The Imaginary Blog

Janelle Monae - Cold War [Official Music Video]

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Okay, I'm going to say something that is trite and obvious. We love the unabashed awesomeness that is Janelle Monae!!! If you haven't bought her album The ArchAndroid do yourself a solid and GET IT NOW!!!! The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Peace and Love,

The Cat

Home Again!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:50:00 +0000

The Kindly Ones will return home to the Bahamas when it screens at The Bahamas International Film Festival which runs this year from December 1-5 .

On Friday December 3 it will show at Galleria Cinema on JFK Drive at 1:00pm and again on Saturday, December 4: Galleria JFK Cinema at 7:00pm .

The last international showing for The Kindly Ones will at The Anchorage International Film Festival on Sunday, December 5^th , at 03:30PM at the Out North Theater.

Not a bad way to end the year, if we do say so ourselves.

We are very proud of The Kindly Ones. It was our first film and we are already making big plans for the new year so you can expect bigger and better things from The Imagination Workshop in the future. We expect no less from ourselves.

Peace and Love

The Cat

The Kindly Ones Screens at the Anchorage International Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:21:00 +0000

The Kindly Ones will be traveling all the way up north to Alaska where it will be screened at the Anchorage International Film Festival. AIFF is celebrating its 10th anniversary with this festival and we are so very happy to be a part of it.

The Kindly Ones will be the only film from the Caribbean in the "Super Shorts" category and one of three films from Caribbean countries over all. AIFF runs from December 3rd to the 16th. You can check the full program schedule HERE.

'Till next time...
Peace and Love
The Cat

Fake Blood Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:25:00 +0000

Halloween is nearly upon us and you may be asking yourself: (well we do any way) Where am I going to get blood and gore for my costume? Now you can just buy some fake blood from the store; but where is the fun in that? Besides most cheap, store bought fake blood looks... well, fake.

This was one of the problems we faced on The Kindly Ones. I scoured the net for "realistic looking" blood recipes and stumbled upon Halloween Web . It's a really, really fun website and had several "blood recipes" which you can check out HERE.

One afternoon some of the crew and I spent an afternoon making a few of the recipes in my kitchen until we found one we felt looked realistic enough for us to in the movie.

I don't have kids but I can imagine that this may be a fun activity to do with your little ghouls this season. Anyway, have a safe and scary Halloween.

Peace and Love,

The Cat

The Kindly Ones Screens at The Silk City Film Festival in Hartford CT,

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 02:05:00 +0000

The Imagination Workshop's first short, The Kindly Ones, will be playing at its first film festival in a little over two weeks.

The Kindly Ones will be shown at the Silk City Film Festival in Hartford Connecticut in a block of horror shorts on Friday October 8th between 3-4pm . For the festival's full schedule see here.

Nicky

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:14:00 +0000

Social worker Carlotta Montay visits the home of shut-in Mazy Evans to complete work on a case left unfinished by a retired colleague. However too much snooping may spell bad news for Carlotta because Mazy has a dangerous secret locked away in her hovel.

Just Because ...

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:15:00 +0000

Okay, okay so it's a long Coke commercial, but its still a boss song with some awesome talent lending their voices to it. Today is a good day. If you're feeling differently then (here it comes) open some happiness :).

Peace and Love,
The Cat

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo DVD Release

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:24:00 +0000

This may seem completely random but we are excited that the release of the complete series of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo is today. We know, we know The Scooby Doo franchise has more reincarnations than a Buddhist cat (this was the 7th re-imagining incidentally) but this series differed from the usual mystery solving formula fans were used to. First, there were no creepy guys in costumes, every ghost was real and while we still had the usual slapstick humor from Shaggy and Scooby, things seemed a little darker than the previous, and in some cases, subsequent repackaging of the franchise. There is no Freddy or Velma but Scooby, Shaggy and Daphene represented the original Mystery Inc crew. Scooby's precocious nephew Scrappy, who was introduced to the series in 1979 is present and the legendary Vincent Price lends his voice to the group's ghoulish Vincent Van Ghoul.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

Free Film Contracts and Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:58:00 +0000

There a good number of places on the internet where indie filmmakers can go to download free paperwork for their projects but by far we've found that the good people at FilmmakerIQ.com have complied one of the most extensive lists around. Click here to check it out. Trust us you wont be sorry. They have everything from actor contracts to forms for shot lists and trademark releases.

