January 19, 2012

Dear Mr. George Lucas,

On behalf of our country’s unheralded brigade of black actors, writers and filmmakers, I salute you.

I thank you for fighting tooth and nail to bring Red Tails to theaters across the country on Friday, January 20^th.  Your financial commitment and personal dedication to the inspiring story of the Tuskegee Airmen has not gone without notice.  It is a celebration of American heroism that is long overdue.

Mr. Lucas, I must tell you that your recent comments on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are greatly appreciated.  It was a brave and bold stance that was likely motivated by years of frustration.  It is clear that you have experienced an unfortunate journey that all too many African-American filmmakers have had to contend with for decades.

Making movies is exceedingly difficult regardless of the ethnicity of those in front of or behind the camera.  Unfortunately, these obstacles are magnified when the primary collaborators of a project happen to be black.  As you mentioned, no matter how compelling these stories may be, many of these films are tagged as “not marketable” before they even get to see the light of day.  Sadly, it is a constant struggle for black storytellers to overcome the fallacy that black films are simply a collection of ultra-niche, second-rate fodder.

That is why we, the black film community, are ready to step forward and show everyone what we are capable of.

History has shown that many black films are emphatically embraced.  Antwone Fisher, Boyz in the Hood, Do the Right Thing, and Eve’s Bayou were all critically acclaimed and commercially successful black movies.  There are numerous others that I could list.  We would not have these national treasures if there were not those in the industry who recognized the potential of a great black film and fought hard to bring those projects to life.

There is always an obligation for a movie to perform economically in this business.  These pressures are even greater for a project as ambitious as Red Tails.  I know that you have expressed some reservations about the need for your movie to perform well on its opening weekend.  I am not worried about such matters.  Regardless of how many tickets are sold at the box office in the next few days, I believe that one simple truth will remain:

Red Tails will fly high.

As a black writer and director, I am currently facing a tremendous tipping point in my own life and career.  I have written a feature screenplay entitled, After the Storm, about a young boy who must overcome the loss of his home and family in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  It is not simply a black film; it is an emotional examination of an American tragedy that transcends race.

Believe it or not, our movie and Red Tails have quite a bit in common.  You did not endeavor to make Red Tails to simply make another movie.  You made it so we could celebrate the Tuskegee Airmen that put their lives on the line for a country that didn’t even want them to serve.  We are not making After the Storm to simply make another movie either.  We’re making it to champion the muted voices of the city of New Orleans and the people of the Gulf Coast.  The script for the project has won numerous awards and the project has been featured in both Indiewire and Variety.  Despite this momentum, my producers and I are still fighting very hard to get the industry to take notice.  Our work is not alone either.  There are dozens of black projects that are in a similar position and those films are just as deserving.  If you’d like to know more about those stories or the filmmakers behind them, I’d be very happy to vouch for their work as well.

Today, our biggest task as storytellers is to show audiences that the black experience is not monolithic.  The spectrum of black films is as far-ranging and wide-reaching as any other form of entertainment that is produced for a global audience.  Black films are filled with as much grace, beauty, joy, and heart as the purest forms of art known to man.

Mr. Lucas, I truly hope that we are not too far from a future where black films are accepted as vehicles of entertainment that can capture the attention of an international audience regardless of their race, color, or creed.  I hope that someday soon we will not have to go on television programs or write open letters to discuss the plight of black films, yellow films, red films or white films.  At a time of year that we honor the work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I believe it is now appropriate for us to begin celebrating all films for what they naturally are…

Unforgettable renditions of the remarkable journey of humanity.

Thank you for standing with us in that quest.

Sincerely,

Colen C. Wiley – Writer | Director | Producer, After the Storm

Renowned actor and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme) has officially joined Heygood Images Productions’ first feature project, AFTER THE STORM.  Our team is extremely excited to have Mr. Pierce on board and look forward to an exciting collaboration!

For the full article on Wendell’s attachment click below:

IndieWire: Wendell Pierce Attached To Post-Katrina Indie Feature Project “After The Storm”

Here are some links with more details about Wendell’s work in the New Orleans community:

Wendell Pierce and the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation

Washington Post: Wendell Pierce Opens Grocery Stores in Low Income Communities

Please continue to check in over the coming weeks for more details!!!

#AfterTheStorm

#BlackNewWave

#BlackFilmStrikesBack

#TeamHIP

#TeamNOLA

#TeamATS

AFTER THE STORM is officially the WINNER of the 2011 URBANWORLD SCREENPLAY COMPETITION sponsored by BET & HBO!!!

Aside from the hardware, the project has received a substantial cash award!

