Rare Bird Films

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Rare Bird Films started in 2008 as a collaboration between Cristan Crocker Reilly and Andrea Blaugrund Nevins. Reilly had read Punk Rock Dad written by childhood friend Jim Lindberg of the punk band Pennywise and approached Nevins about creating a documentary. [1] The meeting led to the production of The Other F Word exploring punk rockers who moved on to fatherhood. It was Nevins' feature length directorial debut. [2]

Contents

Founders

Cristan Crocker worked as an actress in series television and film including Matlock and Doogie Howser, MD. [3] She was mentioned in a 1993 review in Variety of Sworn to Vengeance, a CBS TV movie. [4] She was also in the 1990s action film The Bad Pack as Carmen. [5]

Andrea Blaugrund Nevins has credits as a director, producer, and a writer. [6] She graduated from Harvard University [7] worked at National Public Radio and produced shows for Peter Jennings and won an Emmy Award. She produced biographies on Jesse Jackson and Hillary Clinton for A&E winning awards for both productions. [8] She was nominated for an Oscar in 1998 for the category Best Documentary Short Subjects for Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies . [9]

Crocker and Nevins, both mothers, met through their husbands, Kevin Reilly of Fox Broadcasting TNT/TBS and David Nevins of Showtime.

Projects

Rare Bird Films most recent project is the Hulu Original, "Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie" which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in the US, at Hot Docs in Canada, and began airing on Hulu in April, 2018. In the film, Andrea Nevins uses Barbie, the toy icon, as a lens to examine the past 60 years of feminism in the United States. The film weaves interviews with feminists and historians like Gloria Steinem, Roxane Gay, Peggy Orenstein and Amanda Foreman with a behind-the-scene look at how a toy giant attempts to reinvent a doll that embodied an antiquated perception of femininity. [10] The United States State Department chose "Tiny Shoulders" as part of its 2018 film diplomacy program, American Film Showcase. The program brings award-winning contemporary documentaries and directors to audiences around the world offering a view of American society through the perspective of independent filmmakers. [11]

Quincy, which premiered on Netflix in September 2018, is a close look at music impresario Quincy Jones as told from the singular viewpoint of his daughter Rashida Jones. Andrea Nevins and Cristan Crocker are associate producers on this project. [12]

Play it Forward was selected as the Opening Gala film for the 2015 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, part of the larger Tribeca Film Festival. [13] It is the story of future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez who was mentored by his older brother Chris, who had wanted to play football more than Tony but never could, after a childhood injury. The story examines family sacrifice and a bond between brothers. [14]

State of Play:Happiness is a 35-minute documentary made for Peter Berg's HBO series that explores the lives of three former NFL greats, quarterback Brett Favre, running back Tiki Barber and wide receiver Wayne Chrebet. [15] Nevins and Reilly made the project in partnership with Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz of SMAC Entertainment.

The Other F Word a 99-minute documentary Filmmaker Andrea Blaugrund Nevins explores the lives of punk rock dads. [16] The film crew consisted of only three people: Reilly, Nevins, and Geoffrey Franklin who worked as cinematographer, editor, and sound recorder. Reilly said the small crew allowed for more intimate and personal reactions from the subjects. [17] Rocker dads featured included: Lindberg who was involved in the Southern California punk scene; Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who had previously played in a band called Fear; and Mark Hoppus of blink-182. [18]

The film provides an extraordinary chronicle of the origins of the violent LA punk scene which originated in Hermosa Beach in the late '70s. [19] In an article on The Huffington Post, Andrea Nevins stated, "Growing up in New York City … I used to cross the street to avoid punk rockers." She wrote that she learned that beneath the hard exterior "is a poet, a perceptive and tender soul who sees and feels deeply, and reacts accordingly." [20] The narrative is based on Lindberg's book but Nevins used anecdotes from "tons of punk rock dads" to round out the production. [21] In June 2014, The Tribeca Film Festival listed the Other F Word on its website as one of 7 documentaries to stream with your dad on Father's Day. [22]

Related Research Articles

Jim Lindberg

James William Lindberg is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the 1980s, when he played in local bands in his early career, Lindberg is best known for being the songwriter and lead singer of the influential punk rock band Pennywise, which he fronted from 1988 to 2009, and again since 2012. He also founded The Black Pacific, who released a debut album in 2010.

