DON'T LOOK DOWN

I have to admit, didn't know much about Richard Branson other than the fact he owned Virgin America Airlines or how he came to acquire that except for an interview I saw on The Oprah Show some years back.  Neither did I recognize he was  the dude who signed major rock stars ranging from the Sex Pistols to the Rolling Stones, making Virgin Records the biggest independent labels in the world.  To date, there are more than 100 Virgin companies worldwide, employing approximately 60,000 people in over 50 countries.  Can you say over-acheiver...lol??

After screening Don't Look Down, I surmised Richard Branson is fascinating.  He's a ridiculously rich man, who wants nothing more than to be an explorer and get credit for those accomplishments.  To say that he is a daredevil or one who takes great risks is an understatement.

Were his thrilling desires really work the risks?  Branson has challenged himself with many record-breaking adventures, including the fastest ever Atlantic Ocean crossing, series of hot air balloon adventures and kite surfing across the English Channel.

Daniel Gordon’s documentary Don’t Look Down, which screened at Tribeca,  centered on Branson’s daredevil balloon flights across the Atlantic and the Pacific.  In regards to the Atlantic trip, Branson says, “Six tried before us. Five had died,” and what “could go wrong, went wrong on that flight.”

Don't Look Down will give you a bird's-eye view of this dramatic untold story straight from his collaborators, family, never seen archival footage from inside the hot air balloon capsule and the most intimate thoughts on all of this from Branson himself.

The capsule footage is fascinating, as you learn that although being in a hot air balloon may look like a beautiful and etherial it made me personally never want to attempt that adventure ever in life!

What is even more fascinating is the fact that his collaborators on this adventure Don Cameron has a heart of gold and nerves of steel, which made him the perfect dude to be thousands of feet in the air with Richard Branson.

“We shouldn’t be here to tell the tale, but it tells for a gripping film,” says Branson. Submarine Entertainment is handling both U.S. and foreign sales for Don’t Look Down.

13th

The 13th Amendment.  What do we really know about it other than it was part of the constitution that kicked slavery to the curb.  It declared that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime  whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Leave it to director Ava Duvernay to break it all the way down to make a case out of the fact that slavery hasn't really been abolished.  In fact, it's actually evolved into our current system of mass incarceration.  A system,  in which many prisons are run by major corporations (Walmart and Victoria's Secret)  for profit.  Prisoners  are paid a pittance for their labor. Twelve cents an hours to be exact.

In a year that has seen a black life murdered or jailed at a rapid rate, a movement incited by people of all races speaking out on the injustices called #BlackLivesMatter and year in film that began with the hashtag #oscarssowhite, 13th brings to the forefront a much need conversation about mass incarceration of people of color.

From Jim Crow laws to Nixon's "war on drugs" to Bill Clinton's "three strikes" legislation, mass incarceration is a real issue and one that sorely needs investigating and discussing.  In 1970, there were 200,000 prisoners and today the numbers are staggering toward more than 2 million.  Did you know that while the America has more than just 5% of the world's population, we have more than 25% of the world's population in prisoners?  It is a proven fact that one in three prisoners are black men and more than 60% of the people in the prison system are people of color.

Interviewing scholars and activists ranging from Angela Davis to rapper/Oscar winner Common, the film trots out images of lynchings, cellphone videos of police abuse and footage from the  1815 D.W. Griffith film "The Birth of a Nation".  That film alone glorified the Klu Klux Klan and was screened with pride at the White House for then President Woodrow Wilson. I know ...right??!!

13th couldn't  be more timely in an election year where we have candidates speaking of building walls, politicians pushing for criminal justice reform and reducing the prison population - particularly of non-violent offenders.  As if Hillary Clinton doesn't have enough on her plate with those damn emails, the film openly criticizes Bill and Hillary for supporting the 1990's crime bill that has led to a massive increase of the prison population today.  A bill in which those both now realize was a fatally flawed mistake for our country.

