Melvin Van Peebles was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967), was based on his own French-language novel La Permission and was shot in France, as it was difficult for a black American director to get work at the time. The film won an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival which gained him the interest of Hollywood studios, leading to his American feature debut Watermelon Man, in 1970. Eschewing further overtures from Hollywood, he used the successes he had so far to bankroll his work as an independent filmmaker.
Paramount Media Networks is an American mass media division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after the MTV cable network. It would be known under this name until 2011; when it would be thereafter known as Viacom Media Networks until 2019; and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks until 2022.
Mario Van Peebles is an American film director and actor best known for appearing in Heartbreak Ridge in 1986 and known for directing and starring in New Jack City in 1991 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, whom he portrayed in the 2003 biopic Baadasssss!, which he also co-wrote and directed.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American independent blaxploitation action thriller film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities.
Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles, as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.
The Astronaut's Wife is a 1999 American science fiction thriller film directed and written by Rand Ravich, in his feature directorial debut. It stars Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron.
Watermelon Man is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Melvin Van Peebles and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin, Kay Kimberley, Mantan Moreland, and Erin Moran. Written by Herman Raucher, it tells the story of an extremely bigoted 1960s-era white insurance salesman named Jeff Gerber, who wakes up one morning to find that he has become black. The premise for the film was inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, and by John Howard Griffin's autobiographical Black Like Me.
Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1973 American musical comedy film based on the 1970 musical of the same name. The musical was written, produced, scored, edited and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. Both the original stage musical and the film adaptation are based on Van Peebles' 1967 French-language novel La fête à Harlem (1967).
Travis Scott Van Winkle is an American actor, best known for starring in the feature film Accepted (2006) and the 2021 third season of the Netflix streaming television series You, portraying Trent DeMarco in Transformers (2007), Trent Sutton in Friday the 13th (2009), and Lieutenant Danny Green in The Last Ship (2014–2018).
Karl James Noons is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, as well as a former professional boxer and kickboxer. Noons competed for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and EliteXC. He is the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion and runner up for the StrikeForce title.
MGM+, is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios. The network's programming consists of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, original television series, documentaries, and music and comedy specials.
Black Dynamite is an American adult animated blaxploitation comedy television series developed by Carl Jones for the Cartoon Network late-night programming block Adult Swim. It is based on the 2009 film of same name, although the series follows an alternate continuity. Michael Jai White, Byron Keith Minns, Tommy Davidson and Kym Whitley reprise their film roles as Black Dynamite, Bullhorn, Cream Corn and Honeybee, respectively. Cedric Yarbrough also reprises his film role as the Western-style pimp Chocolate Giddy-Up, along with Jimmy Walker Jr. as the restaurant owner Roscoe and Arsenio Hall as fellow pimp Tasty Freeze.
Max Carver is an American actor. He is known for his role as Preston Scavo in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, as Aiden on the MTV teen-horror drama Teen Wolf, and in the first season of the HBO series The Leftovers; his twin brother Charlie Carver portrayed the twin of his characters in all three shows.
Believe Me is a 2014 American independent drama film directed by Will Bakke, co-written with Michael B. Allen, and produced by Alex Carroll. The film stars Alex Russell, Zachary Knighton, Johanna Braddy, Miles Fisher, Sinqua Walls, Max Adler, with Nick Offerman, and Christopher McDonald.
Drumline: A New Beat is a 2014 American television film directed by Bille Woodruff. It is the sequel to 2002's Drumline. The screenplay, a fictional story about a historically black college marching band, was written by Karen Gist and Regina Hicks. The story is about a young drummer from New York, played by Alexandra Shipp, who enters the fictional Atlanta A&T University and bumps heads with the leader of her new school's drum section. Jordan Calloway, Mario Van Peebles, and LeToya Luckett co-star. Leonard Roberts reprises his role as Sean Taylor, while Nick Cannon reprise his role as Devon Miles. Cannon also serves as the film's executive producer.
Cinelou Films is an American film production and distribution company founded by Courtney Solomon in 2014. The company's first release was Cake (2014), starring Jennifer Aniston.
Raven's Home is an American family sitcom television series developed by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that aired on Disney Channel from July 21, 2017 to September 3, 2023. The series stars Raven-Symoné, Issac Ryan Brown, Navia Robinson, Jason Maybaum, Sky Katz, and Anneliese van der Pol for its first four seasons. Raven-Symoné and Issac Ryan Brown returned for the fifth season, alongside Mykal-Michelle Harris, Felix Avitia, Emmy Liu-Wang and Rondell Sheridan.
Jonathan Kesselman is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, who first gained notice as the writer and director of The Hebrew Hammer (2003).
Candy Cane Lane is a 2023 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Kelly Younger. The film stars Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Thaddeus J. Mixon, Ken Marino, Trevante Rhodes, David Alan Grier, and Nick Offerman. It tells the story of a laid-off corporate marketer who makes a deal with a wicked Christmas elf to win his street's house decoration contest.
The Last Deal is a 2023 American crime thriller film written and directed by Jonathan Salemi. It stars Anthony Molinari, Sala Baker, Jeffri Lauren, Mister Fitzgerald, Mike Ferguson and Audra Van Hees. The film premiered at The Boston International Film Festival on April 15, 2022 where Salemi won The Best Director Award at the festival. The film later went on to make its Los Angeles premiere at Dances With Films on June 10, 2022. Scatena & Rosner Films gave the film a limited 22 theater release in the United States on February 3, 2023 before the film premiered on Starz in June 2023. The crime thriller received acclaim from critics, who praised Salemi's direction and large production scope albeit the film's low budget, and the performance of Molinari. The film was included in The New York Times "Five Action Films to Stream Now".