Peace and Love,

The Cat

WAVING FLAG - HAPPY WORLD CUP DAY -

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Today marks the start of the most watched sporting event on the globe. The FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place between today and July 11 and marks the first time the event will be held in an African nation. Below is the official song for the games "Waving Flag" sung by Knaan and David Bisbal.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

Power of the Dark Crystal

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:51:00 +0000

On Tuesday in a joint statement by Omnilab Media's Christopher Mapp and The Jim Henson Company's Lisa Henson, announced that Australian based Omnilab Media is teaming up with The Jim Henson Company to bring the much anticipated fantasy sequel "Power of the Dark Crystal" to the big screen in 3D.'

Now usually this would have sent fans like me into a frenzy but I'm tempted not to keep my hopes up. A sequel to the Dark Crystal was talked about for years, from 2005 to be exact. As a matter of fact it was announced several years ago that Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory and Star Wars: Clone Wars) would be directing "Power of the Dark Crystal" At that time the anticipated release was Spring of 2008.

Now it seems like Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig, writers and directors of "Undead" and most recently "Daybreakers," will be guiding the project.

The Power of The Dark Crystal is set hundreds of years after the events of the first movie when the world has once again fallen into darkness, "Power of the Dark Crystal" follows the adventures of a mysterious girl made of fire who, together with a Gelfling outcast, steals a shard of the legendary Crystal in an attempt to re-ignite the dying sun that exists at the center of the planet.

I know what you're thinking. When I first saw that this movie - like too many nowadays - will be shown in 3D I tensed up. There is no way they can make this film without puppets. Thank God my fears were quickly allayed. They are using puppets but this movie is not going to look like the Dark Crystal of our childhood.

Power of the Dark Crystal will use a mix of live action and traditional puppetry combined with visual and special effects produced entirely in Australia. Omnilab-affiliated Iloura ("Where the Wild Things Are," "The Pacific," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark") has already begun work on the film's complex CGI elements.

Legendary fantasy artist Brian Froud, who worked with the Henson Company on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth will reprise his role as conceptual designer of the film.
The screenplay is written by Australian Craig Pearce ("Moulin Rouge," "Strictly Ballroom," "Romeo + Juliet") based on an original script by Annette Duffy and David Odell.

Power of the Dark Crystal will be produced by the Australia based production arm of Omnilab Media, Ambience Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company's executive producers are Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, and Jason Lust. Omnilab Media's executive producers are Christopher Mapp, Matthew Street, and David Whealy. Cinemarket Films' Peter D. Graves ("Terminator Salvation") rounds out the executive producer team.

The movie is slated for release sometime in 2011. Like I said before there have been many false starts and I don't want to keep my hopes up. I also don't want to predict the awesomeness of this movie because... well you know. But I must say The Henson Company has never disappointed me and to be honest I don't know if they can.

Peace and Love
The Cat

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s, Vol. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Tue, 04 May 2010 04:47:00 +0000

I think we realized we were aging when Home Improvement and Family Matters were included in the Nick at Night line up and when Home Improvement was moved to TV Land our fears were confirmed. There is a benefit to getting old however, its nostalgia, that bitter / sweet feeling that drives the sales of DVD box sets and pushes you to buy a Rainbow Bright lunchbox for $65.