As a part of the competition, the project was performed in a live, staged reading at the Viacom Building in Times Square.

The audience and industry response to the live reading was overwhelmingly positive!

Congratulations to everyone who has supported the project so far!  A big thanks to Danielle Davenport, Emil Mequita, Stephen Hill, and Thaddeus Daniels for their spectacular performances at the reading!  They absolutely burned the house down!

Also, congratulations to Mollye Asher and Christian McGuigan for their hard work and dedication!

For more information about the event, please see the links below:

Indiewire / Shadow and Act

BET.com

Blackfilm.com

NYU Grad Film Blog

Writer/Director Cole Wiley and Producer Mollye Asher receiving award

Writer/Director Cole Wiley introduces ‘After the Storm’ at the Paramount Screening Room

The crowd listens…

COMING SOON…

It’s a good time to be black.

It’s a good time to be a filmmaker.

It’s a great time to be both.

Throughout the course of American history and during the shorter span of theatrical filmmaking, neither of the phrases “good to be black,” or “good to be a filmmaker,” have frequently been repeated with much verve.  But, in the year 2011, black is back, film is in, and the oft-maligned genre of ‘black film’ is finally something to be proud of.

We should be proud because it will soon be dead.

That’s right.  Put on your best black suit or your midnight evening gown.

We’re going to a funeral.

‘Black film’ is ready to be assassinated and we should all rejoice.

Yes, Tracy. I'm serious.

Before we express our condolences or call 1-800-FLOWERS, let’s try to get a clearer understanding of what ‘black film’ has meant during the course of its lifetime.

We’ll call it an obituary of sorts.

R.I.P. 'Black Film'

Most people would likely agree that ‘black film’ constitutes any cinematic form which predominantly portrays the experiences of black characters and communities.  Some might also argue that a project is not a ‘black film’ unless the primary talent behind the lens (writer, director, producer) is also of African descent.  A valid argument, but if you asked most folks whether The Color Purple, Lean on Me, and Dreamgirls were black films – they would probably say yes.

I am a filmmaker, but that was not always the case.  Before I mired myself in debt and plunged into the dark abyss of independent film, I accepted the definition of ‘black film’ as most people have.  Once I became more acquainted with actual moviemaking processes, the term began to make me cringe.  My friends and associates wondered if I planned to focus my directorial efforts solely on projects that would be categorized as  ‘black films.’  I quickly let them know that I would not.  Sadly, I have found that many people, both black and white, have had an unfortunate tendency to limit their perception of my storytelling capabilities if I admit to only wanting to portray ‘black’ stories.  There is a reason for this.  ‘Black film’ has had a mixed history.  At times it has been triumphant.  At other times it has been abominable.

There have been a number of grand achievements in the spectrum of black film.  Do the Right Thing.  Eve’s Bayou.  Malcolm X.  Rosewood. But, for each one of these, there are 20 films that aren’t worth the price of the celluloid they were shot on.  For every unheralded classic like Killer of Sheep or Moolaadé, and for every contemporary gem like Black Dynamite, Restless City or Ballast (shot by Lance Hammer…a white man), there are dozens of gangster/hood/pimp/trick/hustler/mammy/sambo movies that ought to be banned as culturally obscene and intellectually pornographic.

Restless City by Andrew Dosunmu - One of the many black independent films you've never heard of...

For those of you who might not understand what’s so bad about a movie portraying an HIV positive gangster who shakes down the local pimp’s crack whores to hustle his way to the top of the dope game before putting on a dress, killing his competitors with an AK-47, and redeeming himself through the mercies of the local white savior…let me help you out.  When you’re dealing with projects that fall within the realm of ‘black film,’ or in the realm of black art in general, it’s not just about whether the project is good or bad, entertaining or not.  It’s also about something deeper than that.

It’s about the Coonery Factor.

The formula basically works like this:

[I (B + HS) + OF] / RBE = CF

Ignorance = I.  Buffoonery = B.  Hackneyed Stereotypes = HS.  Overall Foolishness = OF.  Real Black Experience = RBE. Coonery Factor = CF.

Most times, an unacceptably high Coonery Factor is apparent without even watching an entire movie.  A trailer, a film summary, or even a publicity poster can often tell you exactly what you need to know.  If your movie has a high CF, it probably shouldn’t have been made.  If your movie has a high CF, you probably shouldn’t be allowed to touch a camera.  I would rather make bad movies for the rest of my career before I made one project that failed the Coonery Factor test.  That’s just how serious these coonish things are to many of us black folks.

Still, for a number of reasons that I won’t even attempt to explain…

Coonery sells.

