Community has always been key for Horsegirl, the rising Chicago indie outfit whose fuzz-bombed songs started garnering attention when all three members were still in high school. The video for their 2021 single “Billy” captured a grainy house party packed with friends, and the clip for their latest single, “Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty),” is similarly communal, with Horsegirl and their cohort — who play in other local bands like Lifeguard, Friko, Dwaal Troupe, and Post Office Winter — taking over guitarist Penelope Lowenstein’s old elementary school.
Having instructed their friends to come equipped with props and costumes,...
Having instructed their friends to come equipped with props and costumes,...
- 5/17/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago indie rockers Horsegirl channel their indie rock predecessors, and take a bit of music video inspiration from Ok Go, in the new clip for their latest song, “World of Pots and Pans.”
The simple video doesn’t involve elaborate treadmill choreography or anything like that, but still it finds the trio executing an impressive bit of real-time animation. In the clip, Horsegirl add and remove various objects and lyrics-embossed slides to a projector in perfect unison with the crunchy, pepped-up churn of “World of Pots and Pans.”
“It feels...
The simple video doesn’t involve elaborate treadmill choreography or anything like that, but still it finds the trio executing an impressive bit of real-time animation. In the clip, Horsegirl add and remove various objects and lyrics-embossed slides to a projector in perfect unison with the crunchy, pepped-up churn of “World of Pots and Pans.”
“It feels...
- 4/5/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Budding Chicago indie rock outfit Horsegirl have released a new song, “Anti-Glory,” which will appear on their upcoming debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, set to arrive June 3 via Matador.
“Anti-Glory” balances its energetic core with a hypnotic buzz of guitars. Even the lead and backing vocals from co-singer/guitarists Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein have a dense, droning quality to them, but all of that’s broken up with a striking chorus featuring the simple chant, “Dance, dance, dance, dance/With me.” The “Anti-Glory” music video was directed by Erin Vassilopoulos.
“Anti-Glory” balances its energetic core with a hypnotic buzz of guitars. Even the lead and backing vocals from co-singer/guitarists Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein have a dense, droning quality to them, but all of that’s broken up with a striking chorus featuring the simple chant, “Dance, dance, dance, dance/With me.” The “Anti-Glory” music video was directed by Erin Vassilopoulos.
- 3/9/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Sopranos star Michael Imperioli’s art-rock trio Zopa are back with a new song, “Red Sky.” The track marks the group’s first bit of new music since they dropped their debut album, La Dolce Vita, last year.
“Red Sky” feels like a quintessential NYC track, with a tight mix of jangle and drone, all of which builds to a cathartic chorus. The song arrives with a music video, directed by Victoria Imperioli and Lisa Rinzler, that sticks with the NYC theme, following two characters whose lives are changed when...
“Red Sky” feels like a quintessential NYC track, with a tight mix of jangle and drone, all of which builds to a cathartic chorus. The song arrives with a music video, directed by Victoria Imperioli and Lisa Rinzler, that sticks with the NYC theme, following two characters whose lives are changed when...
- 2/16/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
The titular character in “Billy,” the new track from budding Chicago indie rock trio Horsegirl, cuts a familiar figure. He wanders and ponders through life, an existence that bassist-vocalist Nora Cheng renders in shades of mundane saturated with just the right amount of strange.
“Billy says he’s got a stiff rate in the nick of time,” Cheng sings over an instrumental churn that’s both beatific and bombed out (indie rock vet John Agnello produced the track). “He washes off his robes in preparation to be crucified/Billy recounts...
“Billy says he’s got a stiff rate in the nick of time,” Cheng sings over an instrumental churn that’s both beatific and bombed out (indie rock vet John Agnello produced the track). “He washes off his robes in preparation to be crucified/Billy recounts...
- 11/18/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
[[tmz:video id="0_en6um5l2"]] Nobody from the new "Gotti" flick is gonna be sleeping with the fishes, in real life at least, according to the film's director, Kevin Connolly. There was a rumor going around that the mob put a hit on the production, which stars John Travolta as powerful Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Remember, Lionsgate sold the movie back to the production company ... just days before its release date. When we got Connolly leaving Cleo in WeHo Thursday night,...
- 12/15/2017
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
John Travolta’s new movie Gotti, which was pulled earlier this week from its scheduled Dec. 15 release, is now caught up in a mystery about what exactly is happening with the long-in-development biopic, in which the actor stars as the titular mobster John Gotti.
Lionsgate Premiere, the studio's label that specializes in releases that debut with limited theatrical runs as they become simultaneously available on VOD, dropped the film from its schedule just 10 days before it was set to open. That immediately triggered speculation online that the distributor had lost faith in the film. But Keya Morgan, an executive...
Lionsgate Premiere, the studio's label that specializes in releases that debut with limited theatrical runs as they become simultaneously available on VOD, dropped the film from its schedule just 10 days before it was set to open. That immediately triggered speculation online that the distributor had lost faith in the film. But Keya Morgan, an executive...
- 12/7/2017
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Travolta is calling out the nature of the reports that his John Gotti biopic, in which he plays the notorious mobster, will no longer be released just 10 days before it was set to come out on Dec. 15.
Movie studio Lionsgate sold the film Gotti back to the production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis, according to multiple reports on Tuesday, thus scrapping its planned release later this month. On Wednesday, Travolta called the reports that his movie was abruptly pulled "grossly wrong."
“Unfortunately, the reports were speculation bordering on fake news,” Travolta tells Deadline. “Lionsgate was planning on a minimal release, and I did an investigation into people who might have the interest and financial wherewithal to better release it. [Producer] Ed [Walson] is a fan of mine and of the Gotti story and really wanted to see the movie. I invited his group, they saw it and bought it. That is the simple explanation for this."
The 63-year-old actor stresses...
Movie studio Lionsgate sold the film Gotti back to the production company Emmett/Furla/Oasis, according to multiple reports on Tuesday, thus scrapping its planned release later this month. On Wednesday, Travolta called the reports that his movie was abruptly pulled "grossly wrong."
“Unfortunately, the reports were speculation bordering on fake news,” Travolta tells Deadline. “Lionsgate was planning on a minimal release, and I did an investigation into people who might have the interest and financial wherewithal to better release it. [Producer] Ed [Walson] is a fan of mine and of the Gotti story and really wanted to see the movie. I invited his group, they saw it and bought it. That is the simple explanation for this."
The 63-year-old actor stresses...
- 12/6/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Leave Gotti, take the cannoli. 10 days before its intended domestic release, the mobster biopic starring John Travolta has been dropped by Lionsgate. The film follows John Gotti (Travolta), the infamous head of the Gambino crime family, as he rises to notoriety in the late 1980s and brings his son into a life of crime. The studio has sold the film back […]
The post Lionsgate Drops ‘Gotti’ Biopic Starring John Travolta 10 Days Before Release appeared first on /Film.
The post Lionsgate Drops ‘Gotti’ Biopic Starring John Travolta 10 Days Before Release appeared first on /Film.
- 12/6/2017
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
If you were planning to hit the multiplex and check out John Travolta playing notorious New York mob boss John Gotti in the about-to-be-released biopic “Gotti”… make other plans. The film, in which Travolta co-stars with wife Kelly Preston as Victoria Gotti, was reportedly dropped by its studio less than two weeks before its Dec. 15 release […]...
- 12/6/2017
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Exclusive: John Travolta told Deadline he is upset that fast-spreading news reports twisted the truth as Lionsgate pulled his upcoming film Gotti off its release calendar 10 days before its bow. He worried the reports marginalized what he considers one of his better performances as the iconic Gambino crime family head John Gotti in the Kevin Connolly-directed film. Given how the subject matter lends itself to phrases from mob movies, it's easy to see how the blogosphere…...
