Jamie Fox will write and direct a horror anthology series for Syfy/Chiller.  He will also executive produce the series.  Check out what else is on the slate for Syfy and Chiller.

Reality series:
Joe Rogan Questions Everything (working title), premiering Tuesday, July 16 at 9p, centers on paranormal mystery-addict Joe Rogan, who ventures into unknown worlds to search for answers to life's most startling theories. Production company: A. Smith & Co.

Cosworld (working title), premiering Tuesday, August 27 at 10p, is a six-episode docuseries that lifts the veil on the imaginative world of cosplay competition. Production company: 51 Minds, an Endemol Company.

Fandemonium (working title), which debuts in fall 2013, celebrates the often misunderstood, and fascinating fan girl and fan boy culture. Production company: 495 Productions.

Scripted series:
An untitled Jamie Foxx project, premiering in October, will be in the vein of Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone. Studio: Universal Cable Productions.

A team of scientists investigates a possible disease outbreak in an Arctic research facility and find themselves trying to protect the world from annihilation in Helix.Production company: Lynda Obst Pictures & Tall Ship Productions.

Pilots:
High Moon explores what happens when the countries of Earth establish colonies to mine the Moon's resources and discover a new form of life. Universal Cable Productions will serve as the studio.

Long form development project Ringworld is a four-hour mini-series based on the Hugo Award-winning novel by Larry Niven, while Childhood's End is based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel.

Nine new scripted series in development include No Place, in which Syfy joins forces with Fox Television Studios, director/producer Robert Zemeckis, producers Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine, and feature film writing team John Brancato and Michael Ferris. The show centers on residents of a high-tech gated community, who awaken one morning to find themselves cut off from the rest of reality. Only one man has contact with the powers responsible for what is known as The Rift, and he must lead his fellow residents beyond the void to discover the truth. Circle of Confusion and Top Cow will produce the project.

Eight new reality series in development include The Jim Henson Creature Shop, which will give aspiring creature makers the opportunity to win the job of a lifetime: an apprenticeship with the Creature Shop.

Two long form scripted developments: Eyes of the Dragon (Universal Cable Productions and Ostar Productions), based on Stephen King's best-selling novel, and Darkfall (The Jim Henson Company and Universal Cable Productions), which explores what happens when modern forms of power and technology become a thing of the past.

Upfronts from Discovery and GMC TV

Here are the upfronts from Discovery Communications and GMC/UP Entertainment.  What are your thoughts? Which ones are you most likely to watch? Let me know in the comments section!

 

Discovery Channel:
Klondike, Discovery's first ever scripted mini-series, will star Tim Roth. New series include Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius with Kal Penn and Cutter Oil (working title) about a family-run oil company. Nik Wallenda, known as "The King of the High Wire", will traverse the Grand Canyon without using a harness on the special Wallenda Live. Naked and Afraid is a new series in which a new pair of strangers each episode will find themselves stranded in some of the world's harshest environments with no food, no water, no tools... and no clothes. Returning series include: Deadliest Catch, Gold Rush, Amish Mafia, Bering Sea Gold, and Moonshiners.

Animal Planet:
New Series include (these are all Working Titles): Alaska Bush Family, Catch and Release, Clipped (extreme dog grooming), My Tiny Terror, and Polar Bear Crossing and Top Hooker (it's about fishermen!). Special Puppy Bowl X will return next Super Bowl Sunday, thank goodness. Returning series include America's Cutest Cat (and Dog), Finding Bigfoot, Gator Boys, and Pit Bulls and Parolees.

TLC:
New series include: Alaskan Women Looking for Love, Best Funeral Ever, and My Teen is Pregnant and So Am I. Returning series include Long Island Medium and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Also, Breaking Amish: Brave New World in which the cast reunites to make a fresh start in Florida, but instead find more culture shock, unexpected challenges and surprises along the way. You may also want to keep an eye out for Husband Hunters (working title) in which women have the dress, the venue and the cake... but there's no groom.