A pivotal, yet chilling moment for me was some footage of a recent Trump rally - where angry white people with black protestors are shown against archival clips of civil rights protestors.  All the while listening to Donald Trump say, "In the good old days...they would be carried out on stretchers."

I'm not gonna lie.  Watching these types of projects makes me feel some kind of way. Mostly angry, hurt and left with a massive desire to make difference.  Obviously, there is strength in numbers.  Each one teach and tell one.  So, today I have taught you more than you probably wanted to know about the 13th amendment through the lens of brilliant director Ava Duvernay.  The rest is literally up to you to keep the conversation going until a change is made.

13th can be streamed NOW via Netflix.

Click HERE for 13th Trailer

NEVER FORGET: Films About 911

911 Never Forget

In 2001, I was a cast member in the Original Los Angeles production of The Lion King directed by Tony winner and Oscar Nominee Julie Taymor. At the same time, I decided to  train for the Honolulu Marathon to raise money for Aids Project Los Angeles.

Once a week, myself and some runners would meet in Griffith Park for one of our practice runs.  On September 11th at 8:46 am, one of the girls' phone went off. On the other end, was someone telling her a plane hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  A few moments later, another call saying that a plane had also hit the Pentagon.  My father was a shuttle driver at the Pentagon, so I panicked and turned back to get to my car where my phone was.

While desperately reaching out to call my Dad, an Aunt phoned informing me that he was OK.  My attention then turned to an actress friend of mine, whose husband worked in the World Trade Center.  They hadn't been married very long and she was somewhere between 6-7 months pregnant with their second child.

Extremely concerned about her, I repeatedly phoned to reach her, when I finally did, my fears were confirmed.  Her husband was working in the Twin Towers that morning and had not been found.

This is the story that millions of Americans would tell about their loved ones on that day.  Very few Americans survived those terrorists attacks that day and numerous first responders lost their lives as well.  Many who were in the vicinity and exposed to ash and other toxins in the air that day have been diagnosed with Cancer among other life threatening disease.

With my birthday falling on September 16th, I am reminded of this American tragedy whether I want to remember or not.  I recall it as being the day my Dad nearly died, the whole firehouse I would pass on my way to half-hour call perished, the manager/friend whose husband perished and the dear friend whose husband perished among thousands of others.

It is a day in American history that will not and should not EVER be forgotten.  May those who perished rest in peace and may their loved ones receive and be blessed with all of our prayers and love for eternity.

Here are some films,documentaries and real time news coverage of that day.  PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THE FOOTAGE IS GRAPHIC and DISTRUBING...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzkk0J8QObA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU961SGps8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tgQ75GxAZk

Abortion: Stories Women Tell

Review by Carla Renata for UBNRadio.com and The Curvy Critic.com

As the child of a military family, we traveled for most of my life.  However, in between moves, we always went back "home".  Home for me is St, Louis, Missouri.  Both of my parents were born and raised there.  My relatives on my maternal and paternal side still live there.  I went to the prom, fell in love for the first time, had my first date, learned to drive, got my first job, became a beauty queen and attended my first college...all in the state of Missouri.

My memories are vast and fond of my life there.  However, as magical and warm the memories are that I have growing up in Missouri, I also remember Missouri for being one of the most racist states in the union.  Some residents of the state can be so full of judgement that some of my friends growing up there who were gay knew that "outing" themselves was never an option.  To do so would result in isolation from friends and family and being labeled and attacked,  Being a young, gifted and black was not celebrated.  To the point, that in 2016,  we are still witnessing young men like Michael Brown being harassed, shot and murdered.

Needless to say, when I learned of the documentary Abortion:  Stories Women Tell screening at the Tribeca Film festival around Missouri becoming one of the many states to make abortion illegal, I was not surprised.  I was, however, extremely annoyed.

In 1973 the US Supreme court decision Roe Vs. Wade gave every woman the right to have an abortion. Since 2011, over half the states in the nation have significantly restricted access to abortions. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri, where each year sees more restrictions.