Imagine that the hypothetical film I summarized a few paragraphs ago actually made it into theaters.  Pretend it had a catchy title like MURDEROUS CROSS-DRESSIN’ GANGSTAS PIMPIN’ BITCHES. We’ll assume that its Coonery Factor is astronomical.  I guarantee you that movie would probably gross more on it’s opening weekend than my 10 favorite ‘black films’ have combined.

Hopefully, no one tries to prove me wrong.

The next black blockbuster???

The enormous dichotomy between the themes and images commonly associated with ‘black film’ and those that are a prominent part of real black culture is nothing new.  Somehow, black people are often believed to be a part of some sort of homogeneous, monolithic experience.  Don’t believe the hype.  My perceptions of life and blackness in America are bound to be quite different from many of the brothers and sisters that live in the same city, or even on the same block as I do.

The handful of things that black people are assumed to be, believed to be, and portrayed as being, only comprise a limited – if not inaccurate – scope of a much larger picture.  These shortsighted projections are completely inadequate when held up to the ever growing portraiture of what black people actually are.  The common representations of black Americans do not tend to portray the well-adjusted, well-educated, middle-class, law-abiding, productive members of society with whom I tend to acquaint myself with.  I honestly believe that when many people think of the ‘black’ population, they don’t even consider the socio-economic group with whom I self-identify.  I don’t sell drugs.  I don’t pour champagne on half-naked women.  I don’t own a gun.  This might be a bit of a soapbox sermon, but it’s obvious that a lot of us still don’t understand how deeply entrenched these images are in the American psyche.  It’s understandable.  Centuries of cultural robbery are hard for any group of people to contend with.  Many of the issues I’ve highlighted stem from the misguided values that black people hold against themselves.  This makes the battle even more difficult for storytellers who seek to bring black experiences to the screen.  Not only must we convince outsiders that we’re not what you think we are, we must convince our own people that we’re not what society expects us to be.

Just ask any Native American tribe about that battle.

Different cultures...common understanding...

The fight that emerging filmmakers must wage against established content creators is more frustrating than ever.  Our fresh, divergent voices simply don’t mesh with the status quo.  Many ‘successful’ black storytellers are now ready and willing to perpetuate the baseless stereotypes held against us for generations.  They will gladly get paid to give American viewers exactly what they expect to see from black entertainers.  Clearly these writers, directors, and producers don’t appreciate the fact that Western civilization has had a history of viewing black people as if they were an enemy of the human race.  As if we were simply a group of subhuman organisms to be ridiculed and defeated.  As a fellow filmmaker friend of mine once said, the American disposition towards black people has boiled down to ancient warfare tactics: “emasculate the men and objectify the women.”  Now, instead of having these actions forced upon us, we choose to exploit our own.

Nelly's Tip Drill. It created much more of a stir on my college campus than academics did.

So what exactly would it mean if all of my past and future works were to be relegated to the arena of ‘black film’?  Does that mean I am only limited to making inane comedies, banal hood dramas, ridiculous romantic fodder, and ‘first black person to break a color barrier and achieve greatness’ (i.e. – who the hell knew they were so talented) biographical films?

No.  It does not.  Because the term ‘black film’ has no basis.

Think about it.  Have you ever seen a ‘yellow film’?  A ‘red film’?  A ‘bi-racial film’?  No, you haven’t.  These terms don’t exist.  When describing film types in a manner aside from the commonly used genre categories of drama, comedy, thriller, etc., the only sensible option left is to categorize them by geographical origin.  A Spanish film.  A British film.  A Bulgarian film.  To my knowledge, films are not typically categorized by ethnic or religious affiliation.  A Jewish film.  A Muslim film.  A White film.   If I told any of my professional associates that I was going to see the new Caucasian film at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema, they would surely look at me as if I had just had a brain aneurysm on the subway.

Seen that new 'Caucasian Film'? You know, the one about vampires?

Honestly, how exactly does the fact that I am a black man who makes movies about black people imply that I have made a ‘black film’?  I thought it was simply a film that happens to feature characters who have a skin tone that is of an olive, caramel, or mahogany hue?  Maybe that is an improper assumption.  Maybe ‘black film’ does mean something deeper than that.  Let’s take a successful film and ‘black’ it out to see what ‘black film’ might really mean.  Imagine if The Sixth Sense had an all black cast.  Would it then be any less of a groundbreaking film?  I doubt it.  In fact, if the film had been made with black characters, it probably would have made more sense.  Pun intended.  A single, hard working mother, raising her emotionally scarred and socially inept child in a low-income household with no father figure in the picture?  And only when a stable, hard-working, professional male figure steps into the picture does that child have a chance at overcoming his unfortunate proclivities?  Sounds like a ‘black film’ to me.