Science Channel:
The channel's first scripted dramatic feature will air in November 2013: 73 Seconds: The Challenger Investigation, starring Academy Award-winning actor William Hurt, a BBC co-production with Science Channel. The end of 2013 also brings the series This Changes Everything, featuring James Woods, who explores the emerging technologies of today that could change the way humankind lives tomorrow. Returning series include How it's Made and How do They Do It?, along with quirky hit franchise Oddities. Morgan Freeman also returns to take viewers to the world of the unknown in Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. The channel's extraterrestrial programming event Are We Alone? returns in March of 2014.

Velocity Channel:
New series Americarna chronicles how American culture and car culture go hand-in-hand, hosted by NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham. It will premiere in January 2014. Returning series include Wheeler Dealers, Overhaulin' and Chasing Classic Cars.

Military Channel:
New series Against the Odds explores "mission impossible" stories of heroism and strength. CIA: Declassified tells the real tales of the CIA's covert operations, based on the declassification of documents in the last twenty years.

Other series include: Gunslingers, Die Hard History and Apocalypse World War 1.

Destination America:
New summer series King of Thrones, which honors the #1 room in the house:  the bathroom. Buying Hawaii focuses on the most popular island paradise destinations. Last Call Food Brawl is a competition series hosted by chef Adam Gertler that showcases the best in comfort food. Returning series include BBQ Pitmasters, Epic, Buying Alaska and Hillbilly Blood.

Investigation Discovery:
Jerry Springer is hosting its new series Tabloid. The weekly show will probe the most bizarre larger-than-life stories imaginable. With an initial run of 10, one-hour episodes, Tabloid will premiere on ID in first quarter 2014.

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network:
The one-hour ensemble drama The Haves and the Have Nots (produced for OWN by Tyler Perry Studios) is set to premiere Tuesday, May 28 at 9p, and the sitcom Love Thy Neighbor (produced for OWN by Tyler Perry Studios) will premiere Wednesday, May 29 at 9 p. On Sunday, May 26 at 9p, Winfrey will interview Perry on a special Oprah's Next Chapter. In addition, the network has two new unscripted series joining its slate of original programming: Millionaire Mama's Boy (executive produced by Pete Tartaglia and Amy Palmer Robertson and distributed by Sony Pictures Television), about the relationship between WNBA star Pamela McGee and her NBA star son JaVale, and Houston Beauty (produced by Park Slope Productions) about a Texas beauty school.

GMC TV has also unveiled its Upfront slate, which includes 66 originals, among them movies, series and stage plays. In addition, the network announced it will accelerate its name change to UP to June 1 instead of September 1.

GMC's originals for 2013 include:

Movies:
Finding Normal (May 2013). Dr. Lisa Leland is a surgeon sentenced after a traffic accident to do community service  as a doctor in a town called Normal, population 332. Living with no wi-fi, no lattes and no credit cards, Lisa begins to find herself and discovers what a meaningful life is all about. Stars Candace Cameron Bure, Lou Beatty Jr., Trevor Marshall St. John, Andrew Bongiomo and Mark Irvingsen.

The Perfect Summer (June 2013). A somewhat nerdy high school senior who spends all his time on his computer decides to learn to surf to capture the attention of a gorgeous surfer girl who moves next door.

Jimmy (June 2013). Young Jimmy Mitchell is asked to testify as a defense witness in a criminal trial when he accidentally hears a shocking confession and ultimately finds himself in a dangerous situation from which there is no escape. Based on the book by Robert Whitlow.

In The Meantime (July 2013). A GMC Faith and Family Screenplay Competition winner at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), this is the story of a woman at a crossroads in her life. At her sister's suggestion she starts working at a local community center and joins the fight to save the center and finds real love along the way. Stars: Kali Hawk, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Terri J. Vaughn, Thomas Mikal Ford, David Mann, Tamela Mann, Demetria McKinney Rodney Perry and Musiq Soulchild. Directed and executive produced by Roger M. Bobb Screenplay by Nzinga Kadalie Kemp.