- 12/6/2017
- Deadline
After being dropped by distributor Lionsgate just ten days before its set release, the seemingly ill-fated John Travolta-starring John Gotti biopic might get a new lease on life, at least if its producers’ big gamble pays off. A new report from Deadline holds that the film left Lionsgate because of release plan squabbles — it was set to be released by Lionsgate Premiere (which specializes in specialty and limited releases), and its producers were eager to take it to a wide release. The outlet reports that “there was a buy-back clause in the distribution agreement, so the producers exercised it. It was never a matter of Lionsgate dumping the film.”
Still, that’s a hell of a last minute change to make, especially when the film’s release date and plan have been locked for months now. Deadline adds that an outside investor has back the film “so that it...
Still, that’s a hell of a last minute change to make, especially when the film’s release date and plan have been locked for months now. Deadline adds that an outside investor has back the film “so that it...
- 12/6/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Simon Brew Dec 7, 2017
Gotti, starring John Travolta, has just been sold back to its producers...
Update:
See related Jessica Jones’ Kilgrave: Marvel’s creepiest villain yet Iron Fist season 2: Alice Eve joins the cast Luke Cage season 2 wraps Jessica Jones is the most popular Marvel show on Netflix
John Travolta has given an update on this story to Deadline, where he's pushed back against stories of the film's sudden removal from Lionsgate's schedule. As it turns out, Travolta wasn't happy with the limited release that Lionsgate was planning for the movie. The film's producers felt the same, and activated a buy-back clause in the original deal. The plan is now to give the movie a much wider release in the new year than it otherwise would have had. A new release date will be announced soon.
From yesterday
A long-planned new biopic of New York mob boss John Gotti...
Gotti, starring John Travolta, has just been sold back to its producers...
Update:
See related Jessica Jones’ Kilgrave: Marvel’s creepiest villain yet Iron Fist season 2: Alice Eve joins the cast Luke Cage season 2 wraps Jessica Jones is the most popular Marvel show on Netflix
John Travolta has given an update on this story to Deadline, where he's pushed back against stories of the film's sudden removal from Lionsgate's schedule. As it turns out, Travolta wasn't happy with the limited release that Lionsgate was planning for the movie. The film's producers felt the same, and activated a buy-back clause in the original deal. The plan is now to give the movie a much wider release in the new year than it otherwise would have had. A new release date will be announced soon.
From yesterday
A long-planned new biopic of New York mob boss John Gotti...
- 12/6/2017
- Den of Geek
Lionsgate is dropping John Travolta's upcoming movie -- a John Gotti biopic -- just 10 days before it's scheduled release date. The studio did not give any explanation for selling "Gotti" back to the production company in the 11th hour. The Kevin Connolly directed flick was set to come out on Dec. 15. It also co-starred Travolta's real-life wife Kelly Preston. It's a bizarre move for a major studio to pull a movie so close to...
- 12/6/2017
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Embodying every cliché of the working class New York City loudmouth is long-time local legend Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, an organization of do-gooders who formed in 1977 in a McDonalds on Fordham Road in the Bronx. His new documentary Vigilante: The Incredible True Story of Curits Sliwa and the Guardian Angels, directed by David Wexler, is an entertaining yet one-sided look at the organization told mostly through an extended interview with Sliwa and archival footage of New York in the Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani eras. The lattermost mayor would finally give credit to the Guardian Angels while Koch and the NYPD fought against the collective, which initially was founded as a neighborhood watch. Only later as crack rock hit the poorest neighborhoods of color would the Angels become more proactive, robbing crack dealers, throwing the product in the sewer, and giving the cash proceeds to soup kitchens.
- 11/25/2017
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Many social media users have cited the 19-season run of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” as a reminder that sex crimes have long pre-dated Harvey Weinstein. To the surprise of no one, the disgraced former studio head — whose dozens of accusers recently inspired countless others to speak out against powerful men they’ve encountered in the workplace — will inspire a 2018 episode of the Dick Wolf-created NBC procedural.
The show’s executive producer, Michael Chernuchin, told Entertainment Weekly that “we are hitting Harvey Weinstein head-on” with a fictionalized account of predators who work in the airline industry.
While readying a previously-planned script about “airline pilots and what a boys club that is,” Chernuchin said he and his writers realized, “‘Wow, this is exactly what the actresses go through in Hollywood. It’s the same environment.’ So we got all of our Harvey stuff out with airline pilots.”
‘Law & Order’ Reboot Won’t Be Happening,...
The show’s executive producer, Michael Chernuchin, told Entertainment Weekly that “we are hitting Harvey Weinstein head-on” with a fictionalized account of predators who work in the airline industry.
While readying a previously-planned script about “airline pilots and what a boys club that is,” Chernuchin said he and his writers realized, “‘Wow, this is exactly what the actresses go through in Hollywood. It’s the same environment.’ So we got all of our Harvey stuff out with airline pilots.”
‘Law & Order’ Reboot Won’t Be Happening,...
- 11/22/2017
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Murder Made Me Famous looks at The Teflon Don, John Gotti, and head of the Gambino crime family who got away with murder and much more for decades before the FBI brought him to justice. Gotti was born in 1940 and grew up poverty with him and his brothers turning to crime early in life. He quickly moved up through the ranks of the organization and when he saw an opportunity to take over the crime family he had the existing boss, Paul Castellano, murdered. Gotti then took over as boss of the Gambino crime family and made fortunes in drug...read more...
- 11/10/2017
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
Discover the man who showed the world who’s boss in a new trailer and teaser poster from director Kevin Connolly’s Gotti.
Starring John Travolta as infamous crime boss John Gotti, the upcoming true story about the most notorious gangster of our generation opens in select theaters & on demand December 15.
Gotti follows infamous crime boss John Gotti’s (John Travolta) rise to become the “Teflon Don” of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Spencer Lofranco), Gotti examines Gotti’s tumultuous life as he and his wife (Kelly Preston) attempt to hold the family together amongst tragedy and multiple prison sentences. Gotti is a crime drama directed by Kevin Connolly and written by Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs.
The film will be released by Lionsgate Premiere in theaters and on demand on December 15, 2017.
R For strong violence and...
Starring John Travolta as infamous crime boss John Gotti, the upcoming true story about the most notorious gangster of our generation opens in select theaters & on demand December 15.
Gotti follows infamous crime boss John Gotti’s (John Travolta) rise to become the “Teflon Don” of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Spencer Lofranco), Gotti examines Gotti’s tumultuous life as he and his wife (Kelly Preston) attempt to hold the family together amongst tragedy and multiple prison sentences. Gotti is a crime drama directed by Kevin Connolly and written by Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs.
The film will be released by Lionsgate Premiere in theaters and on demand on December 15, 2017.
R For strong violence and...
- 9/27/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Tony Sokol Sep 27, 2017
John Travolta stars in Gotti, for which a new trailer has just been released
“Let me tell you, New York City is the greatest city in the world. I was a kid in these streets and I made it the top,” John Travolta says as John Gotti in the trailer for the upcoming biopic Gotti. If anyone could claim “My Way” as a theme song it was the Dapper Don of the Gambino Crime Family.
Gotti “made his bones doing a piece of work for Don Carlo Gambino,” the trailer tells us. From that day on, the Teflon Don was a man on the rise. Gotti has a similar look to Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. The film will tell Gotti’s story over three decades, but will largely focus on the years after he was made boss by killing the top guy and then assuming his place.
John Travolta stars in Gotti, for which a new trailer has just been released
“Let me tell you, New York City is the greatest city in the world. I was a kid in these streets and I made it the top,” John Travolta says as John Gotti in the trailer for the upcoming biopic Gotti. If anyone could claim “My Way” as a theme song it was the Dapper Don of the Gambino Crime Family.
