Updates!
Post Your
Review or Comments About Civil Brand
(Posted January 14, 2005)
Thanks to all the conscious movie watchers and the
supporters of Live Theatre Gang, the second printing of the DVD of Civil Brand
is out and on its way around the world. It's been a year since CB was released
on DVD and the overwhelming response has caused Lions Gate to go into a second
printing. Much to our delight, they decided to include the fact that CB was an
official selection of Sundance in 2003 on the new box. This reinforces what we
always knew, that the message of Civil Brand means something to a lot of people.
Many more viewers had a chance to catch this flick when it aired on HBO and
Cinemax from September 2004 to December 3004. I caught up with filmmaker Neema
Barnette in Harlem on the set of Spike Lees new Mini-series "miracle Boys" where
she was directing an episode along with Spike, Bill Duke, Ernest Dickerson and
LaVar Burton. I asked her how she felt about the success of CB on DVD. "I'm
elated that so many more folk are getting a chance to see CB because the numbers
of young third world women going to prison continue to be on the rise. My hope
is that the film will save some of them". I asked Neema if Lions Gate had given
her any numbers concerning the sale of the film. She laughed and replied "Are
you kidding me? Lions Gate hasn't even paid any of the residuals due to the
actors, writers or me. Every union is filing grievances against them and they
haven't even returned any of the union officials' calls or letters. I was the
only one not surprised because I knew the kind of shady and heartless people we
were dealing with. Justice will eventually prevail but it's still an ongoing
battle. Our strength to keep fighting comes from our fans and the courage to
support us. We're still proving them wrong by the growing success of the film
worldwide, which keeps a constant smile inside my soul. I am forever grateful to
the Live Theatre Gang and their supporters for their never ending support and
love, that's the way I'm flowin right about now".
Lions Gate seems to always be doing underhanded business. After quick surf on
the net, I found out that the company got its money from South Africa to buy
Artisan Entertainment. It makes you think about the kind of people that would
invest in such a company. Perhaps it's time for the public investors of the
company to do some serious housecleaning and start their new year off right.
Peggy Jackson
(Posted June 29, 2004)
Civil Brand on the Road
Civil Brand is still very much in demand which proves that good films never
die. The Film has been screening at various universities with overwhelming
response. On June 14th, the film screened at St Mary’s College at
Notre Dame University in Indiana to a packed house. It was all part of St.
Mary’s Women’s Wellsprings of Wisdom Conference. Filmmaker Neema
Barnette was their guest speaker and along with filmmaker and poet
Kareemah El-Amin they held a wonderful seminar on “Discovering the
Creative Genius in You”. The evening of the screening of Civil Brand, Neema
was presented with a special award as the packed audience gave the film a
standing ovation. It looks like Indiana will never be the same!
Hollywood Black Film Festival
On Saturday, June 26th, Civil Brand director Neema Barnette
spoke on a Directors Circle
panel with fellow director Jeff Byrd. The discussion was lively with
many CB fans attending. One fan even asked director Barnette about the rumor
that a directors cut was coming out on the film. Barnette told the fan that
the DVD out is the directors cut. Barnette had creative control and final
cut authority over the movie. Perhaps that’s why the film has so many great
one liners like “Everything is political!” Director Jeff Byrd, who started
his directing career in music videos and who has directed numerous episodes
of Showtime’s “Soul Food” series, talked about his new feature film coming
out through New Line Cinema. Both Barnette and Byrd spoke about the racism
in television and how difficult it is to break into the Old Boys network.
Barnette also announced that Civil Brand has already sold in fourteen
countries in six continents. That dismisses the myth that Black films don’t
sell overseas.
Blacksplotation Hailed at IFP Film Festival
The IFP International Film Festival in LA recently had an extraordinary night of
Black exploitation tributes topped off with a screening of the newly mastered
classic feature “The Spook Who sat by the Door”. The films director Ivan
Dixon was present along with actor/producer Tim Reid who is
distributing the film. Before the screening a panel including Lawrence
Jacobs, Max Julian, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier and
others discussed their experiences making such films as “Cooley High”, Coffee
and Black Caesar. “Shaft” was hailed as the film that saved MGM studios and
fascinating clips of Gordon Parks, the films director and the films
famous composer were shown as they worked on the score. They also showed great
footage of the genius Curtis Mayfield as he composed the score for Super
Fly, starring the late Ron ONeal. The evening was very informative and
information on getting transcripts of the panel can be gotten from the IFP
website.
Civil Brand Returns to Nashville
On Thursday March 18th the highly successful motion picture Civil Brand returned to the city where the actual film was made and where it all started, Nashville Tennessee. With an invitation from Fisk University's Race Relations Institute, the film premiered to an large enthusiastic crowd at the Parker Johnson Hall located on the campus. It was standing room only as students and faculty enjoyed the movie and were treated to a special appearance by the films of director Neema Barnette and LTG's Founder and star of CB, Reed R McCants. The event was co-sponsored by the Tennessee Film, Music and Arts Commission, The Tennessee Black Caucus, and the Mayor's Office of Film. There was also a screening of the film at Tennessee State University and The Bellcourt Theatre located in downtown Nashville. At the Fisk screening director Barnette had a chance to catch up with some of the people who worked on the film. Donna Spangler Civil Brand's production coordinator was on hand along with background performers Sharese Jackson and Justice all of whom played significant contributions towards the making of a classic. We asked Neema what she thought of the experience, coming back to the place where Civil Brand was filmed and she had these comments to say; "I feel joy in being able to screen CB for the Nashville community as well as my crew and cast
members
who helped me get through the shoot. But there is also an amount of pain
associated with memories of the battles with the Lions Gate personnel and the
lack of money and resources that were available to us. All in all the joy
outweighed any pain and disappointing memories because the film has gone far
beyond any expectations I had. Nashville will always remind me that anything is
possible with determination." Barnette also made an appearance at Spellman
University prior to her coming to Nashville. The screening was organized by
Ayoka Chinzera, former Cosby Chair and present Professor of the new Media
Digital Center at Spellman. In New York, Neema was honored with the Trailblazer
Award at the Women of Film Diaspora Festival in Brooklyn. Warrington Hudlin was
on hand to deliver a moving tribute to Neema's groundbreaking and extraordinary
film and television career. Neema was also presented with a proclamation from
NYC in honor of her career achievements.
