DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD

Most recently, the Writers Guild of America West announced honorees for its TV Writer Access Project (WAP) which is in its 10th year. The program includes 21 diverse writers (notice it’s plural) whose work has been cited by a committee of high-level writers and showrunners in comedy (Half-Hour) and drama (One-Hour) script categories.

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The drama honorees include Sabrina Almeida (Die Spinne), Allen Clary, (Orchard Drive), Anya Leta (Points of Origin), Lisa Long (Cimarron County), D.H. Miller, (Freshwater), John-Paul Nikel (Metro), Adam Rodman (Promises To Keep), Deanna Shumaker (Long Lost), Matthew White (Echo) and Jai Tiggett (Black Magic).

WGA WEST

The Writers Guild of America West has announced its 2019 TV Writer Access Project honorees: 21 diverse writers whose work has been cited by a committee of high-level writers and showrunners in Comedy (Half-Hour) and Drama (One-Hour) script categories.

BTL NEWS

The honorees will have their work spotlighted industry-wide via the Guild.  The Drama Honorees are Sabrina Almeida, Die Spinne (The Spider); Allen Clary, Orchard Drive; Anya Leta, Points of Origin; Lisa Long, Cimarron County; D.H. Miller, Freshwater; John-Paul Nickel, Metro; Adam Rodman, Promises To Keep; Deanna Shumaker, Long Lost; Matthew White, Echo; Jai Tiggett, Black Magic.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD

21st Century Fox Global Inclusion has announced the participants in its seventh annual Fox Writers Lab. The program takes eight writers through an immersive four-month curriculum that strengthens the pipeline of original storytellers on Fox television shows.

21ST CENTURY FOX

21CF Global Inclusion has selected eight participants in the seventh annual Fox Writers Lab, a highly selective program for TV writers with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. 

BROADWAY WORLD

21st Century FOX Global Inclusion today announced the participants in its seventh annual FOX Writers Lab. 

TRACKING BOARD

This year’s Fox Writers Lab participants and their representatives are Anthony Florez, Felicia Hilario (Abrams Artists Agency), Milton Liu (Jeremy Tenser Limited), Jenny Deiker Restivo (Artillery Creative; The Gersh Agency), Aiah Samba (Stories International), Elizabeth Stamp, Jai Tiggett (Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers) and Tesia Walker.

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Charter and producers Sony Pictures Television on Tuesday announced that the drama, originally developed at NBC, has been picked up to series with a 13-episode order for a 2019 premiere on Spectrum's platform. 

VARIETY

The Sony Pictures TV production, exec produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is the first series to be greenlit by Charter, which recruited TV veteran Katherine Pope in January to spearhead the Spectrum Original Content initiative.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Before Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reteam for 2020’s Bad Boys for Life, Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba are getting their chance to be 'L.A.’s Finest,' Spectrum’s first original series.

TV GUIDE

NBC's loss is Charter Communications gain when it comes to Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba's cop drama, L.A's Finest!

COMPLEX

Set in present-day Los Angeles, Spectrum's presumed hit—premiering in 2019—follows previously introduced Bad Boys character Syd Burnett (Union) and her new LAPD partner Nancy McKenna (Alba) as they learn to find common ground while LAPD-ing it up. Ernie Hudson and Duane Martin also star.

THE ROOT

Near the pulpit where King once stood, #MLKNOW showcased the long tail of King’s legacy, its impact across generations, and its power to spark lasting change.

PIX11 NEWS

As the nation pauses to honor Dr. King and his fight for equality, New Yorkers joined the commemoration at MLK NOW, at the historic Riverside Church in Harlem.

REVOLT TV

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, members of Blackout for Human Rights are coming together for the fourth annual MLK NOW festivities. 

MSNBC

'Blackkklansman' actor John David Washington discusses the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr with MSNBC's Craig Melvin and how he will be participating in the MLK NOW event in New York City.

BLOOMBERG

Here's why former NBA player @etanthomas36 thinks it's important for athletes like @KingJames and @Kaepernick7 to also be activists. #MLKNOW

ABC NEWS

On Monday, at the fourth annual MLK Now event, which honors the legacy and birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Blackout for Human Rights hosted a celebration that included performances by award-winning artist Common, Blackkklansman actor John David Washington and musician Samora Pinderhughes.

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COLORLINES

Camden, N.J. is one of those small, forgotten American cities that never makes national news but needs to. For a city its size–just under 80,000 mostly black and Latino residents jammed into nine square miles–Camden consistently ranks first or second in the United States for homicides and overall violent crime. Perhaps that’s why it’s the first place that the 10-film series, Little Brother chose in 2010 to start asking black boys ages 9 to 13 about love.

TAKEPART

For the past four years, filmmakers Nicole Franklin and Jai Tiggett have visited communities across the United States, talking to 9- to 13-year-old black boys for their documentary film series and media project Little Brother.

CLUTCH MAGAZINE

Tonight, the Documentary channel will be airing a poignant film by Nicole Franklin and Jai Tiggett called Little Brother: Things Fall Apart.  The film project aims to follow several young Black boys throughout the decade to see how they cope in various urban environments while facing mounting odds.

TRIBECA REFRAME

Conceived to showcase new subject matter instead of rehashing old storylines fed to the mainstream media, Little Brother is a series of 15-minute short films that highlight African American boys as they try to understand how to build relationships and profess love amongst the violent neighborhoods they live in.

INDIEWIRE

Here’s a clip from the third chapter of the Little Brother documentary series, filmed in Florida soon after Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting. Little Brother is a documentary film series that features revelatory conversations with “little brothers” (young black boys) in all their complexity – something not often afforded them. 