Gotti “made his bones doing a piece of work for Don Carlo Gambino,” the trailer tells us. From that day on, the Teflon Don was a man on the rise. Gotti has a similar look to Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. The film will tell Gotti’s story over three decades, but will largely focus on the years after he was made boss by killing the top guy and then assuming his place.
- 9/26/2017
- Den of Geek
"I will build something that nobody can destroy." Lionsgate has released the first official trailer for a new crime thriller titled Gotti, spanning three decades telling the story of legendary crime boss John Gotti Sr., as played by John Travolta. The story focuses on Gotti's rise to power in New York City, as well as his wife Victoria Gotti, played by Kelly Preston, along with his son John Gotti Jr., played by Spencer Lofranco. The full cast includes Stacy Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Megan Leonard, Lydia Hull, William DeMeo, Tyler Jon Olson, Leo Rossi, and Ella Bleu Travolta. The pitch for this makes it seem like it wants to be the next Godfather, but the footage does not live up to that comparison. Travolta actually looks good in the role, but the rest of it doesn't seem that impressive to me, yet another typical mob crime biopic. Here's the...
- 9/26/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
John Travolta hasn't portrayed a lof of real people. Back in the '90s, he kind of played Bill Clinton in Primary Colors and had the role of non-famous actual lawyer Jan Schlichtmann in A Civil Action. Then last year he embodied the part of famous O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro on television and earned an Emmy nomination for the performance. Now he's about to grace the big screen in another true story as notorious mobster John Gotti Sr. The first trailer has arrived for the biopic, titled Gotti, care of Good Morning America. Travolta fits the part of the titular Gambino family boss well, through the decades. We've seen a lot of this sort of real-life mafia movie, from Goodfellas to Black Mass, and we've seen Travolta...
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- 9/26/2017
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
John Travolta takes on the role of crime boss John Gotti in the upcoming film Gotti. It looks like he gives an incredible performance in the movie. It's good to see the actor taking on good projects again. This is probably one of the best movie roles he's taken on in a long time. This looks like it could be a great film and I'll definitely be checking it out.
Gotti follows infamous crime boss John Gotti’s (Travolta) rise to become the “Teflon Don” of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Spencer Lofranco), Gotti examines Gotti’s tumultuous life as he and his wife (Kelly Preston) attempt to hold the family together amongst tragedy and multiple prison sentences.
Travolta is also joined in the film by Pruitt Taylor Vince (Monster, Heroes Reborn), Stacy Keach (American History X,...
Gotti follows infamous crime boss John Gotti’s (Travolta) rise to become the “Teflon Don” of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Spencer Lofranco), Gotti examines Gotti’s tumultuous life as he and his wife (Kelly Preston) attempt to hold the family together amongst tragedy and multiple prison sentences.
Travolta is also joined in the film by Pruitt Taylor Vince (Monster, Heroes Reborn), Stacy Keach (American History X,...
- 9/26/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
John Travolta has stepped into his latest real-life role onscreen.
The first trailer at the crime drama Gotti debuted Tuesday on Good Morning America, offering the first main look at the titular John Gotti (Travolta) and his family.
The film, directed by Kevin Connolly, focuses on Gotti, his son and their involvement with the Gambino crime family.
The trailer follows Gotti as he praises New York and gets deeper into mob life and all that it entails.
Gotti will hit theaters nationwide Dec. 15, 2017.
...
The first trailer at the crime drama Gotti debuted Tuesday on Good Morning America, offering the first main look at the titular John Gotti (Travolta) and his family.
The film, directed by Kevin Connolly, focuses on Gotti, his son and their involvement with the Gambino crime family.
The trailer follows Gotti as he praises New York and gets deeper into mob life and all that it entails.
Gotti will hit theaters nationwide Dec. 15, 2017.
...
- 9/26/2017
- by Courtney Idasetima
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
So another day, another rise-and-fall biopic about a crime boss. This one follows famous mob boss John Gotti, played by a perpetually scowling John Travolta. And it looks...okay. The acting seems solid, it looks like a movie, and even has some stylish shots. But ultimately, is that enough to bring it above the countless other films of its ilk? Anyway, here's the official synopsis: Gotti follows infamous... Read More...
- 9/26/2017
- by Damion Damaske
- JoBlo.com
“This life of ours is a wonderful life — if you can get away with it.” So says John Travolta as infamous crime boss John Gotti in the new film about his tumultuous life. Gotti follows the mobster from humble beginnings on the the streets of New York City through his rise to become the "Teflon Don" of the Gambino crime family. Watch the trailer above. Spanning three decades and recounted by his son John Jr. (Spencer Lofranco), the R-rated crime thriller examines Gotti's…...
- 9/26/2017
- Deadline
John Travolta's trademark smile and charisma go a long way to help him transform into the late John Gotti, nicknamed Teflon Don, for upcoming flick Gotti.
The film, due out in December, will chronicle the mafia kingpin's rise to power in New York City over the course of three decades. In a new trailer released Tuesday, Travolta-as-Gotti exudes confidence as he intones over flashing scenes of the city, "New York is the greatest city in the world – my city."
"I was a kid in these streets, and I made it to the top,...
The film, due out in December, will chronicle the mafia kingpin's rise to power in New York City over the course of three decades. In a new trailer released Tuesday, Travolta-as-Gotti exudes confidence as he intones over flashing scenes of the city, "New York is the greatest city in the world – my city."
"I was a kid in these streets, and I made it to the top,...
- 9/26/2017
- Rollingstone.com
John Travolta hasn't portrayed a lof of real people. Back in the '90s, he kind of played Bill Clinton in Primary Colors and had the role of non-famous actual lawyer Jan Schlichtmann in A Civil Action. Then last year he embodied the part of famous O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro on television and earned an Emmy nomination for the performance. Now he's about to grace the big screen in another true story as notorious mobster John Gotti Sr. The first trailer...
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- 9/26/2017
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
The long-gestating look at notorious gangster John Gotti is finally here with John Travolta taking on the titular role of the dapper crime boss in “Gotti”. The actor’s real-life wife Kelly Preston steps into the role of Gotti’s wife, Victoria. Transforming into the well-dressed mob boss, Travolta is ready to build an empire in the […]...
- 9/26/2017
- by Rachel West
- ET Canada
The most memorable images of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán paint him as an almost cartoonish figure: a stout, mustachioed man disappearing down a hole underneath the shower in his jail cell like a mole; a dirt-smeared fugitive being manhandled by military police as he's marched into prison. But the cartel kingpin who had dominated the drug trafficking industry for the past two-and-a-half decades was a cunning, ruthless criminal, one who held positions in most wanted lists from the Chicago Crime Commission to Interpol. His submarines, airplanes and vast network of...
- 4/25/2017
- Rollingstone.com
With the success of series like Narcos which features the story of the infamous Medellin drug cartem ran by Pablo Escobar, I knew it was a matter of time before the story of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera aka "El Chapo" was picked up by a studio or network.
According to Variety Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to the book Hunting El Chapo: The Thrilling Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord. The book is written by Cole Merrell and Douglas Century At the same time Sony Pictures is also in talks with Michael Bay, who is currently in post-production on Transformers: The Last Knight, to either direct or produce the film.
Related: Transformers: The Last Knight - Trailer #2 Drops
Here is a summery of the book which is listed on Amazon:
A blend of Manhunt, Killing Pablo, and Zero Dark Thirty,...
According to Variety Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to the book Hunting El Chapo: The Thrilling Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord. The book is written by Cole Merrell and Douglas Century At the same time Sony Pictures is also in talks with Michael Bay, who is currently in post-production on Transformers: The Last Knight, to either direct or produce the film.
Related: Transformers: The Last Knight - Trailer #2 Drops
Here is a summery of the book which is listed on Amazon:
A blend of Manhunt, Killing Pablo, and Zero Dark Thirty,...