<i>Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World</i> 1987 direct to video film based on the toy line directed by Bernard Deyriès

Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World is a 1987 American animated television special created by DIC Animation City with Saban Productions featuring popular Mattel character Barbie. The story was based on the Barbie and the Rockers line of dolls, which featured Barbie as the leader of a rock band. The special originally aired in syndication as a two-part television "miniseries" with each installment lasting approximately 25 minutes; part two was titled Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth.

<i>The Other F Word</i>

The Other F Word is a 2011 American documentary film directed by independent filmmaker Andrea Blaugrund Nevins. The film explores the world of aging punk rock musicians, as they transition into parents and try to maintain the contrast between their anti-authoritarian lifestyle with the responsibilities of fatherhood, the titular "other F word". In addition to interviewing over twenty musicians from across the spectrum of the punk genre, including Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 and Fat Mike of NOFX, the film also includes other emblematic figures of subculture such as professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, in a chronicle of the struggles and rewards that accompany raising their children.

Bulletproof Stockings was an American Hasidic alternative rock band based in Crown Heights, New York. Formed in 2011 by lead singer Perl Wolfe and ex-Hopewell drummer Dalia Shusterman, the group independently released its debut EP, Down to the Top the following year. They were noted for their unique sound among Jewish music, as well as their adherence to the prohibition of kol isha by performing for female-only audiences.

<i>The Punk Singer</i>

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<i>The Diplomat</i> (2015 film)

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<i>Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie</i>

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References

  1. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (2011-03-07). "Docu adopts punk rocker dads". www.variety.com. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 26 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. ↑ Ells, Harriet (2011-11-07). "Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, The Other F Word". www.kcrw.com. KCRW. Retrieved 27 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. ↑ "Cristan Crocker Reilly". www.imdb.com. Amazon.
  4. ↑ Prouty, Howard H. (September 1, 1996). Variety Television Reviews 1993–1994. Taylor & Francis. p. 66. ISBN   0-8240-3797-9.
  5. ↑ "The Bad Pack, IMDB". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 26 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  6. ↑ "Andrea Blaugrund Nevins". www.imdb.com. Amazon. Retrieved 28 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  7. ↑ "Andrea Blaugrund and David Nevins". New York Times. The New York Times Company. September 1, 1996. Retrieved 2 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  8. ↑ "The Other F Word, Synopsis". www.woodstockfilmfestival.com. Hudson Valley Film Commission. Retrieved 2 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  9. ↑ "Andrea Blaugrund Nevins -- Awards". www.imdb.com. Amazon. Retrieved 3 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  10. ↑ Gilbert, Sophie. "Can Barbie Really Have It All?". The Atlantic.
  11. ↑ "American Film Showcase". www.americanfilmshowcase.com.
  12. ↑ "Quincy". IMDB.
  13. ↑ "2015 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Includes Docs from Spike Lee, Katie Holmes, and Eva Longoria". www.tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  14. ↑ "Play it Forward". www.rarebirdfilms.com. Rare Bird Films. Retrieved 2 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  15. ↑ Randall, Gary. "State of Play: Happiness--Video Featuring NFL Great Brett Favre". www.craveonline.com. Crave Online Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  16. ↑ "The Other F Word". www.queenslibrary.org. Retrieved 26 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  17. ↑ "Film Interview: The Other F Word [SXSW Recap]". austinist.com. Gothamist LLC. Retrieved 1 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  18. ↑ Rampell, Ed. "Punk Rock Fatherhood". www.rockcellarmagazine.com. Rock Cellar Magazine. Retrieved 5 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  19. ↑ Cwelich, Lorraine (2011-11-11). "Andrea Nevins' Punk Papas". www.interviewmagazine.com. Brant Publications. Retrieved 3 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  20. ↑ Blaugrund Nevins, Andrea (2011-11-04). "What Punk Rock Taught Me as a Parent". www.huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  21. ↑ Singer, Matt. ""The Other F Word," Reviewed". www.ifc.com. AMC Networks, Inc. Retrieved 1 March 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  22. ↑ Gill, Anila. "7 Documentaries to Stream with Your Dad on Father's Day". tribecafilm.com. Tribeca Enterprises LLC. Retrieved 28 February 2015.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
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