Would the movie become less likable if their faces were black?

But if The Sixth Sense were cast with black actors and actresses, it would likely be seen as a niche film that would likely struggle to gain widespread distribution and publicity.  It would simply be a ‘black film’ that is not deserving of such recognition and support.  ‘Black film’ does represent something deeper than we ever imagined.  It is a term of marginalization.  It is a way to instantly categorize a piece of art and commerce as separate from the mainstream, even if the work is just as artistically and commercially viable as its competitors.

Would you call any project a 'Colored Moving Picture'? Good. Don't call it a 'Black Film' either.

I admit my perspective on ‘black film’ might seem to be a bit overdrawn.  I grew up in a household with Ralph Wiley.  I can’t help but be thorough.  I’ve also had enough experience in the trenches to have a full understanding of what is going on around me.  Because of my issues with ‘black film,’ I made my first dialogue project with the express intention of breaking down the illogical characterizations that unfortunately saddle black projects.  It was a post-mumblecore comedy about the circumstances that brought together a lottery-obsessed, socially awkward man and an immature, Russian-accented woman.  If your average film buff read the script, they’d probably think the film should have starred Michael Cera (Juno) and Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer).  I made it with two unknown black actors.  What happened with the film?  It received a lukewarm reception on the festival circuit.  I subsequently made another film that sought to subvert many common stereotypes of ‘black film’ by telling a story that included some typical characteristics, but was driven by a narrative that was not integral to their presence.  The circumstances were familiar.  A single mother, unsavory adult male characters, a wayward child, an unforgiving urban environment.  Drugs were used a plot device.  A gun was seen on camera.

What happened with the film?

It went to 20+ festivals and garnered rave reviews.

The funny thing is, in an effort to rise above – or work my way around – some of the common pitfalls of black film, I fell victim to them.  It is something that bothers me to this day.  The only truly redeeming quality of the project – aside from the technical execution and actor performances – is that the protagonist walks away from everything around him at the end of the film.  He leaves the very familiar world of ‘black film’ behind forever.

Despite my lingering reservations about the project, I understand why it was successful.  It gave festival programmers something they could easily digest from a black storyteller.  In that respect, I see it as no coincidence that the project turned me into an award-winning filmmaker…several times over.

Go figure.

Luckily, the days of ‘black film’ are numbered.  We are close to being saved.

The Black New Wave has arrived.

Get ready.  Get pumped.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a small cadre of black filmmakers represented a much larger movement with a number of feature and short form projects that have begun to shepherd in a new era of melanin-rich cinema.  While I would love to spotlight each of these filmmakers, I will focus on a few first time feature filmmakers whose work I know a bit more intimately.

Alrick Brown, born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, burst into Park City with Kinyarwanda, a dramatic retelling of the tragic Rwandan Genocide of 1994.  Much more than just a sentimental event film akin to Hotel Rwanda, Brown’s project examines the human element of the story, making the conflict seem more disturbing, yet more approachable than ever.  The film instantly became a festival favorite after its sold out screenings, and it eventually received the World Cinema Audience Award.  Also, according to the Sundance website, it is the highest rated of all 250+ films to participate in the festival this year.  Despite this, Kinyarwanda is without a distribution deal.  Hopefully, that will change soon.

Kinyarwanda - Audience Award Winner at Sundance

Rashaad Ernesto Green, an actor turned filmmaker of black and Puerto Rican descent, landed in Sundance with his feature film, Gun Hill Road, a tense and moving family drama about an estranged father reconnecting with his closeted transgender son.  While some might argue that this film might not classify as a ‘black film’ as it primarily features characters of Hispanic/Latino background, Green is certainly no stranger to crafting riveting portrayals of black drama.  His 2008 short film, Premature, a teenage drama about a young girl dealing with the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy, has taken home just about every award that a black filmmaker could aspire to win on the festival circuit.  Green has continued to build this momentum as Gun Hill Road inked a seven-figure distribution deal with the Motion Film Group for the worldwide sales and distribution rights of the film.

Gun Hill Road starring Esai Morales

Dee Rees, who has been floating between top film festivals and filmmaker development labs for years, finally landed right where she ought to be: screening her debut feature film at the biggest film festival in America.  Pariah, a coming-of-age story about a teenage girl leading a double life as a lesbian and a straight-laced daddy’s little girl, has received rave reviews.  Executive Produced by Spike Lee, the project in itself is an achievement, but Rees has made even bigger noise since the film made its festival premiere.  Not only has the production team inked a seven-figure distribution deal with Focus Features, but Rees has leveraged the success of Pariah into a two picture deal with the studio, meaning Focus has already shelled out the cash to acquire the rights to Rees’ next script.  On top of that, Rees has also signed with the United Talent Agency, one of the industry’s top talent and literary hubs.