Today a two disk compilation DVD of Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 80s will be released. It features those Chuck Norris and Mister T animated shows - you know the ones where Chuck is running aorund with a bad ass team of martial artist and for some reason Mr T is hanging out with a group of teenage gymnasts. It also has The Flintstone Kids, the Monchhichis, Thundar the Barbarian and six other series.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

BOONDOCKS SEASON 3

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:10:00 +0000

After a two year hiatus Aaron McGruder's Boondocks. Its been a long time coming but the first episode of the season premiers on May 2 at 11.30 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
Now it seems like season three may be the last we see of the Freemans, Dubois, Uncle Ruckus and the other characters that live in and around Woodcrest. Let's just hope someone changes their mind and decides to extend the life of this great show.
Or maybe it's all for the best. Sometimes its good to end on a high note.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

Travis McCoy Billionaire ft. Bruno Mars

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:52:00 +0000

We have mad love for Travis McCoy and his new album Lazarus - his first without his Gym Class Heroes group members.
Lazarus is expected to come out in early June with some awesome talent backing Travis up on some of the tracks. We're talking names like Bruno Mars, Kesha, Colin Munroe, T-Pain, Cee-Lo, the ridiculously amazing Janelle Monae, Estelle and many more.
Below is one of the first singles from this album "Billionaire" featuring the kick-ass Bruno Mars. If you say you can't hear a little MJ in Bruno's voice you're fibbing.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

B.o.B - Nothin' On You ft. Bruno Mars - In Stores today April 27, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

We've been vibing on B.o.B for about a solid month now and we're pumped that his new album: B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray is due out today. This CD should be sick! It features collaborations with artists like Janelle Monae (love this lady), Eminem, Rivers Cuomo from the band Weezer and of course Bruno Mars another young guy with a ton of talent.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

Shatner's Raw Nerve -One of our favorite things on television-

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:15:00 +0000

Shatner interviews Leonard Nimoy on Raw Nerve

Ever wondered what Whoopi Goldberg or Henry Winkler thought about dieing? Ever wondered which interviewer would be so bold as to ask them? William Shatner would. For several reasons Shatner's Raw Nerve, which appeas on the Biography Channel, is probably one of the best celebrity interview series we have ever seen.

The first and main reason is that Shatner is a brilliant interviewer in that he knows how to listen. There isn't a great rush to get through a list of predetermined questions and he has a genuine conversation with his guests.

Shatner has had everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Tony Danza on his show. There have been so many times when we've been frustrated by watching interviews where the host talks more than the person their meant to be interviewing or where the host keeps referring back to their own lives or experiences. This does not happen on Raw Nerve.

You would think that a persona as large as Shatner's would overpower his guests but he is amazing at reducing his own celebrity, making his guests the most important persons in the room. Shatner is smart, probing, almost intrusive, digging up wonderful nuggets of his guests personality. Shatner would have made a wonderful psychiatrist.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

The Kindly Ones Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

We're continuing our work on The Kindly Ones and in a few days we'll be able to share some news with you about the original music we're recording for this movie. Also we'll have some exciting news to share about a new project we've started. Let's just say its our goal to have at least two short films completed in time to submit for the Bahamas International Film Festival this year and we're well on our way to doing just that.

Janelle Monae Tightrope ft. Big Boi from her new album "The ArchAndroid" in stores and online May 18th!

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:57:00 +0000

We've just recently become acquainted with this lady's work. Not only is this song brilliant but her style is so refreshing and unique its hard to look away. Her dancing, which conjures up memories of James Brown, itself is enough to make you keep on watching. Janelle Monae not only delivers boss vocals in this song but search youtube for her songs "Sincerely Jane", "You" or "Many Moons" which is billed as a short film and you will agree that soul is strong with this one.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

Feature on The Kindly Ones in The Tribune 13/01/09

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:52:00 +0000

GREEK mythology, Freudian theory and feminism, these are some of the complex themes a young Bahamian filmmaker is exploring with his newest production, 'The Kindly Ones'.

Inspired by the play 'The Eumenides', the third part of Aeschylus' trilogy of ancient Greek tragedies known as 'The Oresteia', the short film is expected to premiere later this year.

Rupert Missick Jr, known as a playwright of such works as 'Sacred Space' 'Imago Dei' and 'Fallen Trees', said he "fell in love" with 'The Eumenides' after listening to a recording of a lecture on the 'Foundations of Western Thought' delivered by Kenyon College Professor Dr Timothy Shutt.