Next up for Civil Brand is a trip to the Cannes Film Festival as well as a special screening for the Delta Organization of Women later this year. All of this good news shows and that you can't hold a good flick down. People across the globe are galvanizing behind this spirited movie however there is a tremendous amount of folks out there who are not familiar with it, so gang is up to us to let everyone know what the CB deal is. We at LTG will continue to keep you abreast of all the latest happenings surrounding this phenomenal films journey, so until next time "Free Civil Brand".
We Have a Winner!
LTG is proud to announce a winner of our Civil Brand
Giveaway Contest and its Hollye Fraser from Virginia Beach. Hollye
will receive a free copy of Civil Brand on DVD along with an autographed
poster from the film sign by the director Neema
Barnette. Civil Brand all-star cast features LisaRaye, N'Bushe
Wright, Monica Calhoun, Mos Def, Da Brat and
LTG's founder Reed R McCants. We want to thank all of the folks who
entered the contest.
The response was largest we have received for any of our Giveaways. Make
sure you check back at LTG for future contest.
Civil
Brand Giveaway
In celebration of the release of Civil Brand on DVD and
Video, livetheatregang.com is giving way a free copy of the DVD plus an
autographed poster from the film signed by the director Neema Barnette.
Here's your chance to witness one of the most talked-about urban films in
recent years compliments of LTG. The winner will be announced Monday,
February 2, 2004 and posted on our website. Now
that's truly Free Civil Brand!
_______________________________________
Civil
Brand Coming to DVD and Video
We asked Barnette why she chose to supply Lions Gate with a audio commentary for the film particularly after the negative handling of her film. The decision to do a commentary for the DVD was based on public support. I felt the audiences deserved to get additional features because they believed in Civil Brand. Our fans remained loyal to the film during the entire three year journey to the screen and for that loyalty I wanted to give them a deeper insight into the making of the picture. Peter Block, head of the home video department also contributed to my decision. He was the only person at Lions Gate who cared about the picture and treated me with respect. He chose to include our festival wins on the box of the DVD where as Tom Ortenberg, head of theatrical at Lions Gate, refused any additions to the theatrical poster. Throughout our journey Peter Block showed support and a sincere concern for the films future. Because of his actions I felt the DVD would be given proper exposure. I did however decide not to include many details of the making of Civil Brand in the audio commentary because I knew the studio wouldn't want those details made public and would cut them from the commentary. Those details are important and can be helpful to other filmmakers so I have decided to include them in a book, "The Making of Civil Brand".
CB is still receiving multiple requests from universities and organizations throughout the country. Last week Barnette and co-writer Joyce Lewis flew to San Francisco to St. Mary's College for a screening of the film and in-dept panel discussion. The panel dealt with the religious undertones in the film and the filmmakers struggle to get the picture distributed. The response was overwhelming and both Barnette and Lewis were invited to teach a special month long course on filmmaking at the college.
In March the filmmakers will speak at Spellmen College in Atlanta. LTG will keep you updated on that event. If you want to screen CB at your organization with filmmakers present, you can write to Barnette at neemafilms2000@yahoo.com. or contact LTG at webmaster@livetheatregang.com.
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
Civil Brand a Big Hit Overseas!
Despite Lions Gate Films many attempts to stifle the
success of Civil Brand in the U.S. however it seems that the distribution company has no
problem with making money from the film overseas. If you can recall a few
articles back, we had mentioned that Civil Brand would be appearing at the
Stockholm International Film Festival in November. Well, we have got inside word
Civil Brand did appear at the festival and was a huge success playing to
sellout
crowds. The film had seven screenings. Originally, Stockholm 
The question that should be raised by Lions Gate stockholders is, despite all of the films successes, why is their company still actively trying to dim the spotlight on their own film? We have also been told that there have been many more requests for the film at numerous International Festivals for 2004, however the filmmakers and the producers are being completely kept out of the loop. This type of preference practice should not come as a surprise to our avid readers because it been going on in Hollywood for as long as the film industry has existed and it will continue as long as people of color remained silent. Our next article will put a face and name on the devil of these deeds, so until next time "Free Civil Brand".
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
A Letter of Thanks from Neema Barnette to LTG
To my entire family at
LIVE THEATRE GANG, thank you so much for the support and the updates on the
films progress. Whenever I got depressed, I would re-read the many LTG emails
and letters and get a second wind to continue. When I found out that the films
opening in NY was going to be without any promotion or publicity from Lions
Gate, I was overwhelmed. Then I thought about all the young talented up
and coming filmmakers and the courage they have to bring alternative and
necessary voices to the screen and my worries faded away by thought of a bright
future for independent Black Cinema.! Film is the final frontier for us and the
journey is not easy.