Pariah starring Adepero Oduye

By the way, all of these filmmakers happen to come from a little film conservatory in New York City:

The NYU Graduate Film Program.

I am not the only one that knows this information about these filmmakers, but most of the public does not.  Many within the film industry certainly do, but considering the way things have gone over the last century, they care the least.

The heart of the Black New Wave

Even with these recent successes, there are still many issues for black filmmakers to overcome.  Access to financing.  Exposure to a wider audience.  Credible industry guidance.  Then again, these issues not only plague black writers, directors, and producers, they haunt every auteur that has picked up a camera in the last 100 years.

Nevertheless, filmmaking is cheaper and more accessible than ever.  The physical tools needed to craft a compelling cinematic work are everywhere.  Many people have them in their own home and don’t even know it.  Beyond that, digital distribution via the Internet has theoretically opened the playing field to just about everyone.  Although, despite all this, the mental and instinctual tools needed to make a great film seem to be increasingly rare.  The dearth of engaging storytelling in the industry is readily apparent.  It might simply be a case of oversaturation, or it might be sheer laziness.  Either way, a lot of these films are painful to watch.

Take a note Hollywood.  Terrible movies don’t get any better when they’re in 3D.  And great films aren’t made any worse by black casts.

I actually have a feature film that I’m hoping to shoot by next spring.  The story tracks the affects of Hurricane Katrina on the members of a single household, packing the full weight and implications of the disaster into the lives of a small New Orleans family.  One part family drama, one part coming of age story, the project is a provocative narrative displaying how divine incidents penetrate our heart, our mind, and our lives.  The script has won a Spike Lee Production Fund Award and it is a winner of the Next 15 Minutes Screenplay Competition sponsored by Final Draft.  Yet, I am still struggling to get the project off the ground.  There are several prominent black actors who would be fantastic in the leading and supporting roles, but I’m $1.49999 million short of the $1.5 million I need to make the shoot happen.

Such is the conundrum of the independent filmmaker.  Sadly, in the eyes of financiers, it doesn’t even matter that I’ve also come out of NYU.

My Feature Project - Will it ever be made?

Why have black filmmakers and the majority of black talent struggled so mightily in the film biz.  The answer is a complete mystery.  Black has been cool in most areas of entertainment for decades.  Sports, music, comedy, you name it.  Talents like Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Kobe Bryant, Dave Chappelle, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, Rihanna, Chris Rock, Kanye West, Venus and Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods.  There are even some non-black figures who have notoriously reached into the bountiful treasures of black culture to become some of the most prominent entertainers of all time.  This is most notably exemplified by Elvis Presley’s heavy ‘borrowing’ of singer/songwriter Otis Blackwell’s lyrical talents, mannerisms, and performance style.  More recently, Lady Gaga, arguably the most notable pop culture figure of this era, has long been said to be a slightly paler reincarnation of the 1980’s pop star and actress, Grace Jones, whose style and intrigue were of a similar vein.  It is true that there are a few iconic black figures in the film industry that have broken the rules (i.e. – Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, anybody with the last name Smith), but the majority of black actors and production talent in the business are continuously marginalized.  This is not because black storytellers don’t work hard, it is because these individuals are told that their projects aren’t marketable enough, or because they are assumed to have a limited appeal as performers because of the color of their skin.

Sidney Poitier redefined blackness for a generation of entertainers. Now it's our turn.

The good news is that we now have the tools to change these trends.  The black talent is here.  Ultimately, the successes that filmmakers like Alrick Brown, Rashaad Ernesto Green, and Dee Rees have had are great, but those long shot distribution deals are not the preferred formula.  What we need is a consistent pipeline of financing and distribution options to help disseminate great black voices to the world.  There are players out there with the means to do it.  Many of them are black.  Trailblazers like Ava DuVernay, founder of the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM), have the right idea, but her efforts should just be the beginning.  There are legions of talented black voices that are ready to play their role in taking the Black New Wave to the forefront of the entertainment industry.  We’re not asking anyone to park a dump truck of cash in front of us, we’re simply asking for the opportunity to show you how beautifully diverse our stories can be.