Dr Shutt spoke in glowing terms about Aeschylus in general and 'The Oresteia' in particular, and singled out the Eumenides as the greatest play of that trilogy.

The play opens with Orestes being chased by the Furies, three deities who avenge the death of persons who are murdered by their relatives, especially their relatives by blood, and more particularly their mothers.

Orestes has murdered his mother Clytemnestra because she killed his father, King Agamemnon.

The Furies track Orestes to Athens by picking up on the scent of his slain mother's blood in the air.

As they surround him, Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, intervenes and brings in eleven Athenians to join her in forming a jury to judge the boy.

Apollo, known as the Greek god of light, music and healing, acts as Orestes' defence lawyer and argues that no one can blame a son for avenging the murder of his dear father.

The Furies act as prosecutors and question what possible reason a child could have for murdering his own mother. They reason that no one can really be sure who their father is but everyone knows who their mother is.

"I was particularly fascinated by what Dr Shutt pointed out was one of the central themes of the play," Mr Missick said.

"What it boils down to is a conflict between two visions of family. On the one hand there are the Furies, ancient goddesses who serve the blood connection or the mother, while Apollo is a newer god who advocates marriage which builds up a wider society as opposed to blood relations."

This debate is also at the heart of Mr Missick's 'The Kindly Ones'.

In the film, three Bahamian women, Moira, Nora and Deci, played by Erin Gay, Tara Woodside and Juanita Kelly respectively, meet for a tea party where a twisted debate about the role and significance of men and women in the family leads to the murder of an unknown man.

"In this way the three women become the Furies from Aeschylus' play," Mr Missick said.

'The Kindly Ones' is Mr Missick's first film and he expects to follow it with another short film based on his one-act play 'Fallen Trees'.

"I would like for both films to premiere this year. I don't expect that I will abandon theatre all together," the playwright said, "but I am finding that I am enjoying the filmmaking process more."

'The Kindly Ones' is a production of The Imagination Workshop, a company he founded two years ago.

"We would like to complete three shorts and possibly a documentary before we tackle a feature, but we'll see," Mr Missick said.

Fallen Trees -STORY IN TODAY'S TRIBUNE-

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:15:00 +0000

FALLEN Trees, the third play staged by local playwright and filmmaker Rupert Missick Jr, will debut at The Hub on December 11 and run for three nights.
The off-beat play centres around five people who are grieving for their dead friends Percy and Nicky. Each character is frustrated over the couple's death which leads them to examine their faith – or lack thereof.
The unconventional, gritty play was inspired by a literary classic and Missick's own experiences in Catholic mass.
"I was inspired by the footnote to Allen Ginsberg's Howl – in it there is a repetition of the word ‘holy’ which reminded me of the imagery and ritual of some parts of the Catholic mass. In the poem Ginsberg declares holy some things that ordinarily persons may see as profane, and to me, human life, or the human spirit is just that, profane and holy. It is holy in spite of the fact that it can tend to be wretched and imperfect," Mr Missick said. The play also examines the difference between hope and faith and which of the two individuals rely on to get them through tough situations, said the 27-year-old writer.

Cynical

"I was looking at both and the usefulness of both from an extremely cynical point of view. I wanted to explore which – hope or faith – a group of people facing the possibility of their own death would rely on.”
The young writer – who wrapped shooting on his first short-film The Kindly Ones in November – has plans to adapt Fallen Trees into film as well.
The play is being produced by Missick's 'The Imagination Workshop' – which he founded along with artistic director Taneka Thompson.
Fallen Trees stars Leah Eneas, Taneka Thompson, Tara 'Tecca' Woodside, Juanita Kelly, Chrystall Bethel and Chester Robards. The one-act play runs for three nights, December 11 to 13 at The Hub, and starts at 8pm.
Ticket orders can be filled out on the order page at www.theimaginationworkshop.net.