There is nothing any critic can tell me about CIVIL BRAND that I don't already
know. I, more than anyone know what's missing from the picture because we had
it all on the page. If anyone is to blame, its Lions Gate for not thinking the
subject matter was important enough to allow us to finish. They refused to sell
the film to those who wanted to finance the completion. It was hard, but I had
to put my ego aside when they rolled out with the print without giving me a
chance to fix things, clean up the mix, take out several effects and make it
presentable for the public. I always thought it would go straight to DVD and I
put together the little footage I had in the hopes that one young life might be
affected by the message. I never got to shoot the complexity of the script, the
character scenes, and the sweat shop scenes in the script, the conflict between
Mos Def and the Warden nor the ending with Deese, Mos Def, the Warden and the
girls confronting their demons. These scenes were the meat of the picture and
the core of the issue. I never thought it would reach an adult audience and be
open to critics who would judge us like they judge a completed film. Forced to
re-cut a new picture in three days, we made the choice to design a simple story
for those young high school drop outs who think getting arrested is "Cute" and
destroy their young lives over as Wet (Monica Calhoun) says in the film "STUPID
SHIT, YA KNOW!" But somehow CIVIL BRAND got loose and has gone buck wild. The
folk we made it for have claimed it, claimed it in the condition it's in, with
missing elements, rushed production, no rehearsal time, three days to produce a
final cut, all of that, they have claimed it because it's theirs. CIVIL BRAND
was made for those who claimed it, under harsh conditions and by any means
necessary. I wanted a film that would provoke dialogue and folks are still
talking!! We made
progress together. We de-coded and re-coded Hollywood’s opinion of the kind of
films we will see. We've shown our concern with critical issues our community
faces by fully support films that deal with these issues.
God Bless LIVE THEATRE GANG! Your site has become part of our royalty, a platform for the voices of our future shock artists of conscience. After all that has happened, I know now it couldn't have happened any other way in order for it to be better the next time for someone else. I feel honored to have shared your light and my experience with all the readers and staff of livetheatregang.com.
Warm Regards,
Neema Barnette
Director/Producer of CIVIL BRAND
Seldom do you see in
business a company determined to avoid profit. Thus is the case with Lions Gate
Films, a small independent distribution company struggling for respectability in
an industry dominated by major motion picture distributors. So the question is what would
motivate Lions Gate to release a film that has been described as having a
"strong box office niche", a direct quote from Variety and the Hollywood
Reporter, Hollywood's top trade publications. What are the elements, message or
circumstances that would fuel chief executives in Lion's Gate's distribution
department to rob its corporate shareholders from an opportunity of a big
payday? Everyone who reads these pages are aware of the many Festival Awards,
“Civil Brand” has garnered over the past 16 months, including the bonanza of all
audience awards from Blockbuster, the mega video chain. Today, nothing can be
hotter than hip-hop in Hollywood. Just take a look at any one of this summer's
box office hits and you'll find a rapper in its cast somewhere. CB hosts not
one but three of the hottest and most
influential hip-hop stars of all time. So why is Lions Gate determine not to
capitalize on all of these advantages?
Let's do some inventory, they've sunk $12 million in advertising in the mediocre horror blood fest “Cabin Fever” which featured no recognizable stars. I'm sure they'd plunk down a tidy sum for the publicity of the tribute to pornography, “Wonderland”. They claimed that they had spent $200,000 for prints and advertising in Los Angeles where CB premiered with strong numbers and lasted three weeks in the theaters. However, most of the pre-publicity was drummed up by the producers, director and cast that live in Los Angeles. "Because we had a little over a months’ leeway we were able to use our contacts to spread the word about the film's opening." explains one of CB's cast members, LTG's Reed R. McCants. "On our own we set up radio appearances, went to the malls and street festivals, contacted community leaders and sent out lots and lots of emails to let folks know about “Civil Brand”. We offered to help their publicity department with their campaign but they were genuinely unresponsive, so we took it upon ourselves. We were able to do a lot of the grass roots kind of things that Lions Gate's publicity department could never think to do, and that's what helped give us a stronger turnout in LA". But when it came to New York, Chicago and Detroit we didn't find out about the release in those cities until 10 days before. There was virtually nothing we could do in that short amount of time to spread the word." McCants continues, "If you plan on not spending money for publicity, one would hope that the studio would have had enough sense to enlist the support of the cast and crew, but they never contacted anyone, to me that sounds like strange business."
According to many who were involved in the film this wasn't the first time that Lions Gate has conducted strange business in regards to “Civil Brand”. Over the course of the next few weeks LTG will commit to a series of articles that will focus on the entire journey of CB. We will do this in hopes of shedding some light on the complexities and obstacles the cast and crew faced in their three year struggle in an effort to bring this important film to the viewing audience around the world. The range of topics and articles will show that the making of the film closely paralleled some of the obstacles that are depicted in the CB. With exclusive interviews from many of the cast and crew we will follow the film from its script being turned down by the Board of Corrections, corrupt line producers, closing down of the film's production by the studio, all the way up to their recent attempts at preventing CB from receiving further recognition from groups like the IFP, the NAACP and the Toronto Film Festival.
We do have some good information about CB, even though the film was in theaters for only one week because of lack of publicity CB still came in position 61 out of 134 films released in theaters during the weekend of October 10th. The film earned an estimated $25,307 on 34 screens with an average of $723 per screen. Those numbers are still not bad considering there was no advertising. We also like to thank the folks at Showcase Cinemas in Southington, Connecticut. They have made a special request for “Civil Brand” and was the only theater running the film this past weekend. Until next time "Free Civil Brand".