- 3/31/2017
- by Emmanuel Gomez
- LRMonline.com
John Gotti’s grandson, who shares his name, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to selling oxycodone pills in New York City.
The 23-year-old has been in custody since his second arrest in August (at his grandfather’s former home) and was unable to make his $2 million bail, according to ABC 7 NY.
His attorney said Gotti will likely be out of prison in about four years, ABC reports.
Gotti expressed remorse for his actions in a letter to the judge, according to Fox News, which also reported that prosecutors said undercover officers bought more...
The 23-year-old has been in custody since his second arrest in August (at his grandfather’s former home) and was unable to make his $2 million bail, according to ABC 7 NY.
His attorney said Gotti will likely be out of prison in about four years, ABC reports.
Gotti expressed remorse for his actions in a letter to the judge, according to Fox News, which also reported that prosecutors said undercover officers bought more...
- 3/3/2017
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
No socks, no problem for the president-elect.
At a New Year’s Eve bash at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday, Donald Trump shared the stage with a convicted felon who goes by the nickname “Joey No Socks,” a video obtained by the Palm Beach Daily News reveals.
In the clip, Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque stands by Trump’s side loudly cheering on the president-elect as he lists off his campaign promises before hundreds of guests.
“The taxes are coming down, regulations are coming off, we’re going to get rid of Obamacare,” Trump says as Cinque grins and pumps his fists.
At a New Year’s Eve bash at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday, Donald Trump shared the stage with a convicted felon who goes by the nickname “Joey No Socks,” a video obtained by the Palm Beach Daily News reveals.
In the clip, Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque stands by Trump’s side loudly cheering on the president-elect as he lists off his campaign promises before hundreds of guests.
“The taxes are coming down, regulations are coming off, we’re going to get rid of Obamacare,” Trump says as Cinque grins and pumps his fists.
- 1/4/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
John Travolta used to be an A-list actor with an ongoing string of hits, but he hasn’t headlined a major Hollywood production since 2010 action film From Paris with Love barely broke even at the domestic box office. Ever since, Travolta has received steady work from lower-profile outings that typically receive limited, if any, theatrical release before debuting on video-on-demand. Already this year, the Oscar-nominated star of classics like Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction has appeared in action thriller I Am Wrath and Western In a Valley of Violence, alongside Ethan Hawke. Now, he leads his third 2016 release with Life on the Line.
The film centers on a team of linemen, the workers responsible for repairing power lines and maintaining the electrical grid. Travolta stars as Beau, the grizzled veteran of the group and uncle to orphaned niece Bailey (Kate Bosworth), who finds herself at a romantic crossroads with...
The film centers on a team of linemen, the workers responsible for repairing power lines and maintaining the electrical grid. Travolta stars as Beau, the grizzled veteran of the group and uncle to orphaned niece Bailey (Kate Bosworth), who finds herself at a romantic crossroads with...
- 11/18/2016
- by Robert Yaniz Jr.
- We Got This Covered
Get set for fun! Hollywood Studios’ Steven Saxton (“2 Guns,” “Lone Survivor”) joins “The Life and Dead of John Gotti” as the film’s Executive Producer. The new crime drama stars John Travolta, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Kelly Preston, and Stacy Keach. “The Life and Dead of John Gotti” follows the life of legendary crime boss John Gotti and his sons, and was originally titled “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father.” You might recognize Saxton’s name for his list of impressive movie credits, such as “Precious Cargo,” “Extraction,” and “Marauders.” “The Life and Dead of John Gotti” will be directed by Kevin Connolly and written by Leo Rossi. The new movie [ Read More ]
The post Hollywood Studios’ Steven Saxton Joins The Life and Death of John Gotti appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Hollywood Studios’ Steven Saxton Joins The Life and Death of John Gotti appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/28/2016
- by Rudie Obias
- ShockYa
John Travolta endured a parent's worst nightmare, but was able to come out the other side thanks in part to someone he calls a "beautiful kind of glue." Nearly eight years after the untimely passing of Jett Travolta, the actor's oldest child who died in the Bahamas after suffering a seizure at 16, the Life and Death of John Gotti star reflected candidly on the tragedy after nearly a decade. "We certainly have bonded together," the actor said during an interview for Good Morning America. "Certainly having little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to rebond after a tremendous loss." Travolta and his longtime wife, actress Kelly Preston,...
- 9/26/2016
- E! Online
Federal agents raided the Old Westbury, New York, home of Victoria Gotti, the daughter of late mob boss John Gotti, Wednesday, according to reports. The feds also raided an auto-parts store owned by Victoria's ex-husband Carmine Agnello, which is now run by their three sons. Agnello is in jail pending trial on racketeering charges. According to reports, the agents were executing a search warrant from the Brooklyn Us Attorney's Office. The reasons for the raid weren't publicly disclosed, but according to the New York Daily News a federal prosecutor in the tax fraud section is overseeing the investigation. Victoria's multi-million dollar mansion features a pool with waterfalls, a four-car garage, a...
- 9/15/2016
- E! Online
As a young real estate developer in Atlantic City, Donald Trump dealt with people who had ties to organized crime, according to a new Wall Street Journal examination of his career. The Journal reports that although Trump knew a business partner in Atlantic City had connections to "unsavory" people and although an FBI agent advised him in a sit-down that there were easier ways to invest, Trump nevertheless went ahead with plans to break ground in Atlantic City. He would ultimately go on to own four casinos there. People Trump dealt with as a real estate developer in New York...
- 9/1/2016
- by Tierney McAfee, @tierneymcafee
- PEOPLE.com
Emmet/Furla/Oasis and director Kevin Connolly have started production on The Life And Death Of John Gotti, and found some actors to play the literal and figurative family around John Travolta’s John Gotti, with Kelly Preston playing his wife, Victoria. Stacy Keach is playing Neil Dellacroce, the famed underboss for the Gambino family who mentored Gotti; Emmy winner Pruitt Taylor Vince has been set as Gotti enforcer Angelo Ruggeiro; Unbroken’s Spencer Lofranco plays John…...
- 7/27/2016
- Deadline
I was 16, coming home on the subway from a party in Manhattan. It was 2 or so in the morning, and I was on the A train. Regardless of what romantic notion you may have of the A train because of Duke Ellington’s immortal song “Take the A Train,” that train is the last place you want to be at 2 in the morning.
What took my situation from bad-to-worse, the A train is (or was, this was 30 plus years ago) a local at that time in the morning. For those of you who deprived of the sheer delight – or utter dread – of an NYC subway ride, a local train stops at all stations on the line.
No matter where I boarded, I was going to the end of the line.
The “end of the line” on the A train on two occasions was not just my destination, but nearly a bad New York Post headline. One night while waiting for the A train I was stabbed during an attempted mugging. Another time while trying to defend a young white girl some thug put a gun to my forehead, pulled the trigger, but his gun jammed.
For asking him to be cool, I almost get shot in the head.
Take the A train? No. The Duke, a musical genius? Yes. Giver of great advice? No.
On this particular early morning, I was sitting alone with my feet up on another seat. My feet were up for a couple of reasons; the first was so I could look hard. Hard in a “do not mess with me because I’m hard and may have a weapon on me because I’m hard” kind of way.
The second reason my feet were placed on the seat next to mine was to discourage people from sitting there. Before the Rudy Giuliani era in New York, the subway was a Mecca for the homeless, and you don’t want a New York City homeless person sitting next to you.
After all these years I’m now a bleeding heart liberal, and I feel for those less fortunate than I. These days’ homeless people sadden me.
That’s these days.
