes and movies (and parades, art, music and parties) this is the week you’ve been waiting for. This Wednesday the Bicycle Film Festival hits New York City and this year the schedule is more packed with events than ever. Be sure to get your show tickets early because shows will sell out. Peep the full event schedule after the jump.
In Neistat Brothers style, Yogurt Vs Gasoline documents a race through Manhattan from the Upper East Side to Lower Manhattan between the filmmakers, Van and Casey Neistat. Van rides a 1974 Schwinn roadster down the Hudson River Greenway, fueled by a dollar’s worth of yogurt, while Casey rides a Ducati motorcycle through Manhattan gridlock, fueled by gasoline and the coffee and cigarettes he had for breakfast. If you’ve spent any time biking or driving in NYC you already know who finishes first, but enjoy the film’s lighthearted reminder.
The Neistat Brothers have also proved riding a bike through the Holland tunnel can be faster than driving, though not legal nor encouraged. And 31,000 calories, the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline, will get you a whole lot further on a bicycle than in a car, the equivalent of 633 miles per gallon.
Last two days to catch the weirdness at the 14th New York Underground Film Festival at Anthology Film Archives. Monday and Tuesday’s repeated programs showcase the good, the bad, and the truly bizarre, in narrative, documentary and experimental form. Some of our favorites:
Sway, Richard Sandler’s freeform doc assembled from 14 years of footage of NYC subways and the people that ride them.
Life and Times of Robert Kennedy Starring Gary Cooper, by Aaron Valdez, which overlays images of the doomed politician on top of clips from Cooper’s classic 1950 western High noon, creating an eerie and striking mix of fact and fiction/narrative and newsreel (both part of the “Life and Times” showcase.
Capital, by Ruth Maclennan, a poetic, dreamlike short doc about Astana, Kazkahstan’s new capital built from scratch, founded and funded by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1997 (found in the “Poems and Problems” program).
Ultimate Reality, an 18 minute head trip by Jimmy Joe Roche that conflates psychedelic imagery, pulsing beats, menacing fetuses, and Schwarzenegger’s Terminator kicking ass (in the “Head Rush” program).
Known for daring programming, NYUFF didn’t disappoint this year either. For Lunchfilm, curator Mike Plante offered to buy a bunch of eager directors lunch in exchange for a movie that cost the same amount ( total cost of program, plus tip: $622.71 for 17 films). In Tube Time, staff and festival celebs each picked out the best of the best of depraved and disgraceful internet content and threw it up on the big screen.