Rashaan Raheem
LTG East Coast Correspondent
Civil Brand
Neither the producers nor the cast, or director have been contacted for any input or participation in helping to advertise the film in Chicago or Detroit. The cast and crew are expected to travel at their own expense to help promote the film. While combing through the web, it was hard to find exact information about where CB would be playing in each city and thus far, we’ve detected no street teams with posters, flyers or billboards.
In New York, we have been campaigning for any free radio time available. Thanks to Bob Slade and the Open Line Sunday show on KISS FM, we were able to champion the film this past Sunday. We understand some of the cast members will be making appearances throughout the remainder of the week. While moving along the streets of New York City, people are genuinely unfamiliar with the fact that the movie is opening this Friday, October 10th, 2003. Several high profile, high budgeted films are scheduled to be released this weekend as well, which will further hinder the possibilities of a strong box-office turn out. Gang, this is where you can help in spreading the word, send out an email blitz to let people know that the film is coming to these cities. This is the only way to thwart the blatant attempt to silence Civil Brand.
Rashaan Raheem
LTG East Coast Correspondent
(Posted Tuesday September 22, 2003)
Civil Brand is Headed for New York, Chicago and Detroit
Well Gang, the
spirits must be with
Civil Brand because we are pleased to
announce that Lions Gate Films has decided to continue with CB's release moving
it to three additional cities. LTG has gotten word that CB will be opening on
Friday, October 10th in New York, Detroit and Chicago simultaneously. There is
no word as to how many theaters in each city; nevertheless this news will be
greeted by anxious moviegoers all across the country that have been waiting for
this film to hit their neck of the woods. LTG has been receiving an
overwhelming e-mail response, so I'm sure that many of you have been contacting
Lions Gate as well. Thanks a bundle, Gang! This reporter would like to shout
out a special thanks to the
folks
at DVRepublic
among many other urban websites who have also been instrumental in the fight to
"Free Civil Brand".
One article in particular I had written, "CB Holds On at Box Office" (see below), was reprinted and spread throughout the Internet. Readers of this website can recall the article focused on the lack of advertisement in regards to CB. This subject is crucial to all urban Filmmakers and enthusiast, particularly because of the current trend with Motion Picture Distributors that increasingly move them to regulate serious Black and Latino films to a sub par straight-to-video existence. If you recall, this strangely parallels the similar scenario that played out in the '70s, when the media continually labeled all African-American films of that era, Black Exploitation. Up until today, all films of that period featuring a predominantly Black casts are considered exploitive. But in fact, there were some really great films produced during that phase. If the term Black Exploitation means the artist never received full credit or compensation then that title would be accurate, however I doubt the intention was set to represent those issues. Today, important films like "Blue Hill Avenue", which is currently being released in one theater in Los Angeles from Artisan, "The Beat" a marvelous film that premiered at Sundance along with Civil Brand, have to fight for recognition. And if by chance these films do make it to your local video shelves, you'll have to sift through such a mound of mediocrity that you'd might overlook these gems.
Now that you know what's at stake and even if you think you've done enough, there's still a lot of work to be done. So Gang keep spreading the word about all of these fantastic urban films, because you vote when you buy a ticket to the flicks. Make sure you "Represent" at the box office. That's all for now, we'll update you when we get more info about Civil Brand's East Coast release.
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
________________________________________________________________________
(Posted Tuesday September
16, 2003)Civil Brand Pulled From Theaters in Los Angeles
After only three weeks in theatres, Los Angeles will get their last chance at seeing Civil Brand this coming Thursday. The film's premature retirement still sparks with impressive numbers even after several theaters dropped CB from its screens. Though only nine theaters were showing the film this past weekend, CB still out-grossed 90 out of the 146 features released, in average moneys earned per screen. The only difference between CB and most of the other films it out-grossed, is that they'll probably be back for another week and CB will not. Despite all of this, there's still no word as to whether Lions Gate Films intends to release CB in other cities, or if they are working to encourage the remaining movie houses in LA to keep it running, especially the Magic Johnson Theatre, which has
done
terrific business with the film. Hey Gang, judging from the amount of
e-mails LTG has been receiving, I'm sure you are still out there
campaigning for CB to be brought to your local theater. Well, keep on
pouring in those e-mail's to Lions Gate folks.
On the brighter side, during all the commotion, we forgot to mention that Civil Brand had won another Audience Award at the Roxbury Film Festival a few weeks back. That brings the total of awards and Festival acceptances to nine. We were told that well over a thousand people came out to see Civil Brand at the RFF. Hooray for Boston! Of course you can always pick up your up-to-date CB information on these very pages. Until next time, "Free Civil Brand".
LTG West Coast Correspondent
The line used to advertise Civil Brand in it's early festival run stated "Who
ever heard of women taking over a prison? " but the question this week should be
asked of CB's distribution company, Lion Gate Films, who ever heard of releasing
a film without publicity? The second weekend in the release of CB saw a
curiously suspicious absence of marketing in Los Angeles. There was nothing on
the radio and no ad's in the newspapers to let moviegoers know that the film was
still in theaters. Despite no publicity the film still listed in the top 50
theatrical releases in the country, earning an estimated $43,205 bringing its
total ten day box office gross to $187,011. These figures are still impressive
considering the screening times have been reduced in several of the 35 theaters
that are still running the film.