All we want to do is get our hands dirty

If you want a glimpse at the army of black talent that is ready to drive the Black New Wave forward, check out some of the following names: Frances Bodomo, Isaac Brody, Jamal Caesar, Ryan Carmichael, Jonas Carpigano, Jarreau Carrillo, Samantha Chamblee, Keith Davis, Dominique Deleon, Tiisetso Dladla, Paul Ellington, Uzoma Emukah, Jay Franklin, Mykwain Gainey, Fred Guerrier, Tamika Guishard, Tahir Jetter, Michael Johnson, Kiara Jones, Marquette Jones, Nikyatu Jusu, Shaka King, Michael Larnell, Greg Lemaire, Marc Loriston, Edward McDonald, Carlos Miller, Darius Clark Monroe, Kia Neal, Julius Onah, Kiandra Parks, Daniel Patterson, Rauzar Patton, Bobby Poole, Julius Pryor IV, Kiel Adrian Scott, Jackie J. Stone, Randy Wilkins, Michael Wood, and Yared Wube, amongst others.

They’re mostly from NYU too.

So, all you upwardly mobile individuals and forward-thinking entities out there, I ask you:

Who is willing to propel black directors, writers, and actors to the top of Hollywood?

Who is ready to make boatloads of money off of culturally relevant stories that the general public yearns to see?

Who is prepared to kill ‘black film’ and rebrand it as what it ought to be known as:

The human experience.

Just a few shades darker.  And a little bit more cool.

>CW<

The sky is the limit

The long awaited Thor project is finally here.  Directed by veteran thespian/helmer Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Hamlet) and staring Aussie newcomer Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway, Star Trek), pictured above, the film is certainly a fitting adaptation to its source material.

Branagh, o Branagh. Hast thou art done a good job with a comic book movie?

It’s hammered home with authority.  In every aspect.  For better or for worse.

The film is peppered with a supporting cast of noted thespians from the very beginning.  Natalie Portman (Black Swan, V for Vendetta, and every other movie currently in theaters within the last year) fills the role of Thor’s earthly love interest, while talents such as Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Beowulf) and Rene Russo (Tin Cup, The Thomas Crown Affair) fulfill roles as Thor’s parents on the distant planet of Asgard.

Thor's cast also includes Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Stellan Skarsgard amongst others. There was once a controversy amongst fans about the casting of Elba in the role of Heimdall in the film (arguably the most powerful character) because he is black. #idiots

Like any epic task that begins with the work of a single hammer, this one begins slowly.

Almost excruciatingly so.

A friend of mine, JP, brought it to my attention that any comic book movie is more or less forced to go through tons of exposition to create the incredibly detailed worlds that these larger than life characters inhabit.  I must admit.  He’s right.  Somehow, it’s not something that I ever paid much attention to.  Probably because I either slept through the first act of these films, or the first act was executed efficiently despite the hurdles that the comic book genre presents.  I’m sure you could pretty easily guess which comic book movies have had me looking for a Snuggie, and which films had me popping two pounds of Junior Mints.

Is there possibly a better movie candy than JUNIOR MINTS!?!? I think not! And Thor agrees!

In the case of Thor, I started to take off my shoes, I sat back in the recliner, but as soon as I was about to grab for the greatest contemporary signal of extreme laziness, aka a Snuggie, I found myself hooked.

BTW, no offense to those of you who have a Snuggie.  But I don’t care what you say.  You are lazy.  You wear a hospital gown made of fleece when you sit on your couch.  You do it so you may more easily access your stack of Pringles and your Tampico punch.

Gross.

The Snuggie version of Thor. Where are the Pringles?

At any rate, all of the opening exposition of Thor begins on the fictional realm of Asgard and ends promptly when the title character is cast out of his homeland and banished to Earth.  Without giving a line by line of how this occurs, it all involves a lot of family drama, unrestrained rapacity, and misguided jealousy.  In these respects, it is clear that no one else but Branagh is wielding the hammer behind this tale.  The context and framework of the tensions have a very Shakespearean feel to them, but it’s doubtful that the average moviegoer going to see a summer blockbuster about a buff blonde guy with a sledgehammer is looking for drama harkening back to early modern English theatre.

Hemsworth and Hopkins in one of the more Shakespearean scenes from the film. Bleh. Get me to the good stuff!

Thankfully, the film truly picks up when Thor arrives on Early.  The spectacular transition is well worth the wait.  While he was a mighty and powerful God on the other side of the universe, he is turned into a common man in an instant; a common man that women swoon over and men secretly envy.  This is where the most glorious moments of the film occur.  If Thor were a sandwich, the bread, the beginning and end, would only be slightly above average tastes.  But, the fixins’ between the bread, the middle of the film, aka the 2^nd Act, is filled with savory flavors.