Its a Wrap

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:14:00 +0000

We completed the shooting for The Imagination Workshop's first short film The Kindly Ones this past Sunday. As we move The Kindly Ones into post-production, there is a lot of excitement about the music we have prepared for this film. We have an amazing score composed by K Quincy Parker (more on that later) and we're preparing a single as well.
Much love to our cast and crew who did an amazing job on this project.
The workshop is begining pre-production on Fallen Trees but before we put Fallen Trees on video we're going to present it as a one act play on December 11, 12 and 13 at The Hub ( http://bit.ly/16IVB ).
And even still, in the meantime, we're throwing a party that will be throwing another party this Saturday ( http://bit.ly/cdd4r )
Nevertheless, there're still miles to go before we sleep until next time,
Peace and Love
The Cat

Behind the scenes

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:07:00 +0000

Behind the scenes of day one of The Kindly Ones

First Day of Shooting

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:07:00 +0000

We completed the first day of primary photography on The Kindly Ones this past weekend. Initially our efforts were hampered by unpredictable weather but once the rain cleared there was no stopping us. There's still a bit more to go but things are progressing very well. Erin, Tara and Juanita were brilliant as usual. We love working with them. They are three of the most talented and hard working young women you will ever meet. Chester, who plays their "invited guest" was the trooper we knew he would be. He would have made David Blane proud, and he certainly was more interesting.
Our industrious assistant director Taneka buzzed about the entire day, kept the troops inspired and organized things behind the scene. Our favorite perfectionists Matthew and Jason kept things consistent during the shoot.
Dominic, who always does a stellar job provided us with a ton of amazing pictures.
Gabriella's set was amazing and, with a little help from her assistant Paco, it was everything we hoped it would be.
The initial footage from the shoot is gorgeous and that has a lot to do with Craig and his team.
Deborah is the sweetest and most professional makeup artist around and we're so happy she was able to work with us on this project.
We still have many miles to go before we sleep but with the fist half under our belt we can't help but be optimistic and enthusiastic.
The Kindly Ones is not only a unique and fascinating story but it covers themes that no other Bahamian film has thus far.
Everyone worked hard and everyone was amazing but we still have much to do.
Stay tuned for more.

Peace and Love,
The Cat

On Our Way

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

We're two weeks away, give or take a few days, from principal photography on The Kindly Ones and things are working out beautifully. We're extremely proud of our three main actresses, Erin Gay, Tara Woodside and Juanita Kelly.

Erin, Tara and Juanita are talented, dedicated and extraordinary intelligent and we cannot imagine being able to pull this off without them.

Not only do they take direction well but they are obsessed with bring life to their characters. We can't wait to shoot and we can't wait to share their performances with you.

We also revamped the script for Fallen Trees, which we will be shooting next month on the 7^th. I'd like to say we conducted a few cosmetic changes but that wouldn't be completely true. Essentially we gutted it and turned it inside out. What we have is a totally re-imagined film. The story has a healthy dose of the macabre sprinkled with our typically deliciously twisted logic. Like The Kindly Ones, we expect the imagery for Fallen Trees to be shocking, striking and attractive.

There will be much more things to say, see and share after the 17^th. 'Till then...

Peace and Love

The Cat

Transcendental Party

noreply@blogger.com (Cheshire Cat) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:48:00 +0000

That party last night was awfully crazy I wish we taped it!!!

We'd like to thank everyone who came out to The Workshop's party on Friday. Things exceeded our expectations and on many levels it was such a success. We're so proud that the event was as wild as we advertised and grateful that everyone enjoyed themselves. If you missed it don’t worry we'll defiantly do this again. Rachel Whitehouse took some awesome pictures you can see on our facebook fan page http://tiny.cc/PNX2D .

We'd like to thank the amazing people at The Hub, Margot, Jonathan and Rachel. Inga Turnquest for the libations, Samantha and Leah for being our gatekeepers and Travis and everyone else who busted their rumps to make this event a success.

Until next time we wish you...

Peace and love

The Cat