Certain locations like the AMC theater in Pasadena and Marina del Rey had
already reduced CB's daily screenings to run once or twice in the evening. Now
remember, these are the same theaters that received no publicity because of
Lions Gate's narrow marketing plan for a city-wide release. How can those
theaters drum up business with no publicity directed at towards that market. Or
perhaps CB was originally scheduled for a extremely brief run from the start. On
the other hand a few of the theaters including
the
Magic Johnson Cinema had increased the screenings of the CB, running it in two
theatres with screenings on the hour. I spoke with several employees at the
Magic Johnson Cinema and they informed me that the film is doing great business,
running neck-and-neck with last week's number one film, Jeepers Creepers 2. But
no film can continue expanding their viewing base without expanding the ad
campaign. Is their intention to segregate audiences or are they really in the
motion picture business to make money? This reporter believes that CB has proved
itself time and time again and now it's time for Lions Gate to truly step up to
bat.
While surfing through the channels last week I noticed several
new commercials for another one of Lions Gate releases, Cabin Fever, your
typical horror flick. It appeared that there was no shortage of advertising
dollars in promoting Cabin Fever, a film that supports a relatively unknown cast
and is slated to premiere this coming weekend. However, with CB and its all-star
cast, it kind of makes you wonder if the film is seen as a stepchild or even
better the Cinderella of it's distribution company. Let's not forget that CB has
been endorsed by the biggest film festivals (i.e. Sundance, ABFF, AFI) in the
country as well as received critical acclaim. If Lions Gate does roll out Civil
Brand in other cities, (still no official word as of yet) they need to
drastically rethink their publicity strategy, particularly after inking deals
with the likes of Russell Simmons for future urban feature fair. If he has the
fortune of producing a film of Civil Brand's magnitude I'm sure he wouldn't
stand for such mishandling.
LTG West Coast Correspondent
Below is a list of all the locations where
CIVIL
BRAND will be playing in Los Angeles:
AMC Covina 30 Covina, CA
AMC Fullerton 20 Fullerton, CA
AMC Hollywood Galaxy 6 Cinema Hollywood, CA
AMC Puente Hills 20 Industry, CA
AMC Pine Square 16 Long Beach, CA
AMC Norwalk 20 Norwalk, CA
AMC Ontario Mills 30 Ontario, CA
AMC Block 30 @ Orange Orange, CA
AMC Rolling Hills 20 Torrance, CA
CENTRY Century Stadium 25 Theatre Orange, CA
CENTRY Century Stadium 16 Theatre Ventura, CA
CSLT CinemaStar Ultra Plex 10 Perris, CA
CSLT CinemaStar Empire 20 San Bernardino, CA
LCE Beverly Center Los Angeles, CA
LCE Magic Johnson Theatre Los Angeles, CA
LCE Universal City 18 Cinemas Universal City, CA
REGAL Atlantic Palace 10 Cinemas Alhambra, CA
REGAL Brea Stadium 22 Cinemas Brea, CA
REGAL Galaxy @ Cerritos Cntr Cerritos, CA
REGAL Long Beach Stadium 26 Long Beach, CA
REGAL Valley Plaza North Hollywood, CA
REGAL Ontario Mountain Village Stadium 14 Cinemas Ontario, CA
REGAL Pasadena 6 Pasadena, CA
REGAL Jurupa Stadium 14 Cinemas Riverside, CA
REGAL Edwards South Gate Stadium 20 Cinema South Gate, CA
Strong
Opening for Civil
Brand in Los Angeles
It was a record breaking Labor Day as
more moviegoers
crammed into theaters
across the country
this past weekend
like never before. Industry analysts
contributed this
swell of attendance to a
flock of new
Independent films released
and leading the
pack was Civil
Brand. “The little
film that could”
earned an estimated
$120,000 on
only 35 screens
with a four
day average of
$3428 per
screen. These
figures are pretty remarkable
considering the film was only released in one city,
Los Angeles and the extremely limited
promotional campaign
which included
only two days
of radio
advertisement and a
handful of
television commercials, all of
which were exclusively
focused towards an
African-American audience. When
the official
weekend box office
reports are
announced later this
week it is
predicted that
Civil Brand should end up capturing a
position in the
top 35 grossing
films. This is due
largely to strong word-of-mouth
buzz and a
furious e-mail
campaign led by
prominent urban
entertainment websites including
LTG focused all
across the
US.
Who
Came Out to See
Civil Brand?
The theaters where
CB played were evenly dispersed
throughout the city
however, but only
some garnered large
numbers in attendance. One
of the busiest locations
was the Magic
Johnson Theatre
located at the Crenshaw Mall. It
was estimated that
there CB took in
well over $20,000
in revenue alone. I
was able to
hold an impromptu
interview with many
of the attendees
who were just as
excited as I
was about the
films long-awaited
release. One particular
woman who told
me she chose
to see CB at
Magic Johnson because she
had heard so
much about the
film and knew
it definitely would be
running there if
no where else.
I also talked
to a White
woman who expressed
how she was
almost turned off
by the film
because of the
image of a
Black woman choking
a White man
on the poster. She
went on to say,
“ I was glad
I came to
see this film
because it was
nothing like the
advertisement.”
Great
Reviews Are Piling
in For CB.