Bucking the seriousness, pretentiousness, and blockbuster action of the 1^st Act, Thor’s time on Earth pokes fun at everything that precedes it.  Thor becomes a privileged individual that is stuck in an unprivileged environment.  This is a classic and hilarious examination that has always stood the test of time in various films (see Trading Places, etc.).  While Thor’s time as a human being easily provides for the best moments of comedy and entertainment in the film, there are many more important themes that emerge during this section of the piece.  For instance, while watching the film, it becomes clear that it would probably be awesome to be a flawless, all-powerful God-like being.  But, as soon as that thought enters one’s mind, we begin to understand that getting humanized is far more valuable than that.  The human experience is what gives us love, pain, and everything in between.  Our humanity is what gives us purpose to strive for better.  It is what gives us the perspective we need to understand the meaningfulness of the life that lies ahead.

The humanization of a privileged being

In his journey from Asgard to Earth, Thor completely reconstructs his value system.  In the end, he predictably becomes a God once again, but he is forever changed because he has learned to reason like a man.  His fearlessness is replaced by selflessness.  His brazenness is replaced by humility.  At times, the hammer that the director and the cast wield to build Thor’s story can be a bit unruly, but in the end, they get the job done in a way that is largely enjoyable.  As much as a movie like Thor might pull from Shakespeare, the legend of King Arthur, Norse legends, comic books, and the classic Hero’s Journey, the principles of the film are simple:

To be human is a good thing, a beautiful thing, and although we are vulnerable in many ways, we should all reap as much as we can from this amazing life.

>CW<

Our humanity makes us mightier than we think...

LWF by doncoleone2g

Imagine a world of Catastrophic Failure…

Imagine a world of Overwhelming Fear…

Imagine a world where there was a complete breakdown of the basic things in our lives that are meant to protect us and make us feel secure…

Imagine losing the things we take for granted everyday…

Imagine America in the midst of a federal government shutdown…

Imagine being a citizen of Libya under the Gaddafi regime…

Imagine having a home in one of the Tsunami ravaged regions of Japan…

Imagine living within miles of the Fukushima nuclear disaster…

Imagine your city, your neighborhood, and your block being violated in a way that you never dreamed possible…

Imagine your friends, family, and neighbors finding their lives in shambles…

Imagine your home being wiped away forever…

Imagine losing everyone that you ever loved…

Imagine how it would feel to know that you failed to protect them…

Imagine what that life would be like…

This is the life of After the Storm…

#NOLAFOREVER

For more information visit the AFTER THE STORM project page HERE

A while ago, I sat down with the “The Ex-Lawyers Club” to do an interview regarding my feelings about leaving the legal profession for the film industry.  Here’s how it went.  Short, sweet, and depressingly funny…

Lawyer Turned Filmmaker Cole Wiley Tackles Our Five Questions

“The primary misconception about ex-lawyers is…that we’re broke.  I mean, we are, but you don’t have to rub it in.”

1. Life for a lawyer who leaves the law is…”like a box of chocolates…it’s oh so damn sweet.”

Yes. Life as an ex-lawyer is like a box of chocolates. But you're also too broke to afford chocolates.

 

2. The hardest thing about being an ex-lawyer is…”admitting that you’re an ex-lawyer.  It sucks to be so close to being treated like a normal person, but not quite.  And it also sucks that your loan repayment plan with Citibank doesn’t change either.”

Obama doesn't know I'm single handedly responsible for the national debt...

 

3. The best thing about being an ex-lawyer is…”learning that it is possible to find work that you actually love.  And not just that one night stand, “you’re so hot after three drinks” love, but real fairytale stuff.”

The lawyer break room. Straight. No chaser.

 

4. The primary misconception about ex-lawyers is…”that we’re broke.  I mean, we are, but you don’t have to rub it in.  Besides, that will change someday.  Hopefully.  Maybe.  Possibly.  Oh God…what have I done?”

This guy isn't as broke as me. He had a fly in his pocket. I could get something for that fly...

 

5. The main difference between my life now and my life as a lawyer is…”now my idea of a nice restaurant is any place that doesn’t have a value menu.  And yes, that includes street cart vendors.  Maybe that’s why I don’t date lawyers now either.”

When you're not a lawyer...get used to these...

Check out the full interview HERE

AFTER THE STORM – Feature Film – New Orleans, LA (in development)

Writer | Director | Producer – Cole Wiley

Producer – Mollye Asher

Producer – Christian McGuigan

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” – Willa Siebert Cather

HOOK: The greatest storms we face are those we create.