Award winning director and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragos sheds new light on this controversial  issue, with a focus not on the debate, but rather on the women themselves. Women who are struggling with unplanned pregnancies, the providers who show up at clinics to give medical care, as well as the activists on the sidewalks hoping to save one more child.

Abortion: Stories Women Tell portrays an intimate portrait into the lives of these women through their personal stories, which come to life brilliantly, through the gentle and respectful approach by director Tragos.   Some are heartbreaking and tender, some are bleak and frightening, while others simply inform us of the strength and capacity of young women to overcome and persevere through often-tragic circumstances.  Take a listen to a recent interview I did with Tracy about her doc...

[audio mp3="https://carlarenatascorner.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/tracydrozetragos_abortionstories.mp3"][/audio]

Abortion:  Stories Women Tell also shows us how organizations like Planned Parenthood are being targeted for abortion procedures and allegedly accused  of selling fecal organs for medical testing.  My newly divorced mother (who is also a Registered Nurse) took me to Planned Parenthood as a teen to be educated on birth control and the services provided to young girls like me.  That Planned Parenthood location on Lindell Avenue in St. Louis has been shut down and the nearest location  is two hours away in Columbia, Missouri.

With young girls being sexually active as early as 10 years old, where will those mothers who don't take their daughters to be educated?  Especially now, that sex education has been slowly forced out of the public school system.

I employ each and every one of you reading this to think of all these concerns and facts as your state contemplates making a decision that affects thousands if not millions of American women.

Watch for this powerful doc to show up on HBO, but if you can't wait until then it had its theatrical release August 12th..  You will angered, educated,  but most of all moved to make a difference.

Abortion: Stories Women Tell trailer

HOPSCOTCH: An Opera For the 21st Century

If someone gave you  the gift of choosing what moments of your life would best represent who you are today...which ones would you choose?

KCET's ARTBOUND episode, Hopscotch,  examines that very question through a series of operas performed live in 24 cars driven all around Los Angeles.  Six composers, six writers, 126 performers and a team of  behind the scenes stage managers, designers, technicians and drivers all helped in bringing this ground-breaking avant-garde piece to life.

In November 2015, tickets were sold and each buyer would experience a different chapter of the story for 10 minutes.  How?  The vocalists and musicians helped weave the story of one woman from her childhood to becoming elderly in the intimacy and confined space of a car.

This team thought of everything!  They even created a hub in Downtown LA with tv screens numbered by chapters to the ticket buyers could see what chapter they would be joining in on.

Hopscotch gave it creators, participants and ticket holders a perspective of Los Angeles never seen...through the eyes of one woman's journey in a series of chapters in a car.

Watching the piece unfold before your eyes can be a little dizzying at first, but then you are totally sucked and longing for what happens next.  Director Yuval Sharon described Hopscotch as a piece in which "time is happening all at once".

Earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, I screened a feature film starring Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Maryann Plunkett and Christopher Walken  called The Family Fang.  Kidman and Bateman were the now grown-up children of a couple that became world-famous for performance art.  I couldn't help think of this film while watching this doc.  It was absolutely fascinating and the performances were stellar.  The voices on some of these vocalists was unreal and their commitment to the artistry was admirable.

It goes without saying that Yuval Sharon deserves a standing ovation for taking on such an ambitious project and pulled it off with flying colors. It was heartwarming and inspiring to hear Sharon speak of all the tragedies in the world over recent months.  Nice had not occurred yet, however, Paris, Dallas, Minnesota and so many others had happened.  I think his quote from Brecht sums it all up perfectly...

Hopscotch debts tonight as part of KCET's ARTBOUND series, which airs on Direct TV Channel 375, Dish Network 9410, and of course at 9pm on KCET in Southern California.

Check out the making of this interesting, avant-garde fascinating piece of art and the interviews I did with Kate Walsh and director Yuval Sharon.