The opening in
Los
Angeles also gave
film critics the
first chance to
review Civil Brand
and they have
been stellar,
particularly the Los
Angeles Times’ senior
film critic, Kevin
Thomas’
review. In
addition trade
publications like The
Hollywood Reporter and Variety
among others all have
been favorable. But there’s still
more work to
be done in
bringing
Civil
Brand to audiences
everywhere. The next
few days leading
up to this weekend
CB will have
to continue posting
impressive numbers in
order to persuade
its distributors
Lions Gate Films
to expand its
promotional campaign in LA and Theatre
releases in other
City’s. There are
many people in
Los
Angeles who have not
heard
about
the film because
of Lions Gate
decision to market
it so narrowly.
If given the
chance, all
nationalities will embrace
Civil Brand and
its important subject
matter. As of 4:00
PM on Tuesday,
September 2nd neither the producers nor
the director of
Civil Brand had
heard from its
distribution company
in regards to their
future strategy for CB or
if they are
pleased with the
film's Box Office success thus
far.
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
(Posted August 28, 2003)
Words
from LTG’s Founder about Civil Brand
If
you ask a person
of Color if
Hollywood represents them
in the movies,
the answer would
be a definite no.
Let’s face it, everybody loves
a good film,
many Americans are
practically raised with
the television or
a movie theater
as their babysitter.
But for millions
of African
Americans, Asians
and Latinos,
when it comes
to seeing a
film that truly
reflects they’re communities
and lifestyles,
the pickings are slim. Our
demands for
good entertainment are
too often
relegated to spurts
like the
so-called '70s "Black Exploitation"
era, the '80s "She's
Gotta Have It" fad or
maybe the "La Bamba" fling.
I'm
sure most of you have
thought, just like
me, sitting in
your neighborhood cinema
complex, once again I know I’m going
to be disappointed
with the Coming Attractions. It kind of makes you wanna
give up any
possible hope that one
day we’ll see a
balance. For many
of us, Hollywood
has taken so much excitement
out of America's
No. 1 pastime
that we have decided not
to show up
at the theaters
at all, especially when
it comes to
sampling the number of silly,
buffoonish Comedies they
continuously try to
force down our
throats. We say to our selves, I'd rather wait
for the Video or
Ah,
But don't give
up yet, my diligent
movie going
companions, because once a blue moon, a
good movie slips
through cracks. One
that could bring
about a new hope
and a new future
or as Hollywood
relates to it, a
new fad. I believe that
film is "Civil
Brand." If you
know anything about
the movie business
you know that
most films are
re-cut and changed to
fit some Studio
Executive’s satisfaction
or Motion Picture
Rating approval. But
not CB, this
film is raw,
uncompromising, but most
of all it's relevant.
It speaks to
perhaps the number
one issue in
black and Latino
communities across this
country, Prison. Too
many of us
are incarcerated and
it seems that
no one cares.
And now that
we have
multimillion-dollar Corporations
investing in cheap
prison labor, it
sounds
very
much like a throwback
to slavery times.
The
good news is
that thousand of
people have responded
all across the
country and have
already embraced this
film way before
its opening in Los Angeles.
Even though there
hasn't been much
of an advertising
campaign, the folks
in Los Angeles are
in anticipation. To
show you an
indication, I spoke
to one of
the writers of
the film, Joyce Renee Lewis and
she told me
a very interesting story.
She happened to
be at a
neighborhood Car Wash
and there was
a gentleman selling
bootleg DVDs. As
you may know,
these guys get
copies of movies
before they even
get into the theaters. Then they
sell them illegally
on the streets of every
major city across
America. She was curious
to find out
if Civil Brand
was among the
films he was
selling, it wasn't.
She asked the
man why it wasn’t. He
replied and I
quote: “We had a
meeting last night
to discuss this
movie and it
was decided that
we were going
to hold back from
putting it on the
streets.” He then
went on to
say, “This movie
belongs to the
people and we
want it to make money
at the box
office, first.”
I know I
can speak for
the filmmakers
in saying that it’s been
a long hard 3 year
journey in bringing
this movie to
“the people”. But if
we can make
a difference and
change one person's
life to prevent
them from going down
the wrong path,
including selling
Countdown to Opening of Civil Brand in
Los Angeles!
Show Up The First Weekend for Civil Brand!
I've been asked many times by people who have heard about Civil Brand but were
wondering what makes this particular film so special. A answer to that is
sample, just ask yourself when was the last time you've seen an urban film that
packed a combination of truth, realism,
social commentary, humor and wit all with an explosive young cast giving
memorable performances. If you are anything like me and like most of America you
will agree, audiences have being starved to death for a good film. If this
year's dismal summer box office numbers are a indication, Civil Brand will
certainly be received with open arms. In my attempt to keep you informed as to
the latest up-to-date info about this marvelous flick listed below are the
theaters where you can catch CB in Los Angeles this coming Labor Day weekend. I
must warn that traditionally Labor Day weekends are generally the lowest of all
holidays when it comes to pulling in box office revenue. However old traditions
are made to be broken. If we show up to this one Gang, maybe Hollywood would
start to rethink the way in which they continually try to spoon-feed ethnic
audiences in America, (that's pretty much most us nowadays) it's entertainment.
Now that would truly be funny, now wouldn't it.
