This past weekend, I embarked on my first serious independent film project…And failed miserably. I found out about the Axe Shower Gel World’s Dirtiest Film contest with about a week and a half to write a script for a short segment, assemble a crew, film the thing, edit it, and submit it. I hustled all week, and by Friday, I thought I had all of the pieces in place. I was pretty damned proud of myself! Once again, Leon’s imminent swagger had stared down adversity and delivered a thunderous bitch slap!
Then Saturday came, and everything fell apart. The only a select few people proved reliable, and I ended up drinking Remy with my friends while feasting on carry-out chicken wings and lamenting on the monies I would have been able to make from winning(that’s right, I said monies) instead of doing production work. To add insult to injury, I cut short my time at a Blogger Happy Hour on Friday in order to make it home and rest up for the failed shoot! I can deal with losing something because what I submitted wasn’t good enough in someone’s opinion. What I can’t deal with is not even getting a chance to compete. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth, similar to that of Thunderbird. Or that taste you get from putting your tongue on a battery. I was talked into trying that when I was a kid, and I do not recommend it!
Since my filmmaking debut sucked, let me review a movie that was actually successful in what it aimed to achieve. I recently had the pleasure of viewing Mr. Untouchable, a new film by Magnolia Pictures and Damon Dash Enterprises. Mr. Untouchable is a documentary about the rise and fall of Leroy “Nicky” Barnes, the infamous ’70s heroin kingpin of New York. One could compare this film to the American Gangster series on BET, but Mr. Untouchable digs much deeper, speaking to all of the major players from that era who are still alive, most notably, Barnes himself.
I have no idea how the filmmakers were able to reach Nicky Barnes, who is currently living out his days in witness relocation and still has a million-dollar contract on his head. Hearing him tell his version of the events of that era, coupled with the memories of those who were once close to him, gives you a rare glimpse into the complexity of the man and the life that he lead. On one hand, the film is a portrait of a man who commanded respect due to his intelligence, strong leadership and the hustler’s ambition that took him straight to the top. On the other hand, it’s also the story of an extremely selfish, callous and vicious individual that became wealthy from the blood of his own people, and sent the bulk of his own organization to prison out of sheer spite.
Below is a trailer for the film:
Mr. Untouchable is hitting select theaters on October 26th, so be on the lookout for it. I was actually invited to go to the press day today in New York and ask questions to the film’s director, Mark Levin and Damon Dash. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from taking that trip to New York this week. Still, I want to thank Rachel Guthermann @ Special Ops Media for all of her work trying to coordinate things. Who knows? One day Damon Dash might be doing the press day for my film…If I can figure out a better way of keeping the thing from falling apart on me!
In the meantime, here is the official Swagger Scale Rating for Mr. Untouchable:
On a parting note, I cannot knock everybody that was involved with my film project. Some folks actually kept their word and came through for me. You lovely ladies know who you are! Also special thanks to Jimmy and T for coming through with the Remy! Yeah, I’m throwing shout-outs in a movie review! You all should know to expect about one or two ghetto-assed moments per blog entry from me by now!
The Mr. Untouchable movie is awesome
Dame Dash is the truth
Leon, can I be in your movie?
I am sorry to hear things didn’t work out man. I know some people at Howard who would have loved to be in the movie. My sister and a few of her friends major in theater there.
So sorry things didn’t pan out for you. I’m sure there will be tons of opportunities for you to redeem yourself in the future. You should come up with some sort of rating system for movies. I know ya liked it, but how much did you like it lol?
Maybe you could use the number of times you’d bitch slap the director on a scale of 0-5, 0 means ya loved it and 5 means you hated it lol Just a thought…
Do u realize u have an Ann Coulter ad on your site?
@ T, I know. I have nothing to do with that. I made fun of her a couple of times on here, and now Google Adsense puts up ads for her site from time to time. Trust me, I can’t stand the sight of that woman, and if I could figure out a way to keep her stuff off of here and replace it with things more relevant to my readers, I would.
@ Mahogany, I’ll come up with a rating system. I think I might dedicate a new section of the site to reviews. Would you all like that?
@ Jabari, I’m going to hit you up via Myspace or e-mail about this. I need some connections that are still at Howard. Also, don’t worry. I won’t flirt with your sister, even if she’s drop-dead gorgeous! I have a little sister, so I can relate to any big brotherly kick-this-fool’s-ass emotions that might go through your head!
@ Wonderlove, what type of movie do you have in mind? Heh heh heh ;)
@ Big Homie, Dame Dash is the epitome of an entrepreneur in my opinion. I would have loved to have had a chance to meet him and pick his brain for awhile. I actually consider him a role model. Plus, we both talk fast!