Month: April 2018

Ep. 25 – Myah Hollis : Screenwriter & Producer

myahhollispic
Myah Hollis is Head of Development and the Lead Event Planner at Pretty Thing. She is the creator and executive producer of Or Die Trying, the studio’s first original series. Hollis’ background in screenwriting and development has given her a fresh perspective on storytelling. She seeks to produce strong, character-driven content that illuminates underrepresented voices and represents the world as it truly is. Hollis has also worked as an event planner in LA, organizing everything from weddings to premieres. She is the founder of Holli Baker, a lifestyle and wellness site catered towards creatives.

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On This Episode We Cover:
What does a typical day look like for her?
Shonda Rhimes is like Khaleesi
How Script Coverage helped her as a screenwriter.
Finding her voice as a screenwriter
Her Project “Or Die Trying”

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Shortie of the Week : SELAH

mayacryor
Maya Cryor is a writer, producer and director. She is a a 24 year old from the suburbs of Pennsylvania. She has received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2015, Maya has produced and directed four short films. Her directorial debut, “Sweet Dream“, was selected by Digital Hollywood Digifest for their Digital Short Film category as a finalist and the film was a semifinalist in the Caribbean Film Festival & Market in Spring 2017. Maya is currently working on writing scripts for web series and short films.
Title of the Shortie: SELAH
Director: Maya Cryor
Copyright Owner: Maya Cryor
Total Running Time: 2:32
Brief Synopsis: The premise of this film is to show an array of women taking a moment of rest with their thoughts, feelings, and bodies.
 
Connect: Instagram: hi_mayacryor
 

Ep. 24 – Roxanne Avent : Film Producer

Roxanne Avent has established herself as a leading producer and executive whose creative vision and drive has contributed to the success of many feature films, comedy shows and television series. Avent has formed a partnership with Deon Taylor and their film company, Hidden Empire Film Group (HEFG), is on fire. She heads the creative edge and business aptitude of this powerful company in the film industry. Avent has developed, packaged and produced a powerful slate of films for release in 2018, including the thriller “Traffik,” starring Paula Patton, Missi Pyle, Omar Epps, William Fichtner and Roselyn Sanchez. Avent also produced the upcoming thriller “Motivated Seller” starring Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy and Megan Good, along with the comedy feature “All-Star Weekend,” starring Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler, Eva Longoria, Jeremy Piven and Jessica Szohr – directed by Jamie Foxx.
Avent was a driving force behind Hidden Empire’s massive success in 2016 with the studio’s horror spoof “Meet the Blacks,” starring Mike Epps, George Lopez, Mike Tyson, Zulay Henao and King Batch. Placing in the top 10 at the box office and growing its audience on streaming and VOD, Avent recently finished producing a sequel to the film for theatrical release in 2018 titled “The House Next Door,” starring comedy icons Mike Epps and Katt Williams.
Prior to her work at Hidden Empire Film Group, Avent’s credits in television production include over two-dozen episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. She also worked for the prestigious, Directors Guild of America, where she oversaw all aspects of production for movie premieres, television award programs, supervising more than fifty employees.

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On This Episode we Cover
Why she choose the filmmaking industry?
Starting as a PA and working her way up.
Handling failure.
Being and independent filmmaker.

Traffik which hits Theaters April 20th  Watch Here

Connect with Roxanne Avent
Hidden Empire Film Group
Instagram

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www.thecreativeoutsiders.com
Instagram

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Jana Henry – Filmmaker in Pursuit: April Update

This month has been fast moving. I’m trying to figure out how we got to April so fast. I received feedback from a “Movie Mentor” as I like to call her. Mentors make the world go round. Never be too prideful or act like you know so much that you can’t ask for help. Filming will be starting in May. This is both nerve wrecking and exciting. The fear never goes away but when I see that I am achieving the goals I set out to achieve it keeps me going.

april update

Not only have I been editing my short film script but I’ve had the opportunity to once again write for Single and Anxious, Season 3. Single and Anxious is a Series created by Christina Faith, and is produced right here in the 215. Table readings have been going great. I can’t wait for the world to see what we’ve been working on. Faith has also been a great help and resource as I develop myself as a writer and now filmmaker.

Currently I’m in a season of life where I am busy, busy, busy. I was able to get away for a retreat recently where the theme of the retreat was “Focus”. Not just hot to focus, or blindly focusing but intentional focus. The retreat honestly helped me not to just look at how I live my life, but how and why do I create. I feel like I got a recharge I needed. Lastly, as you know I’m a reader, watcher, and listener. Currently I’m reading Called to Create. I’m watching Living Single reruns. I’m listening to the Business of Story podcast. In case you were you were wondering what’s feeding my storytelling lately.

Meet Jana.

In her early twenties Jana left her small city in Michigan and made Philadelphia her second home. She holds an Associate’s degree in communications as well as a Dual Bachelors from Temple University in African American Studies and Theater. “Temple not only helped me hone my skills as a writer but introduced me to the world of acting, a new way to tell stories.” Currently Jana is working on her MFA. 2018 she plans to self-publish her first book entitled “Fifty Miles to E” in and is currently working on her first film. A Historian once said “Stories happen to those who tell them”. Jana L. Henry is a writer, creative, storyteller. She is a woman with a story or two to tell.

Ep. 23 – Christina Raia : Director & Writer

CRHeadshot.jpeg

 

 

Christina Raia is a New York City based Writer/Director, the Founder of CongestedCat Productions, and the Director of Crowdfunding at Seed&Spark. She won Best Director for her feature film, Summit, at Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival (genre division). She co-created, directed, and produced the comedic web series ‘Kelsey,’ which premiered on blip.tv in September 2013 to rave reviews and consistent press coverage, including as a Critic’s Pick and named one of the 19 Best Comedy Web Series of 2013 by Indiewire.com. It has over a quarter million views online. She recently finished post-production for her second feature film, About a Donkey. She has also begun pitching what she hopes to be her third feature, Silent Night, which was a Quarter Finalist at Slamdance’s 2016 Screenwriting Competition. Her other credits as Director, Producer and Writer include over a dozen narrative short films that have made official selection at film festivals across the country. In addition to Indiewire, her projects and approach as a filmmaker have been covered by AfterEllen, BuzzFeed, and various other media outlets. Her work can be viewed on Amazon Prime, Vimeo, VHX, and Youtube. She also turned her desire to foster collaboration and engagement in the local film community into IndieWorks, a monthly film screening series showcasing and supporting the work of other independent filmmakers in New York; currently in its 5th year. http://christinaraia.com/ @craia9 on Twitter and Instagram

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On this episode, we discuss:

How does she stay creative and inspired as a filmmaker?
Why writing groups are important for screenwriters?
Where filmmakers go wrong with crowdfunding?
How can horror films have a message?
Identifying who you are as a filmmaker?

 

What Christina is watching right now? Jane the Virgin 

What Christina is reading right now? Information doesn’t want to be free

 

Let’s Get Social

Instagram @thecreativeoutsiders or @shivawn_adrienne

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