Here's all the locations where CIVIL BRAND
will be playing in Los Angeles:
AMC Burbank 14 Burbank, CA
AMC Covina 30 Covina, CA
AMC Fullerton 20 Fullerton, CA
AMC Hollywood Galaxy 6 Cinema Hollywood, CA
AMC Puente Hills 20 Industry, CA
AMC Pine Square 16 Long Beach, CA
AMC Norwalk 20 Norwalk, CA
AMC Ontario Mills 30 Ontario, CA
AMC Block 30 @ Orange Orange, CA
AMC Rolling Hills 20 Torrance, CA
CENTRY Century Stadium 25 Theatre Orange, CA
CENTRY Century Stadium 16 Theatre Ventura, CA
CSLT CinemaStar Ultra Plex 10 Perris, CA
CSLT CinemaStar Empire 20 San Bernardino, CA
LCE Beverly Center Los Angeles, CA
LCE Magic Johnson Theatre Los Angeles, CA
LCE Universal City 18 Cinemas Universal City, CA
REGAL Atlantic Palace 10 Cinemas Alhambra, CA
REGAL Brea Stadium 22 Cinemas Brea, CA
REGAL Galaxy @ Cerritos Cntr Cerritos, CA
REGAL Long Beach Stadium 26 Long Beach, CA
REGAL Valley Plaza North Hollywood, CA
REGAL Ontario Mountain Village Stadium 14 Cinemas Ontario, CA
REGAL Pasadena 6 Pasadena, CA
REGAL Jurupa Stadium 14 Cinemas Riverside, CA
REGAL Edwards South Gate Stadium 20 Cinema South Gate, CA
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
This years Special guests
include actress CCH Pounder, whose many screen credits include the TV
series ''The Shield,'' actress Victoria Rowell (''Diagnosis Murder,''
''The Young and the Restless,'' ''Eve's Bayou''), and writer/producer/director
Neema Barnette, whose ''Civil Brand'' is the festival's opening night
film. The tale of imprisoned black women who are forced to unite against a
corrupt system stars LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Da Brat, and
Mos Def. Slated for theatrical release on August 29, first in Los
Angeles, ''Civil Brand'' has won awards at the Pan African Film Festival, the
American Black Film Festival, and the Urbanworld Film Festival.
Theatrical
Release Date Changed For
Civil Brand
As
moviegoers around the
country anxiously await
the theatrical premiere
of one of
the most anticipated
films in history,
Lions Gate Films
has spun a new
twist in their
attempt to distribute
Civil Brand.
The Company originally
announced an August 22nd limited
release in both New
York and Los Angeles
but LTG has gotten
word that the date has
been pushed back
to the 29th
of August. This delay
from Lions Gate
offers an interesting new
challenge for the
film. Now
slated for a Labor
Day weekend release
CB will be rescheduled for a release first in Los
Angeles theaters
before rolling out
across the country
with this next
stop in New York.
LTG has learned
that Lions Gate
plans to invest
a very limited
promotional campaign
however
after months of
feet dragging there
promotional department finally
is gearing up
despite having any
concrete strategy. There's a
CivilBrand.com
website up and running complete with a theatrical poster that doesn’t quite fit
the spirit of the film, never the less, visitors to the site can download an
exciting new trailer of the film.
Several CB Stars Are Blowing Up Just in Time for The CB's Release.
To further heighten the anticipation of the Civil Brand, many of it's stars are
in full swing with their careers. DaBrat
has just dropped her new album and already has
a
single on the charts. McLytes new CD has
also just dropped to favorable reviews and Lyte is traveling around the country
on a promotional tour. Both artists talk about CB everywhere they go! Actress
LisaRaye has landed a co-starring role in
Will and Jada
Pinkett Smith’s new TV comedy "All of Us" on UPN. Actor
Clifton Powell is co-starring with
Jamie Foxx in the upcoming feature film “The
Ray Charles Story”. Rapper/Actor Mos Def
can be seen in theatres with The Italian Job and actress
Tichina Arnold is gearing up for another season of "One On One".
The filmmakers are working hard on getting an additional treat for the fans of
CB, a soundtrack deal which many of the top names in hip-hop and R&B have
already expressed interest. LTG wants to give a heads up to our Atlanta readers
that on July
25th, Civil Brand will play at The Atlanta
Black Arts Festival and filmmaker
Neema Barnette will be on hand to
give love to the audience. LTG heard through the grapevine that DaBrat may also
be in attendance. Get your tickets early because there are rumors of a
sellout. In addition, CB will be the opening night film for
The Roxbury Black Film Festival in Boston on
August 14th.
LTG wants to encourage all of its website visitors to spread the word about the
release of the film on August 29th. It is crucial that everyone
comes out the first weekend to give CB the platform it needs to move to NY and
around the country. A strong box office revenue from the first week of a film is
significant in determining whether or not it continues on in theatres. Let’s
get on the horn gang and continue to represent “The Little Film That Could”.
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
August
22nd Release Date for Civil Brand.
Well Gang, if you
believe in miracles, we’ve got one for you! Finally after a year of hard work
and national underground support from audiences, Civil Brand has gotten a
theatrical release. On August 22nd, the film will hit Los Angeles
movie theatres.
Lions Gate has stepped up to the plate beginning with a wide urban release in LA
and hopefully moving to NY. What better place for Civil Brand to head next than
the Big Apple where support for the film has been mind blowing. I caught up
with filmmaker Neema Barnette by phone and she could hardly express her joy.
“The releasing of Civil Brand is a tribute to the power of the drum and all the
warriors who have fought to bring Civil Brand to the big screen. The unity and
determination of many folk is what made this miracle happen. I can’t wait to
bring CB to The Big Apple”. Neema grinned from ear to ear, “New York is my home
town, Harlem is my block. I’m bringing my work home and sitting it on the stoop
for my people to see. For me, this has been a life long dream. LTG has been
extremely instrumental in this victory and I want to thank everyone at LTG for
believing and supporting what seemed like an impossible goal. Now for the next
sister, there will be a path to follow”.