[embed]https://youtu.be/fuhvn1Eo3-w[/embed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LivzsddPn-Q

AS I AM: THE LIFE AND TIME$ OF DJ AM

Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Steve Aoki, Daft Punk are some of tho most famous DJ's on the dance scene EVER!   Until the emergence of DJ AM.

DJ AM  aka Adam Goldstein was the first to command a million bucks to spin.  The phrase 'mash up" is famously aligned with his name and his spin crafting skills made him one of the most famously sought after DJ's  for such celebrities as Robert Downey, Jr,, Jay-Z, Tom Cruise, Madonna and many more.

As accomplished as he was at being a DJ, the one thing he couldn't quite a grab a handle of was his sobriety after a harrowing survival of a tragic plane crash.

Adam had the deck stacked against him from conception.  His Dad wanted nothing to do with  him, weight was an issue and self-love.  All these factors had a number in line with his ultimate addiction.  A habit that he kicked and would ultimately become his demise.

He was found dead -  shirtless in  sweatpants, a crack pipe and pills inside his New York City apartment at age 36. He tried desperately to kick a disease wont' let you run away if your will is weak...it just doesn't work that way.  At the end of the day, he would still always be a chubby, insecure boy that nobody liked.

For DJ's everywhere...he changed the game forever. Thanks to Director/Producer for putting this struggle on film.  In light of recent overdoses like Prince, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse...let us hope that if watching this saves just one life DJ AM's life was a life worth living.

AS I AM:  THE LIFE AND TIME$ OF DJ AM is playing at Arclight Cinemas  in Los Angeles as of June 3rd and various theaters in the New York area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv7WmrSDhk8

Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Audience Award - The Return

[embed]https://youtu.be/zcXTs4EYuI0[/embed] Many of us know someone, have a relative or have accidentally met an individual who has been incarcerated.  There are fewer of us who know someone who has had "three strikes" and even fewer who have had someone released as a result of the passing of Prop 36.

In 2012, California voters passed Prop 36 to reform Three Strikes - the first time in American history that citizens shortened sentences of the currently incarcerated. Overnight, thousand of lifers became eligible for release

The Return gives a bird's-eye view of two newly released lifers as they attempt to avoid the usual pitfalls of released prisoners back into a society and familial relationships that are drastically different.  Their struggle not to succumb to old triggers, insecurities and restoring the relationships is real, raw and heartbreaking.

Bilal Chatman and Kenneth Anderson were both lifers.  Chatman wanted a second chance to turn his life around and spend more time with his ailing mother.  Anderson wanted a second chance at being a business person, father, grandfather, husband and drug free.

Chatman was freed  by the people who fought for Proposition 36, which requires eligible non-violent drug offenders to serve their time in a drug treatment program instead of in prison. After The Return's screening at Tribeca, Bilal (who recently celebrated 33 years clean and sober) spoke of not allowing mistakes nor the people who hurt him in his past, to define his present life.

Kenneth Anderson was released and moved back in with his family after well over a decade. With a 25-to-life sentence over a purse snatching,  Anderson's last blunder included a struggle with drug abuse brought on by stress over his failed janitorial business.

Welcomed back by his ex-wife, now-adult children and several grandchildren he’s never met, he’s fortunate — but still encounters insurmountable hurdles.

Bilal Chatman had no spouse or children to return to. After 11 years’ (his “third strike” was selling $200 in drugs to an undercover agent), he headed straight from prison to Home of the Loving Father Re-Entry Facility, a halfway house in San Jose.

Their "second chance" journey is different - yet similar.  Both have no desire to return to the life conditions of their former selves, yet both men face a fate in society that will never let them forget their past.