At 16 what I felt for the homeless was an evident scorn. I may have felt that way because my mother, sister and I were truly just a grandmother and a paycheck away from being homeless ourselves. That perhaps hardened my heart towards homeless people. Maybe I didn’t want to be reminded that there for the grace of God go I… yada, yadda, yadda…bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, yadda, yadda and yadda.
I’m not that deep now, and I certainly was not that deep at 16.
The real reason I did not want a homeless person sitting next to me is that they stank.
You have not smelled stank until you smell an NYC homeless person. The smell is beyond horrible. Somehow NYC homeless people all manage to stink the same. The smell is indescribably bad to the point you’d almost rather die than get even a small whiff of it.
So, there I was, 16 years old at 2 in the morning riding the A train trying my best to look hard so a smelly homeless person would not sit next to me and force me to deal with my mortality.
At the Howard Beach stop a black man in his mid 20s boards the train. He made a beeline right to me even though there were plenty of empty seats. “Can I sit here?” He asked very nicely. I moved my feet so he could sit down. Frankly I was glad he asked because the train was waiting at the Howard Beach stop for some reason or another and since we were the only two black people on the train at that point I welcomed the company.
Howard Beach was known as hardcore crazy white boy territory during the time I grew up. In 1986 a young black man was beaten to death by a mob of white boys in a racially motivated attack. There have been incidents before and since. Black people knew not to mess with those crazy white boys in Howard Beach and not just because of racist attitudes there.
Howard Beach was also the home of John Gotti, the then-head of the Gambino crime family. I don’t like fish, so the idea of sleeping with them was not one that appealed to me. This was a place where African Americans had better fear to tread. I did indeed welcome this guy’s company because clearly we were on enemy ground.
Brandon was his name, and we clicked immediately. That may have been because we were both keenly aware that any minute a gang of crazy white boys could board the train and lynch us both. Our getting along so fast, I’m sure, was due to the fact we wanted to present a united front. Both hoping that would give the illusion we were two badass motherfuckers and any lynch mob should think twice about harassing us, strength in numbers and all that.
We sat at Howard Beach for another quarter hour when the doors finally closed and we could relax a little. The next stop was Broad Channel. Broad Channel was not nearly as bad as Howard Beach – it was more akin to crazy white boys lite, but still crazy white boys.
I realize I’m throwing “crazy white boys” around a lot. Back when I was 16 “crazy white boys” were my mindset and referring to white people in an all-white neighborhood where black people feared to tread was how I saw things.
After Broad Channel was the beginning of the hood, so Brandon and I needed just to chill (chill means just to be calm, but you knew that from reruns of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, didn’t you?) until the perceived danger was past. Broad Channel came and went as did our gangster conversation.
Brandon asked where I was getting off, and I told him. Beach 60th Street. “You want to come hang at my house?” Brandon inquired. That made me a bit uncomfortable. The Howard Beach threat over, I now returned to my general suspicions of those not from my hood.
“I’ve got stuff I’ve got to do at home,” I said. Yeah, I had to get into my bed and give the impression that I was home all night before my mother got in from working the midnight to 8 in the morning shift at the nursing home this after she had the 3 in the afternoon to 11 at another job. She would be in no mood to lecture me or even hit me, after her 16 plus hour day she would go straight to the .38 and shoot me.
I couldn’t come out and say to Brandon “my mommy would kill me if I’m not home” that did not fit my hard-core persona.
“Come on. We can have some real fun.” Brandon said, his hand now on my leg. That hand was slowly but steadily creeping up. He seemed to be talking in a much softer voice and was smiling in a strange way.
Where had I seen that kind of smile before? Shit, I know where! I’ve seen it on me whenever I happened to glance in a mirror while alone in my room with some Vaseline and a Penthouse magazine.
Now I get it!
Brandon was a faggot and he wanted to ravish my young sexiness. Yeah, I said the ‘F’ word, I was 16, remember? Unfortunately, that was my mindset then.
Brandon still had his hand on my leg, and it was still creeping up. “What the fuck are you doing?” I said, trying to sound real hard. I wanted to look thuggish, but I was scared, so my voice rose and I sounded like I girl.
Not just any girl. Shirley Temple. So, imagine Shirley Temple saying “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Come on; it’s cool.” He responded even more softly than before. “Get your motherfucking hands off me, faggot!” screamed Shirley Temple. I was hoping, this time, he could see I was pissed and back off.
Nope. He squeezed my crouch. I guess he was into hardcore black boys from the hood with Shirley Temple voices. Then again, who isn’t?
I leaned back as far as I could on the seat and kicked him squarely in the chest. I wanted to kick him in his face but felt at the last moment if I leaned back any further I would have fallen off my seat. I hit him so hard he fell off his seat landed on the floor his head slamming against the subway floor. I may have sounded like Shirley Temple, but I kicked like Bruce Lee.
“Motherfucker, I’m not a goddamn faggot!” I shrieked at the top of my Shirley Temple lungs while looking to land my next kick right between his good ship lollipops. Brandon sat up his hands in front of him making a “no more” gesture. He looked up at me and said “Jesus, man what is your problem?”
It was with that I realized most of what I thought was going on, wasn’t. His hand was on my leg, but it wasn’t slowly but steadily creeping up. He did not grab my crouch nor had his voiced gotten softer. I had turned an innocent most likely accidental touch into a full on man rape in my mind.
So absorbed in my own horribly tainted view of the world I had imagined this was what was on his mind. To make matters as worse as they could be I then kicked away any guilt I felt at being wrong by responding; “Get the fuck away me.”
That was over 30 years ago. Today I would never use the ‘F’ word to describe a gay person. I hate to use the cliché some of my best friends are gay, but… some of my best friends are gay. My attitude towards gay people changed when I changed high schools in the 11th grade. My new school, the High School of Art & Design, had a diverse student body and being gay there was not a big deal at all. But being stupid was.
Stupid I was when I said something so gross my first week at Art & Design it could have tainted my entire time there. It was a gay guy named Frank who saved my ass by laughing at an insult giving the impression to everybody present I was making a joke. I wasn’t and Frank knew I was wasn’t. He whispered “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Michael, grow up.”
Thank god, I did.
After meeting and getting to know many gay people in my new school it dawned on me that they were no different than I was. They just happened to like sex with the same gender. Hell, in high school outside my loving relationship with the girls of Penthouse I was not having any sex at all, so they were one up on me.
Accepting gay people, having grown up in the severe anti-gay atmosphere of a black housing project was not as hard as you would imagine for me. My mother had a “no prejudice” rule in our home. Remarkable when you know just how dreadfully bad her encounters were with racists growing up.
Changing my position on gay people wasn’t hard, but it was still a huge deal for me because of my environment. It represented the first of many sea changes for me in my existence.
When I was not in school, I was still a resident of Edgemere projects in Far Rockaway Queens, which at the time was well on its way to being one of the worst projects in New York.
I was living a double life, and I intended to keep it that way. There was no way in Hell I would have ever acknowledged that I no longer found gay people repulsive to anyone in Edgemere.
Oh no, that would certainly not do. Why not stand up for my beliefs?
In the African American community where I grew up, there was little love for individuals who accept gay people. I may as well have stood up for and proudly proclaimed the Klan as the greatest group since The Temptations. Repealing my position on gay people would have gotten me branded as such, my ass kicked or worse in Edgemere.
At 16, noble I was not. No longer being able to participate in any reindeer games would have had a profound effect on me. It did not occur to me till much later that may have been a good thing.
I don’t want to give the impression that all black people I grew up with condemned the gay lifestyle, not the case at all. Many saw gay people as having every right as anyone else. But even today unfortunately among some in the African American community I’m in the minority, at odds with those, still light years if not eons away from embracing gay people at least in public.
“I gotta find this guy.”