Teachers (August 2013). Manny Cortez is uprooting his family so that they can go to Westbrook High where his beloved late father was the football coach. No sooner does the Cortez family move into the Westbrook school zone than it is announced that Westbrook will close due to budget issues. The staff, students and parents decide to fight back.

Guess Who's Coming to Christmas (November 2013). A jaded rock star, in order to repair his tarnished image, publicly agrees to fulfill a kid's Dear Santa Christmas wish. To his dismay, he ends up agreeing to spend the holidays in small town America and performing in the local holiday Christmas concert. Stars: Drew Lachey, Mackenzie Porter.

Silver Bells (December 2013). Bruce Dalt is an ambitious television sportscaster who approaches the holidays as he does life - competitively. This philosophy has put a strain on his family, and when Bruce gets into a physical scuffle with a ref at his son's basketball game, the holidays take a turn for the worse. Stars: Bruce Boxleitner, Antonio Fargas, Kenton Duty, Bridgett Newton, Laura Spencer and Kevin Downes.

GMC Series:
Heartland - Season 4 (June 2013 premiere; 16 new one-hour episodes). The beloved family series continues with new episodes.

Family Addiction with Leigh Anne Tuohy: (Premieres June 2013; six, one-hour episodes). This series will follow the lives of families who have been fostering children and are on the verge of adopting one or more of their foster children. Leigh Anne Tuohy is best known for being the real life inspiration behind the blockbuster film, The Blind Side. Leigh Anne is joined by her daughter, Collins Tuohy, a noted inspirational speaker and Special Educator "Miss Sue" Mitchell (the character played by Kathy Bates in The Blind Side).

Bulloch Family Ranch (Premieres July 2013; seven, one-hour episodes). Julie and Rusty Bulloch are the proud parents of 25 kids; however, only two are biological. The rest are teens who have been dealt a difficult hand in life, from being homeless to gang life. Julie and Rusty welcomed each of them into their central Florida ranch for a LAST SECOND chance at getting on the right track.

Miracle Hunters From the producers of "Hatfield and McCoy's", "R&B Divas" and Gene Simons' "Family Jewels", this hour long GMC World Premiere Special investigative show will give hope that miracles exist while also debunking those that don't make the cut. The "Miracle Hunters'"team will travel around the country, capturing the world of the impossible and the endlessly fascinating.

GMC Stage Plays:
What Would You Do For Love (May 2013). Reggie Brooks is just an average guy working as a fitness trainer in a neighborhood gym. After being notified that he has come into a lump sum of money years after his parents perished in 9/11, Reggie decides that it's best to keep his new multi-millionaire status under wraps. Reggie's friends challenge him to go on a dating blitz in an attempt to find a wife in 30 days or less.

Love Will Find A Way (June 2013). Reggie Brooks travels to Paris with Troy, his wife Piper and her sister Paula who starts to have feelings for Reggie. But when they return from Paris, Reggie decides to give a relationship with Lucky a try after she changed her mind about wanting to have kids. But Paula becomes suspicious when she starts finding out the truth about Lucky... is she hiding something?

Upfronts - Bravo Continues to Showcase Women-Centric Content In The Upcoming TV Year

For the next few months, I will include information from the network's upfronts.  This post is all about Bravo's upcoming program schedule.  I look forward to your comments about their shows!

BRAVO MEDIA unveiled its largest slate of original programming to date with 17 new and 18 returning unscripted series during its Upfront presentation at New York's 30 Rockefeller Plaza. This marks a 15 percent increase over last year and it appears bound to increase with six new projects -- three scripted and three unscripted -- in development. Here's a look at what the network has coming up.

New series:
Newlyweds: The First Year, which debuts on Monday, May 6, tracks four couples' first year of marriage. "I'm most excited about this show," confided Frances Berwick, President of Bravo & Style Media. "It's more documentary-style than our other shows and it has a lot of OMG moments."