The filmmakers also follow the release petitioning for Lester Wallace, a diagnosed schizophrenic who became California’s very first “Three Strikes” conviction after an attempted car-stereo theft. We never actually hear from Wallace, only a  glimpse him in court as his case is being  argued. Wallace's case was argued as him being raised in a frequently homeless, drug-addled family, which made him the perfect candidate for what Director Michael Romano says was too often “the solution for a generation” to problems of poverty, addiction and mental illness: Lock ’em up and throw away the key.

Prop 36 gave men like Chapman, Wallace and Anderson a new lease on life and allowed them all an opportunity to be placed in rehab programs to kickstart their new life.  Often times, these men, regardless of their crimes, are released from prison with a paper jumpsuit, $200 dollars in their pocket and no real plan for the future.  This is the major reason so many of them find themselves back behind bars.  They are released into a society that has no empathy for ex-cons and many of them spend the rest of their lives trying to prove they are changed and reformed men or women.

The Return is a lesson for all that everyone is capable of making a mistake, but should that mistake be thrown up in your face  and follow you for the rest of your life?

For more information of drug rehab services through Prop 36, click on  http://www.caldrug.org.

The Return won the Audience Award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and will make its debut on PBS.

Remember Our Troops: Memorial Day Flicks To Watch

Memorial Day is often confused with Veteran's Day.  Many of you are probably wondering what the difference is?  Memorial Day is to honor those slain in the line of duty or as a result of wounds sustained in battle while serving their country.  Veteran's Day is the day in which we take time to thank ALL veterans for their service to our country. Now, if your plans to commemorate those who lost their lives include a picnic, cookout or some type of party - BE SAFE.  However, if you choose to do so quietly at home with loved ones or friends, here some flick you might want to check out...

STRIPES

While on a USO/DOD tour, having just performed for the troops, we were invited to attend a screening of Stripes.  It was hilarious!!!  The guys would laugh at stuff that clearly was an inside joke and when they shared it with us we chuckled too!  Baby, when Bill Murray says "Razzle Dazzle" we would howl!!!  If you haven't seen it, the film kinda makes fun of all the serious things one identifies with regarding the military.  Unlike some of the other films, I mention, this one will really bring a smile to your face.

THE MESSENGER

Having several members of the military in my family, but never having lost any of them to war - this film was probably the hardest for me to watch.  I can't even imagine being the family that receives this type of news, however, have you ever thought of the anguish and sorrow that comes along with the person delivering the news.  Woody Harrelson gives one of his many stellar performances in this film.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

Steven Spielberg, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks and the storming of Normandie...that is all

PLATOON

Before Charlie Sheen's shenanigans and being known for "winning", he gave an award worthy performance in Oliver Stone's war masterpiece...

GLORY

Denzel Washington earned his first of two Oscar wins alongside Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman in this unforgettable flick about the first all-black company to fight in the Civil War

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects almost 30 percent of the 834,467 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans treated through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Consumed by anger and traumatic memories long after their return, soldiers often resort to drugs or suicide to end their suffering.

Filmmaker Laurent Bécue-Renard provides a searing account of how the disorder has affected veterans and their families in Of Men and War. The film offers an unparalleled look at the enduring consequences of PTSD and the role treatment can play in helping soldiers reclaim their lives. An Official Selection of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the documentary has its national broadcast premiere during the 29th season of POV(Point of View)on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016 at 10 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.)

Of Men and War is a production of Alice Films.

Of Men and War Trailer

THE UNKNOWNS

THE UNKNOWNS reveals the training of the elite group of soldiers at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. These Sentinel's guard the Tomb 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through snow, heat, and rain to honor those that have fallen in the line of duty to grant us the freedoms that we enjoy today.

THE UNKNOWNS is produced by Army Veterans Ethan Morse and Neal Schrodetzki. Because they both had the honor of serving at the Tomb, they were given an unprecedented level of access from the US Army, allowing them to bring a unique perspective to the rigorous and intricate training process that soldiers must endure to be stationed there. The film is also produced by Matthew Little and executive produced by Mark Joseph (Reagan, The Vessel, America: Imagine the World Without Her).