Dwayne McDuffie said as he and I searched the corridors of a New York City comics convention in 1992. We were looking for Ivan Velez Jr., the remarkable writer of Tales of the Closet. The book was a look at the high school lives of gay and lesbian students and what they experienced.
Exceptionally written and drawn with a simple yet effective style the book instantly drew me back to A&D and thoughts of Frank and his crew. Ivan is a man of little words outside of what he puts on the page. He’s a big, gentle, quiet soul who lets his work do the talking for him. However, when he feels he has something to say few can match his oratory abilities, so it’s best not to engage him on the wrong side of an issue.
I thought about Frank, Ivan, the creators and fans of Prism Comics and my brother from another mother Andy Mangels when I heard the news of the Orlando massacre. I thought about how it must feel just to want to love who you want and be slaughtered for it.
I thought about how stupid I was at 16 and wondered how on earth some who claim to love their God can commit cold blooded murder on his behalf. I wonder how Donald Trump could brag about predicting another attack then hours later issue a more humane statement and not express his outrage or even mention the Lgbt community then blatantly lie about the murderer being born in Afghanistan.
He wasn’t. He was born in the good old USA.
So was I and as far as I know most of the people at the Pulse nightclub, that night was born here also.
This was an attack on a lifestyle, an attack on America and an attack on freedom everywhere. Yes, it was all that.
It was also an attack on Frank, Ivan, Prism Comics and Andy. It was an attack on my friends. If you fuck with my friends, you fuck with me because unlike some people I know I stand with my friends no matter what.
No matter what.
If you don’t, soon they will come for you. They will because no matter who you are or what you believe in, you’re at risk. If you let this horror go then the next before long knowing you stand for no one but yourself, then those who disagree will know you stand alone.
Malcolm X said a man who will stand for nothing will fall for anything.
And fall you will.
What took my situation from bad-to-worse, the A train is (or was, this was 30 plus years ago) a local at that time in the morning. For those of you who deprived of the sheer delight – or utter dread – of an NYC subway ride, a local train stops at all stations on the line.
No matter where I boarded, I was going to the end of the line.
The “end of the line” on the A train on two occasions was not just my destination, but nearly a bad New York Post headline. One night while waiting for the A train I was stabbed during an attempted mugging. Another time while trying to defend a young white girl some thug put a gun to my forehead, pulled the trigger, but his gun jammed.
For asking him to be cool, I almost get shot in the head.
Take the A train? No. The Duke, a musical genius? Yes. Giver of great advice? No.
On this particular early morning, I was sitting alone with my feet up on another seat. My feet were up for a couple of reasons; the first was so I could look hard. Hard in a “do not mess with me because I’m hard and may have a weapon on me because I’m hard” kind of way.
The second reason my feet were placed on the seat next to mine was to discourage people from sitting there. Before the Rudy Giuliani era in New York, the subway was a Mecca for the homeless, and you don’t want a New York City homeless person sitting next to you.
After all these years I’m now a bleeding heart liberal, and I feel for those less fortunate than I. These days’ homeless people sadden me.
That’s these days.
At 16 what I felt for the homeless was an evident scorn. I may have felt that way because my mother, sister and I were truly just a grandmother and a paycheck away from being homeless ourselves. That perhaps hardened my heart towards homeless people. Maybe I didn’t want to be reminded that there for the grace of God go I… yada, yadda, yadda…bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, yadda, yadda and yadda.
I’m not that deep now, and I certainly was not that deep at 16.
The real reason I did not want a homeless person sitting next to me is that they stank.
You have not smelled stank until you smell an NYC homeless person. The smell is beyond horrible. Somehow NYC homeless people all manage to stink the same. The smell is indescribably bad to the point you’d almost rather die than get even a small whiff of it.
So, there I was, 16 years old at 2 in the morning riding the A train trying my best to look hard so a smelly homeless person would not sit next to me and force me to deal with my mortality.
At the Howard Beach stop a black man in his mid 20s boards the train. He made a beeline right to me even though there were plenty of empty seats. “Can I sit here?” He asked very nicely. I moved my feet so he could sit down. Frankly I was glad he asked because the train was waiting at the Howard Beach stop for some reason or another and since we were the only two black people on the train at that point I welcomed the company.
Howard Beach was known as hardcore crazy white boy territory during the time I grew up. In 1986 a young black man was beaten to death by a mob of white boys in a racially motivated attack. There have been incidents before and since. Black people knew not to mess with those crazy white boys in Howard Beach and not just because of racist attitudes there.
Howard Beach was also the home of John Gotti, the then-head of the Gambino crime family. I don’t like fish, so the idea of sleeping with them was not one that appealed to me. This was a place where African Americans had better fear to tread. I did indeed welcome this guy’s company because clearly we were on enemy ground.
Brandon was his name, and we clicked immediately. That may have been because we were both keenly aware that any minute a gang of crazy white boys could board the train and lynch us both. Our getting along so fast, I’m sure, was due to the fact we wanted to present a united front. Both hoping that would give the illusion we were two badass motherfuckers and any lynch mob should think twice about harassing us, strength in numbers and all that.
We sat at Howard Beach for another quarter hour when the doors finally closed and we could relax a little. The next stop was Broad Channel. Broad Channel was not nearly as bad as Howard Beach – it was more akin to crazy white boys lite, but still crazy white boys.
I realize I’m throwing “crazy white boys” around a lot. Back when I was 16 “crazy white boys” were my mindset and referring to white people in an all-white neighborhood where black people feared to tread was how I saw things.
After Broad Channel was the beginning of the hood, so Brandon and I needed just to chill (chill means just to be calm, but you knew that from reruns of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, didn’t you?) until the perceived danger was past. Broad Channel came and went as did our gangster conversation.
Brandon asked where I was getting off, and I told him. Beach 60th Street. “You want to come hang at my house?” Brandon inquired. That made me a bit uncomfortable. The Howard Beach threat over, I now returned to my general suspicions of those not from my hood.
“I’ve got stuff I’ve got to do at home,” I said. Yeah, I had to get into my bed and give the impression that I was home all night before my mother got in from working the midnight to 8 in the morning shift at the nursing home this after she had the 3 in the afternoon to 11 at another job. She would be in no mood to lecture me or even hit me, after her 16 plus hour day she would go straight to the .38 and shoot me.
I couldn’t come out and say to Brandon “my mommy would kill me if I’m not home” that did not fit my hard-core persona.
“Come on. We can have some real fun.” Brandon said, his hand now on my leg. That hand was slowly but steadily creeping up. He seemed to be talking in a much softer voice and was smiling in a strange way.
Where had I seen that kind of smile before? Shit, I know where! I’ve seen it on me whenever I happened to glance in a mirror while alone in my room with some Vaseline and a Penthouse magazine.
Now I get it!
Brandon was a faggot and he wanted to ravish my young sexiness. Yeah, I said the ‘F’ word, I was 16, remember? Unfortunately, that was my mindset then.
Brandon still had his hand on my leg, and it was still creeping up. “What the fuck are you doing?” I said, trying to sound real hard. I wanted to look thuggish, but I was scared, so my voice rose and I sounded like I girl.
Not just any girl. Shirley Temple. So, imagine Shirley Temple saying “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Come on; it’s cool.” He responded even more softly than before. “Get your motherfucking hands off me, faggot!” screamed Shirley Temple. I was hoping, this time, he could see I was pissed and back off.
Nope. He squeezed my crouch. I guess he was into hardcore black boys from the hood with Shirley Temple voices. Then again, who isn’t?
I leaned back as far as I could on the seat and kicked him squarely in the chest. I wanted to kick him in his face but felt at the last moment if I leaned back any further I would have fallen off my seat. I hit him so hard he fell off his seat landed on the floor his head slamming against the subway floor. I may have sounded like Shirley Temple, but I kicked like Bruce Lee.