The notoriously closed society of Charleston, South Carolina unlocks the gates of its centuries-old plantation homes for a real-life look at how modern-day Southern aristocratic men live in Southern Charm. "We debated about this show a lot as it was being developed," Andy Cohen, EVP, Development & Talent told Cynopsis. "It's more centered around men than other Bravo programming. But the guys were so funny!"

Below Deck, slated to premiere in summer 2013, sees upstairs and downstairs worlds collide, when a young and single crew known as "yachties" live, love and work together on a privately owned yacht.

City Sisters, slated for a fall 2013 debut, follows a group of single, up-and-coming movers and shakers in New York's elite circles of real estate, fashion, and media.

Breakout star Courtney Kerr of Most Eligible Dallas navigates the lively Texas social scene with her group of sassy, dynamic friends in the series Courtney Loves Dallas.

When couples go from "I do" to "I don't," Vikki Ziegler is who they call to mediate, advise and divide their assets out of court in Divorce Diva (wt).

Eat, Drink, Love, slated to premiere in summer 2013, follows successful beautiful women connected to the restaurant and food industry in Los Angeles.

Extreme Guide to Parenting, slated for a fall 2013 debut, explores two different households with very unique styles of raising their children in each episode.

Fashion Queens is a topical, fashion-based talk show featuring two of Atlanta's style elite, celebrity hair stylists, Derek J and Miss Lawrence, and New York's fashion maven and media socialite Bevy Smith.

The Kandi Factory, which premieres on Tuesday, April 9, focuses on Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum songwriter Kandi Burruss of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as she helps 16 aspiring artists jump start their dreams of stardom.

The world's most exclusive houses throw open their doors to a panel of passionate property experts in this new panel talk show, Property Envy, which explores the world of luxury real estate, cutting-edge home technology and trendsetting decor. The show is slated to premiere in summer 2013.

Taking Atlanta (wt), slated for a summer 2013 debut, tails a group of ambitious, young go-getters, who are shaking up the city's fashion, music, hospitality and real estate scenes.

Thicker Than Water: The Tankards, slated for a fall 2013 debut, is a docu-series about former professional basketball player turned popular gospel singer/recording artist and minister Ben Tankard.

In Two Fit Girls best friends and business partners Katrina and Karena, the fearless duo behind Toneitup.com, use their "street smarts, not book smarts" to push themselves and their brand to wild extremes.

Ladies of London (wt) follows a group of elite British socialites and American expats enjoying the upper crust of the high society world.

Princesses: Long Island, which premieres Sunday, June 2, is a docu-series about six young women from Great Neck, Long Island, who return to their pampered lifestyles in the comfort of their parents' estates and at the expense of their fathers' bank accounts.

100 Days of Summer follows Chicago's young, successful "it" crowd, as they work the boardrooms and the bedrooms, eager to make a name for themselves, find love and succeed at any price.

New scripted projects in development include: Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce, a dramedy about a self-help book author who is hiding her separation from her husband; Heiresses, a one-hour drama that follows one of the wealthiest families on the Upper East Side; and High and Low, a period drama that takes viewers through the worlds of 1980's art, food, and Wall Street through the eyes of brothers and rivals.

New unscripted projects in development include: Ivy League Confidential (wt), which shows a group of four elite college admissions consultants in New York and Los Angeles as they deal with pampered clients; America's Best Restaurant (wt), a food competition series that travels across the country to find the best place to eat; and Rich People's Problems (wt), which explores how the rich and famous of Atlanta settle their disputes with lawyer Phaedra Parks (The Real Housewife of Atlanta).

In addition, 18 series are returning to the network: Flipping Out,Tabatha Takes Over, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, Top Chef Masters, Million Dollar Listing New York, Shahs of Sunset, The Real Housewives of Miami, Chef Roble & Co, Vanderpump Rules, Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis, Don't Be Tardy..., The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Real Housewives of New York, Top Chef, Inside The Actors Studio, and Watch What Happens Live.

Django Unchained

 

Django Unchained: 

A film about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Vengeance

Thank you for taking a break from your routine day to see what Gilchrist says about Django Unchained.