Up
Coming Screenings of Civil Brand
Kimberly Fisher
LTG West Coast Correspondent
Civil Brand Update
Fans of Entertainment Weekly Summer Movie Preview which boasts 135 new releases over the period of May and August 2003 can rejoice in the inclusion of Civil Brand. Dubbed as a cross between Cool Hand Luke and Set It Off, Civil Brand is one of only four films that will feature African Americans in leading roles. No specific date in August has been announced by Lions Gate, who continues to drag their feet, however the inclusion of CB in such a popular Show Biz Mag signals that the film will soon reach the movie going public.
Philly Shows Up For Civil Brand!
This weekend Civil Brand screened to sold out crowds at the Philly Film Festival
(www.phillyfests.com).
Both the Saturday and Sunday screenings were packed. The crowd had a great
reaction to the film. The director Neema Barnette could not get away to
introduce her film but expressed her thanks to everyone in Philly who came out
and supported it. In addition, Lions Gate has finally included Civil Brand on
its slate for 2003 releases on its website. Hey gang, that means we're
drawing closer to a definite date for the release in August of 2003. Keep those
emails coming into Lions Gate gang as we approach the last leg in our Free Civil
Brand Campaign.
Civil Brand Update
Civil Brand Comes to Philly
As Civil Brand prepares for it’s theatrical release in August 2003, the film
continues to be a hit in the festival circuit. Coming up this weekend Civil
Brand will be shown in the Philadelphia Film Festival. Civil Brand will show
Friday April 11, 2003 at 7:30pm at The Bridge and Saturday, April 12 at 2:15pm
at The Ritz 5. Single ticket price is $8.50. To obtain tickets call 215
733-0608 or online at
www.phillyfests.com. You can also go to the venue at the time the film is
playing and pay cash. If you or anyone you know will be in the Philly area this
weekend, by all means, go and represent our Civil Brand. Director Neema
Barnette had planned on being at the festival to present her film but had to
change her plans due to her work schedule. She would love LTG friends to
write her and
tell her how the screenings were received.
Pan
African Film Fest Honors Civil
Brand With Its
Festival Award!
As I
stood in line at the Magic Johnson theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday night, I
noticed the crowd buying tickets to see
Civil Brand was getting larger. By the time
I got to the ticket counter, they were totally sold out and they were opening
another theatre to show the film in two theatres simultaneously.
Before showtime CB would
sell out both theaters
and still there
were enough people
waiting in line
for a third,
but there wasn't
another screen available.
In the end,
over 600 people had
a chance to
see this remarkable
film that night. It
was another exciting and rewarding festival for
CB.
The
Pan African Festival features a
vast array of
international and
domestic films, along with
a multitude of
informative seminar
discussions, making this
one-of-a-kind Festival
one of the
largest and most
popular third world
film events across
the globe. Over
a 12 day
span, I was
fortunate enough to
attend their Music in
Film panel, which featured
insight from music
greats Patrice Rushin,
Rick Wilson of
Mandrill and other talented composers. There
was also a “Business
in Film” seminar that
featured our LTG
legal expert,
Raymond C.
Reed. But the
seminar that stood
out for me
was the “Sisters in Cinema” panel with
Kasi Lemons, Diane Houston, Neema Barnette, Zenabou
Davis and Stephine Elaine,
producer of “Biker Boyz”. The women discussed their struggle to be heard in the
motion picture business. During the seminar, the festival chief,
I
asked Barnette how she felt after receiving such a prestigious award, “The whole
evening is a dream” Barnette recited. “Next door, my film has sold out two
theatres to an audience of real people for whom I made the film for and on top
of that to get such a beautiful award, well its just too much to believe. I am
floating”.
The festival’s Award breakfast was held on Monday to announce its winners and CB captured PAFF’s Festival Award, dubbing it the best all round film of the entire festival. On hand to accept the award on behalf of the film were writer Joyce Lewis and star Monica Calhoun. The award was presented to them by actor Richard Gant and everyone was thrilled. Once again, CB takes yet another festival by the horns and conquers!
LTG West Coast Correspondent
It Was Grand for Civil Brand
With
Civil Brand
as the opening night Gala film,
The Pan African Film Festival
in Los Angeles
was off to a grand start Thursday night at the El Captain Theater in Hollywood.
The red carpet was loaded with photographers from around the world to greet the
star studded attendants. I watched cast members
LisaRaye, Reed
McCants, Tichina Arnold and
Monica Calhoun work the red carpet, giving
interviews and posing for many photos. There were over three hundred star gazers
behind the velvet ropes asking for autographs and pictures with the cast. The
festival had a great Calypso band in front of the theatre, providing music to
everyone on the
street. There was an African stilt dancer who also entertained the crowd as
they watched the stars pass into the theatre.
Among many of the stars in attendance were Danny Glover, Glynn Turman, Carl Lumley, Antonio Fargas, Richard Gant, Starletta Debois, Eric LaSalle, Tommy Hicks, Janet Dubois and CC H Pounder. Several filmmakers also came out to show support, Kasi Lemmons, Julie Dash, Charles Bernett, St. Claire Bowen, Yuri Neyman, writer Joyce Lewis, Rick and Carlos Wilson and Jeff Clanagan. The film also drew support from the TV’s judicial community with Judge Joe Brown and Divorce Court Judge, Mablean Ephriam, who was so moved by the film that she was in tears.
I
caught up with director
Nee