“Motherfucker, I’m not a goddamn faggot!” I shrieked at the top of my Shirley Temple lungs while looking to land my next kick right between his good ship lollipops. Brandon sat up his hands in front of him making a “no more” gesture. He looked up at me and said “Jesus, man what is your problem?”
It was with that I realized most of what I thought was going on, wasn’t. His hand was on my leg, but it wasn’t slowly but steadily creeping up. He did not grab my crouch nor had his voiced gotten softer. I had turned an innocent most likely accidental touch into a full on man rape in my mind.
So absorbed in my own horribly tainted view of the world I had imagined this was what was on his mind. To make matters as worse as they could be I then kicked away any guilt I felt at being wrong by responding; “Get the fuck away me.”
That was over 30 years ago. Today I would never use the ‘F’ word to describe a gay person. I hate to use the cliché some of my best friends are gay, but… some of my best friends are gay. My attitude towards gay people changed when I changed high schools in the 11th grade. My new school, the High School of Art & Design, had a diverse student body and being gay there was not a big deal at all. But being stupid was.
Stupid I was when I said something so gross my first week at Art & Design it could have tainted my entire time there. It was a gay guy named Frank who saved my ass by laughing at an insult giving the impression to everybody present I was making a joke. I wasn’t and Frank knew I was wasn’t. He whispered “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Michael, grow up.”
Thank god, I did.
After meeting and getting to know many gay people in my new school it dawned on me that they were no different than I was. They just happened to like sex with the same gender. Hell, in high school outside my loving relationship with the girls of Penthouse I was not having any sex at all, so they were one up on me.
Accepting gay people, having grown up in the severe anti-gay atmosphere of a black housing project was not as hard as you would imagine for me. My mother had a “no prejudice” rule in our home. Remarkable when you know just how dreadfully bad her encounters were with racists growing up.
Changing my position on gay people wasn’t hard, but it was still a huge deal for me because of my environment. It represented the first of many sea changes for me in my existence.
When I was not in school, I was still a resident of Edgemere projects in Far Rockaway Queens, which at the time was well on its way to being one of the worst projects in New York.
I was living a double life, and I intended to keep it that way. There was no way in Hell I would have ever acknowledged that I no longer found gay people repulsive to anyone in Edgemere.
Oh no, that would certainly not do. Why not stand up for my beliefs?
In the African American community where I grew up, there was little love for individuals who accept gay people. I may as well have stood up for and proudly proclaimed the Klan as the greatest group since The Temptations. Repealing my position on gay people would have gotten me branded as such, my ass kicked or worse in Edgemere.
At 16, noble I was not. No longer being able to participate in any reindeer games would have had a profound effect on me. It did not occur to me till much later that may have been a good thing.
I don’t want to give the impression that all black people I grew up with condemned the gay lifestyle, not the case at all. Many saw gay people as having every right as anyone else. But even today unfortunately among some in the African American community I’m in the minority, at odds with those, still light years if not eons away from embracing gay people at least in public.
“I gotta find this guy.”
Dwayne McDuffie said as he and I searched the corridors of a New York City comics convention in 1992. We were looking for Ivan Velez Jr., the remarkable writer of Tales of the Closet. The book was a look at the high school lives of gay and lesbian students and what they experienced.
Exceptionally written and drawn with a simple yet effective style the book instantly drew me back to A&D and thoughts of Frank and his crew. Ivan is a man of little words outside of what he puts on the page. He’s a big, gentle, quiet soul who lets his work do the talking for him. However, when he feels he has something to say few can match his oratory abilities, so it’s best not to engage him on the wrong side of an issue.
I thought about Frank, Ivan, the creators and fans of Prism Comics and my brother from another mother Andy Mangels when I heard the news of the Orlando massacre. I thought about how it must feel just to want to love who you want and be slaughtered for it.
I thought about how stupid I was at 16 and wondered how on earth some who claim to love their God can commit cold blooded murder on his behalf. I wonder how Donald Trump could brag about predicting another attack then hours later issue a more humane statement and not express his outrage or even mention the Lgbt community then blatantly lie about the murderer being born in Afghanistan.
He wasn’t. He was born in the good old USA.
So was I and as far as I know most of the people at the Pulse nightclub, that night was born here also.
This was an attack on a lifestyle, an attack on America and an attack on freedom everywhere. Yes, it was all that.
It was also an attack on Frank, Ivan, Prism Comics and Andy. It was an attack on my friends. If you fuck with my friends, you fuck with me because unlike some people I know I stand with my friends no matter what.
No matter what.
If you don’t, soon they will come for you. They will because no matter who you are or what you believe in, you’re at risk. If you let this horror go then the next before long knowing you stand for no one but yourself, then those who disagree will know you stand alone.
Malcolm X said a man who will stand for nothing will fall for anything.
And fall you will.
- 6/14/2016
- by Michael Davis
- Comicmix.com
It’s rare that I find myself questioning the judgement of Martin Scorsese, but after having seen The Wannabe, which he co-executive produced with Dean Devlin, it’s inevitable, even if it is short-lived. Directed by Nick Sandow, the film tells the story of Tom & Rose, an ambitious couple, but not well endowed with common sense or street smarts. The film is based upon real-life events that occurred around the trial of mafia boss John Gotti, an unusual case of celebrity obsession, if you will.
The Wannabe, as silly as the title sounds, is just that. It’s the story of a social outcast who dreams of being a big-shot gangster and tried very hard in his own, pathetic way, to make those dreams a reality, when all it really accomplishes is chaos, death and destruction. On it’s own, this is a fairly generic, albeit not poorly made movie of average entertainment value.
The Wannabe, as silly as the title sounds, is just that. It’s the story of a social outcast who dreams of being a big-shot gangster and tried very hard in his own, pathetic way, to make those dreams a reality, when all it really accomplishes is chaos, death and destruction. On it’s own, this is a fairly generic, albeit not poorly made movie of average entertainment value.
- 12/4/2015
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Read More: Watch: Bonnie and Clyde Meet Martin Scorsese in Gangster-Fueled 'The Wannabe' Trailer Step into Gotti gangland in this exclusive clip from "The Wannabe," a crime drama executive produced by Martin Scorsese. Written and directed by Nick Sandow (who plays the prison supervisor in "Orange is the New Black"), the gangster flick stars Vincent Piazza and Patricia Arquette in her first role since her Oscar-winning performance in "Boyhood." The film tells the true story of Thomas and Rose, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde who use the 1992 trial of John Gotti as an opportunity to rise up in the mob ranks. After the duo perform a series of robberies, they attempt to win the respect of the mafia by targeting certain jury members. In the clip above, we see Thomas and Rose on the outside looking in at Hawaiian Moonlighters, a high-stakes gambling club full of big shot mafia players.
- 11/19/2015
- by Tarek Shoukri
- Indiewire
"Now one told you to go rob the Blockbuster, you were on your own." Entertainment One has unveiled an official trailer for Nick Sandow's The Wannabe, starring Vincent Piazza as Thomas, a kid who set out to fix the 1992 trial of John Gotti. It's essentially a wacky little story about a kid who wants to be a part of the mob glory involving Gotti, and devises a crazy, bold plan to get himself in the center of everything. Patricia Arquette co-stars, Martin Scorsese executive produces; the cast includes Domenick Lombardozzi, Michael Imperioli, Doug E. Doug, Nick Sandow, Vincenzo Amato, and Joseph Siravo as John Gotti. This honestly doesn't look that memorable, but if you're into mob films maybe you should take a look. Here's the official trailer for Nick Sandow's The Wannabe, found on YouTube (via The Film Stage): Obsessed with mob culture, and desperate to fit in,...