I know there will be many people who will assume that Django Unchained is simply your run of the mill slave movie, told from the perspective of a White man.  But it is so much more than that.  I am typically not a fan of Tarantino’s films but found Django Unchained to be both interesting and entertaining with surprisingly humorous moments.  It would have to be in order to get me to stay and watch for almost three hours.  If you are brave enough to put your preconceived ideas aside to actually go to the theater to see this film, you will find that Django Unchained is a love story wrapped in a Tarantino R-rated action flick, focused on a black man set in the mid-1800s when slavery in America was a booming business.   I am reluctant to call this a slave film.  So, without spoiling the film for you, I will give you some tales from Django Unchained to look forward to should you venture out to see it.

While the writer touches on some of the lesser known, but equally brutal horrors of slavery, (Mandingo death fights, “R” branding, being ripped to shreds by dogs, etc.) he does not portray the bulk of these slaves in the typical docile, ignorant and obedient manner that is so common with Hollywood films.  Though the synopsis describes Samuel L. Jackson’s character as the ‘trusted house slave’ he actually regularly smart mouths his master “Sam Jackson-style” without any apparent repercussions whatsoever.  Django looks white people in the eye during the entire film and shows no fear in their presence.  He also spends the bulk of the film dressed very differently from typical slaves and he knows how to ride a horse, which is unique because black people were not allowed to actually ride on horses during slavery times.  Hildie, played by Kerry Washington, speaks German and has a fire in her that keeps her hungry for freedom. 

He also portrays the white people in this film differently from typical slave films.  Quite often, Hollywood will create slave masters and other whites in these movies to be seen as dignified, intelligent and well bred.  In Django Unchained there is an overwhelming amount of stupidity and foolishness flowing from the white characters in this film, which causes them to be repeatedly outsmarted by Django and his partner Schultz.  His attempt to create funny scenes is successful, though some may still feel uncomfortable with the humor in this film.

Dr. Schultz, played by Inglourious Basterds Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio are both filled with their own individual eccentricities, which they each wear proudly for all to see.  But their very opposite peculiarities are what lead to the big showdown of the film. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Quentin Tarantino film if there wasn’t a giant bloody mess leaving a trail of corpses behind.  Also true to form is his overuse of the “N” word throughout the film.  I counted hearing it over 100 times before the bloody showdown begins, which is at least 45 minutes prior to the end of the movie.  But at the same time, he brilliantly allows Hildie to communicate her entire story in less than 25 lines.  Quentin stumped me with that one, I must say. 

Django and Hildie are fully triumphant in this film and I’m sure I have ever seen that in a film about black people set in the mid 1800s.  They actually ride off into the sunset, happy and victorious (okay—that’s a spoiler but I couldn’t help myself). 

Overall, I highly recommend seeing this film, if only to see it’s cinematic beauty and some amazing, not-to be missed performances throughout the project.  The title of this piece is actually taken from one of the movie’s more recent tag lines: “Django—Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Vengeance” which is an accurate description.  While it will always be challenging for black people to see depictions of themselves on the screen from the years prior to the Civil War, these stories really happened and it is a big part of our history, like it or not.  Django Unchained plays with these circumstances in a way that allows the title character and the love of his life to be seen as nothing short of heroic, honorable and exceptional.

My personal commentary is this:  If you view this film with an open mind, you will remember that folks like Django paved the way for us to have people like the real Jamie Foxx, and women like Hildie are the ancestors of ladies like Kerry Washington who is simultaneously portraying Olivia Pope, inspired by a fixer named Judy Smith.  The blood, sweat and courage of people like Django and Hildie allows all of us to decide who we are and what we become in this United States of America.  So don’t hate their stories, not matter who writes/distributes them, no matter how much it may sting or how hard it is to watch.  It’s our history and only we could have descended from people with that kind of strength, integrity and power. 

Now, back to work (but post comments first)!

Read the IMDB synopsis here

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