LOGLINE: In a fateful journey of survival, a young boy must overcome the loss of his home and family to the destructive wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

SYNOPSIS: Tracking the affects of Hurricane Katrina on the members of a single household, After the Storm packs the full weight and implications of the disaster into the lives of a small family.  Nate, a 5-year-old boy, believes that everything is normal in his home.  What he doesn’t know is that his father, Charles, is having an affair with a pregnant mistress.  He’s leaving New Orleans without Nate and the rest of their family.  As a result of Charles’ actions, the lives of several of Nate’s family members are brought to a tragic end in the flood waters of the Ninth Ward.  Many years later, Nate and his mother, Gloria, have finally found a way to move back into their decimated family home.  Gloria’s new boyfriend, Vincent, has loaned her the money she needs for them live in the Ninth Ward again.  Suspicious of Vincent’s slick and manipulative behavior, Nate seeks out his estranged father with the hopes of rekindling their relationship and asking him for help.  When another massive storm threatens the city and everyone must evacuate to survive, Nate quickly discovers that his visions of love, home, and loyalty are no longer what he once believed them to be.

AWARDS:

WINNER – 2011 Spike Lee Production Fund Award

WINNER – 2011 Next 15 Minutes Screenplay Competition (sponsored by Final Draft)

WINNER – 2011 Urbanworld Screenplay Competition (sponsored by BET and HBO)

For more information, please contact info@heygoodimages.com

QUIETLY (2009) – 17 minutes | HD | NY, NY

Hook: Sometimes words are not enough.

Logline:  With his world crashing down around him, a desperate teenager must resort to dangerous measures to save his mother from an abusive relationship.

Synopsis:  Quietly, an emotional and unyielding drama set in Brooklyn, NY, follows Italis Rivington, a quiet and unassuming 15-year-old, as he struggles to reclaim the blissful years of his childhood.  A time long before his mother, Gloria, became irreversibly dependent on her abusive boyfriend.  With virtually no options left, Italis is considering drastic action to save his home and his family.  While he only intended to obtain a better situation by rekindling the life that he once had, Italis finds that the consequences of his actions are leading him into territory that he was not intending to explore.

FILM TRAILER

COMPLETE FILM

FEATURING:

Emil Mequita – Italis Rivington

Zora Howard – Latoya

Rachel Leslie – Gloria Rivington

Preston Prat III – Sphinx

CREW:

Writer | Director | Producer – Cole Wiley

Producer – Dominique Deleon

Executive Producer – Samuel Graham Jr.

Co-Executive Producer – Susan Peacock

Co-Executive Producer – Taj Wilson

Director of Photography – Visra Vichit-Vadakan

Editor – Ryan Denmark

Production Designer – Vanessa Cocks

Full IMDb credits HERE

PRODUCTION STILLS:

Emil Mequita as Italis:

Zora Howard as Latoya:

Rachel Leslie as Gloria:

BY THE NUMBERS (2008) – 9 min | DV | NY, NY

Hook: Everything in life comes down to numbers.

Logline:  A man obsessed with playing the lottery finally hits the jackpot…but he isn’t any richer.

Synopsis:  Claude Boyarson, a lonely and socially awkward urbanite is having a hard time finding someone who understands his eccentric personality and his unordinary lifestyle.  Obsessed with compiling numbers, Claude spends most of his time trying to figure out the numeric sequence that will turn him into a lottery millionaire.  Tired of being on the losing end of everything, Claude tries regrouping his lottery numbers into a local phone number.  When a complete stranger by the name of Claire picks up on the other end of the line, Claude soon realizes that he has finally hit the jackpot…

TRAILER

By the Numbers (trailer) – A Cole Wiley film from Cole Wiley on Vimeo.

FILM

By the Numbers from Cole Wiley on Vimeo.

Featuring:

Dane Harrington Joseph – Claude Boyarson

Lakisha Bowen – Claire D

Nedra McClyde – Bonita

Crew:

Writer | Director | Editor | Producer – Cole Wiley

Director of Photography – Matthew Mendelson

Assistant Director – Melanie Delloye

Sound Mixer – Dominique Deleon

Composer – Sasha Gordon

Full IMDb Credits HERE

PRODUCTION STILLS

Dane Harrington Joseph as Claude:

Lakisha Bowen as Claire:

Nedra McClyde as Bonita:

Claude wearing goggles:

Claude and his lottery tickets:

Close up with Claude:

Claude and Claire on couch:

Claire looks at Claude:

The slate:

Claire lies in empty pool:

Assistant Director – Melanie Delloye

DP – Matthew Mendelson

Sound Master – Dominique Deleon

Director – Cole Wiley