- 10/27/2015
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
It’s hardly uncommon for New Hollywood figureheads to support (often in the executive producer position) a project by young, up-and-coming filmmakers that recalls their own work. If only that list – which includes the Transformers series, Super 8 (Spielberg both), Willow (George Lucas), the Jeepers Creepers series (Francis Ford Coppola), and Snabba Cash (Martin Scorsese) – was a little better. (Our favorite example? Last year’s The Better Angels, which has Terrence Malick’s stamp of approval.) But the endorsement should count for something. Should.
It’s Scorsese’s executive producer credit that’s compelling us to share this trailer for The Wannabe, a New York-set, Gotti-era mob movie that features his (relatively speaking) Boardwalk Empire stars Vincent Piazza and Patricia Arquette. Reviews from its Tribeca showing have been respectful at best and shrugging at worst, which is, in some sense, perceivable from this preview — a bit of work that almost seems...
It’s Scorsese’s executive producer credit that’s compelling us to share this trailer for The Wannabe, a New York-set, Gotti-era mob movie that features his (relatively speaking) Boardwalk Empire stars Vincent Piazza and Patricia Arquette. Reviews from its Tribeca showing have been respectful at best and shrugging at worst, which is, in some sense, perceivable from this preview — a bit of work that almost seems...
- 10/27/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Momentum/Orion Pictures has released a brand new trailer for The Wannabe, Executive Produced by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese and Written, Directed and Co-Starring Bronx native Nick Sandow (currently starring on the hit Netflix show Orange is the New Black).
The film stars Academy-Award winning Actress Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) and Boardwalk Empire star Vincent Piazza as real-life couple Rose and Thomas Uva, the Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo of the 90’s.
The film centers around true events that occurred during John Gotti’s trial in 1992, where Thomas and Rose were known for robbing local Mafia hangouts. The cast also includes Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire) & David Zayas (Dexter).
The film opens in Theaters & on VOD December 4, 2015.
The post The Wannabe Trailer Stars Patricia Arquette – Executive Produced By Martin Scorsese appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
The film stars Academy-Award winning Actress Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) and Boardwalk Empire star Vincent Piazza as real-life couple Rose and Thomas Uva, the Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo of the 90’s.
The film centers around true events that occurred during John Gotti’s trial in 1992, where Thomas and Rose were known for robbing local Mafia hangouts. The cast also includes Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire) & David Zayas (Dexter).
The film opens in Theaters & on VOD December 4, 2015.
The post The Wannabe Trailer Stars Patricia Arquette – Executive Produced By Martin Scorsese appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.
- 10/22/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Read More: Vincent Piazza, Michael Imperioli and Nick Sandow Talk Tribeca Film 'The Wannabe' After its premiere earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Martin Scorsese-backed crime drama "The Wannabe" has just released a new trailer, unsurprisingly taking more than a cue or two from Marty himself. The film tells the true story of Thomas and Rose, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde couple who become obsessed by the 1992 trial of John Gotti and see it as an opportunity to rise up in the mob ranks. After the two perform a series of robberies, they attempt to make their mark and gain mafia respect by going after certain jury members. Written and directed by Nick Sandow (who plays the prison supervisor in "Orange is the New Black"), the gangster flick stars Vincent Piazza and Patricia Arquette in her first role since her Oscar-winning performance in "Boyhood.
- 10/22/2015
- by Tarek Shoukri
- Indiewire
The NYC gangster drama is a genre littered with classics, so to wade into those waters, you truly have to make an effort to stand out. And one picture hoping not to live up to its title in that regard is "The Wannabe," and you can judge for yourself with the trailer that dropped today. Read More: Watch An Exclusive Clip From 'The Wannabe' With Vincent Piazza And Patricia Arquette Vincent Piazza and Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette star in the '90s set movie that follows Thomas, a young man obsessed with John Gotti, who falls in love with Rose, and together they kick off a crime spree robbing the mob elite in New York City. Of course, that will get them into all sorts of trouble in no time at all. "The Wannabe" opens in limited release and hits VOD on December 4th. Watch below.
- 10/21/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
One of the "Growing Up Gotti" boys is officially off the market! John Gotti Agnello, the 28-year-old son of Victoria Gotti and Carmine Agnello, married his longtime girlfriend, Alina Sanchez, over the weekend at Oheka Castle in Long Island. According to Page Six, the lavish event, which started at 5 p.m. on Friday and lasted until 1 p.m. on Saturday, included a multi-course meal at midnight and breakfast at 7 a.m. The couple reportedly raked in a whopping $2.5-million dollars in gifts from their 500 guests, which included the groom's brothers, Carmine, 29, and Frank, 25, John Travolta, wife Kelly Preston, and "Entourage" stars Kevin Connolly and Debi Mazar. The bride looked gorgeous on her big day, donning an open-back satin gown with a bedazzled bodice and diamond details on the straps. Proud mama Victoria posted a series of photos on Twitter from the special soiree, writing, "My handsome son john and his beautiful new wife Alina!
- 10/1/2015
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Fresh off last year's conclusion to "Boardwalk Empire," HBO's Prohibition-era portrait of corrupt Atlantic City pol Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), Martin Scorsese's showed no signs of throttling back in 2015. In addition to directing the pilot of HBO's highly anticipated rock 'n' roll period piece, "Vinyl," and wrapping production on the long-gestating "Silence," Scorsese is back in the mob drama saddle, executive producing Nick Sandow's second feature, "The Wannabe." Read More: "See Andrew Garfield in First Images from Martin Scorsese's 'Silence'" Sandow, best known for playing Litchfield's Joe Caputo on "Orange is the New Black," wrote, directed, and co-stars in the film—with echoes of Scorsese's own "Goodfellas"—which stars Vincent Piazza ("Boardwalk Empire") as Thomas, a young man from the Bronx eager to get in with the mob in the early 1990s. When his attempt to fix John Gotti's...
- 10/1/2015
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
On this, the day of your grandson’s wedding. Though the late John Gotti was not present at his grandson John Gotti Agnello’s wedding this past weekend, Page Six reports that the affair was an event straight out of The Godfather. Agnello, the heir of the legendary mobster and the son of Victoria Gotti and Carmine Agnello and one of the stars of A&E's Growing Up Gotti, wed his longtime love Alina Sanchez, a physician’s assistant. According to Page Six, the 500 guests were required to give gifts [...]...
- 10/1/2015
- Us Weekly
"I want people to get infuriated by it," Martin Scorsese said of his initial impulse in making "Goodfellas." "I wanted to seduce everyone into the movie and into the style. And then just take them apart with it."
In fact, some people were appalled and repulsed at the early screenings of "Goodfellas," which opened 25 years ago this week (on Sept. 19, 1990). At one test preview, there were mass walkouts within the first 10 minutes. But Scorsese's angry gesture soon backfired. Viewers did get seduced by the lowlife mobsters (taken from Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 true-crime book "Wiseguy") and the director's own adrenalized filmmaking style. Instead of an assault on the audience, "Goodfellas" became one of the most influential and beloved movies of the past quarter century.
In honor of "Goodfellas" turning 25 this week, here are 25 things you need to know about Scorsese's masterpiece. Don't let that red sauce burn on the stove while you're reading.
In fact, some people were appalled and repulsed at the early screenings of "Goodfellas," which opened 25 years ago this week (on Sept. 19, 1990). At one test preview, there were mass walkouts within the first 10 minutes. But Scorsese's angry gesture soon backfired. Viewers did get seduced by the lowlife mobsters (taken from Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 true-crime book "Wiseguy") and the director's own adrenalized filmmaking style. Instead of an assault on the audience, "Goodfellas" became one of the most influential and beloved movies of the past quarter century.
In honor of "Goodfellas" turning 25 this week, here are 25 things you need to know about Scorsese's masterpiece. Don't let that red sauce burn on the stove while you're reading.
- 9/14/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
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