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TAKEPART

A satirical short from filmmaker Jai Tiggett examines why equipping police with the devices might not solve everything.

THE ROOT

Protect & Serve is a short satirical sketch aimed at widening the discussion on effective policing, through the lens of a 90-day body camera trial. How much do the body cameras capture?

BLACKFILM.COM

Executive produced by Issa Rae and written and directed by Jai Tiggett, 'Protect & Serve' is a short satirical sketch aimed at widening the discussion on effective policing, through the lens of a 90-day body camera trial.  In light of the President’s task force on 21st Century Policing, recent developments in the Tamir Rice case and other ongoing issues, it’s a timely piece that can move the discussion in a new direction.

FILM INDEPENDENT

Protect & Serve, a satirical short directed by Jai Tiggett, is about three police officers who are forced to wear body cameras. The officers range from being professional and productive to shamelessly racially profiling.

DEADLINE

#BlackLifeBlackProtest. Bridging content creations and social justice issues, this curated selection of socially relevant short films precedes a public dialogue among noted artists, activists and educators.

ART WITH IMPACT

No one likes it, but it's true: sometimes in life, you have to talk about the things that make you uncomfortable.  It's in this spirit that the Los Angeles Film Festival is featuring the #BlackLifeBlackProtest program on June 11th, screening seven short films on topics ranging from police violence, racial bias, human rights, and black identity, and featuring a panel discussion on how these films can be a dynamic part of implementing positive social change. 

REEL NETWORK

#BlackLifeBlackProtest is showcasing seven short films that take a hard, truthful look at issues dominating and suffocating the black community. 

ARTSLANT

The event will screen seven short films made by filmmakers who have been inspired to tackle the issues of police brutality, black identity, and inequality in America today and to examine the importance of community in seeking social justice.

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INDIEWIRE

The message of the event was clear: Every last one of these speeches (curated by Blackout's Jai Tiggett) could be delivered today, with little to no variation. The prison system is still, as Davis said, “a method of repression.” Wells’ argument about the importance of educated blacks speaking out against the killings of so many other blacks—even if they believe they are not affected, because of their status—still applies. Baldwin’s comments about how white people know the truth about white supremacy and its benefits to them, but struggle to act upon what they know, remains, unfortunately, a very real, very American truth.

HUFFINGTON POST

The event, called #MLKNOW, was not intended as an answer to the unbearable whiteness of Hollywood, but rather an opportunity to bring awareness to police violence, mass incarceration, and the need for systemic change. Still, it couldn’t have been more poignantly timed.

NEWS ONE

The event, which took place at Riverside Church in Harlem where King delivered "Beyond Vietnam," was an intersection where Black Hollywood & Black activists connected across generations.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The Martin Luther King day event "MLK Now," which will celebrate and honor the life of historic leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and explore how his message and vision continue to resonate today, also will welcome Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose and Tessa Thompson to the stage to perform speeches.

NEW YORK TIMES

The crowd murmured and cheered, often rising to their feet as rousing historic words were read.

Mr. Belafonte was one of the few people who ventured off script, reminiscing about meeting Dr. King when they were both in their 20s.  “If we can fix America,” Mr. Belafonte said, “we will indeed have fixed most of the ills of the world.”

NBC NEW YORK

"They're not here to entertain us," said Shawn Dove, CEO of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, which helped organize the event, "they're here to ignite us. We are all hungry for the energy, for the change."

VIBE MAGAZINE

Miranda delivered King’s first public anti-war speech “Beyond Vietnam,” at the very same podium in April of 1967. King’s words, all too timely, beat with a pulse that sent chills at many points in the address.

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THE GUARDIAN

“America and other bureaucracies are very effective at creating Flints, and Blackout was constructed in part to repave the roads between those who supposedly ‘made it out’ and these issues related to the rest of us, and to do that publicly,” Jesse Williams said. “We asked ... can we let you kick back, and share some of our talents with you, and let you know that we see you, and that we are a collective, we are a family.”

BUZZFEED

The Buress-hosted gathering, dubbed #JUSTICEFORFLINT, is open to the public and presented by Blackout for Human Rights, an activist collective founded by Coogler which is devoted to addressing human rights violations in the U.S.

For almost two years, Flint's residents — many of whom are black and impoverished — have been subjected to massive lead and bacterial contamination in Genesee County's water supply, and forced to avoid tap water.

WASHINGTON POST

For me, this was the most meaningful disinvestment of black Hollywood players last night. Their Justice for Flint event featured singers and actors like Jesse Williams, Ledisi, Robert Glasper and Janelle Monáe. Children and families offered testimonials about lead-water-related miscarriages, angry skin rashes and test results with shockingly high lead levels.

PASTE MAGAZINE

Local students and artists provided moving accounts of the city’s struggles in between major acts. Mensa premiered a new track called “16 Shots” at the event, in reference to Laquan McDonald’s death at the hands of Chicago policeman Jason Van Dyke, and Wonder delivered an impassioned critique of the government officials who allowed the crisis to happen.

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SHADOW & ACT

Yesterday's lineup ended with a bang, as our own Jai Tiggett moderated an amazingly explosive panel titled A Conversation with Powerful Black Men in the Industry.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"We want people to walk away entertained and we also hope that they'll gain an understanding of the stories and independent films available in Brooklyn," said Jai Tiggett, curator of ActNow's short film program..

EUGENE LANG COLLEGE

The Eugene Lang College Ethnicity & Race Program is proud to host a screening of two provocative short-films exploring the lives of young black men, Little Brother and Alternative High: The Troy Sean Welcome Story. Immediately following the screening there will be a screening with producers of these two films–who will engage the audience about the educational, public-policy, and public health that permeate both films.