PURPLE RAIN MOVIE MIXER
Sunday, September 24th @ 3:30 pm
When I did my introductory speech, all I could see was a sea of purple. Thank you to all our purple ones who wore purple to our movie mixer. It was a magical event! For our trivia we asked a couple of questions: Who did Prince propose to only to be denied & what was his favorite sport? A lucky patron got a year free pass to our events and another got an original movie poster!
After the movie, we sat and talked about what Prince meant to each of us. We had a purple one who talked about seeing the movie with her friends 5 times in the theater when it came out in ’84! Lyn and I talk more about the influence of P.R., with me playing devil’s advocate 🙂
BET’s NEW EDITION MINI SERIES
Saturday, AUGUST 5th @ 3:30 pm
This was easily our hottest and biggest event! We had 120 RSVPs within one month of announcing this movie mixer. Some were nervous…. How were we going to pull off a 5-hour event. Blackout Cinema absolutely knocked it out of the park. After Part 1, we had a riveting trivia contest to find out who is realest New Edition fan, handing out free prizes! After Part 2, we had our pizza party mixer, meeting and greeting and discovering our mutual love for NE. And after the Final Part, we sat in the lobby and reminisced on our favorite parts and songs!
We’ve done a lot of movie mixers, but this one was a classic. BET really knocked this mini-series out of the park. We were collectively blown away as this mini-series transported to a bygone era of our teenage years. Thank you to all who came out in support! New Edition 4 Life!!
“WOKE” SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
Sunday, JULY 9th @ 3:30 pm
What a dynamic lineup of socially conscious films! We kicked off the event with Ashley Wilkerson’s documentary on colorism in the Houston, Texas area. We then followed that up with two brilliant pieces by filmmaker Damien D. Smith on mental health in the black community and the emotional aftermath of a police shooting. We then ventured back to Texas with a brilliant satire on what if laws in the south reverted to separate and equal. We finished the festival with front man Angelo Moore of Fishbone and his visual masterpiece entitled “Optimistic Yes”.
We would also like to give a shout out to Andrew Steele of the Flicks4Change Film Festival who offered one of our films a spot in his festival in November!
SUNDAY, JUNE 11th @ 3:00 PM
A turf battle between New York City street gangs that rages from Coney Island to the Bronx. The Warriors are mistakenly fingered for the killing of a gang leader. Soon they have every gang in the city out to get revenge and they must make their way across the city to their own turf.
THE WARRIORS MOVIE MIXER
There was an empty seat in the house!! We even had a couple show up dressed as “the Furies”! OuR pre-Movie Mixer had an electricity as guests could not wait to get into the theater to see a cult classic with fellow aficionados! Latoya, one of our regulars, shared with me that she has never experienced a crowd as enthusiastic!
Sunday, May 21st @ 3:30 pm
Soldier Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) returns to his Bronx home after a nightmarish tour of duty in Vietnam. But the nightmare continues for Anthony and his friends as they suffer the indignities of trying to find steady work and provide for their families in a flagging economy. As desperation takes hold, Anthony teams up with Skip (Chris Tucker), a drug addict, and Kirby (Keith David), a small-time crook, to pull off a bank heist that will give them all a chance for a better life.
DEAD PRESIDENTS MOVIE MIXER
THE YEAR WAS 1995. And the Hughes bros. were on top of the world. They were in the afterglow of their critically acclaimed debut film, menace II Society, and they wanted to shoot a war movie. They found a great story inspired by a source novel. They also decided to work with Larenz tate again. What they gave us was a journey into a bleak world where america’s own fought for their country only to return to the back of the line. And tough decisions had to be made to survive the cold winter.
Sunday, APRIL 23rd @ 4:30 pm
As her teacher mother, Carolyn (Alfre Woodard), and her jazz musician father, Woody (Delroy Lindo), worry over monthly bills, grade-schooler student Troy Carmichael (Zelda Harris) banters and bonds with her four brothers. Against her will, Troy is sent to her aunt’s southern home for a summer visit, but when she returns to her bustling Brooklyn neighborhood, she learns that a family member is gravely ill. Already mature, Troy is forced to face to some very grown-up facts about life and loss.
CROOKLYN MOVIE MIXER
Sunday, APRIl 22nd @ 3:30 pm
Leroy Green (Taimak), a young martial artist living in New York City, trains tirelessly to attain the same level of mastery as the great Bruce Lee. One night, his life changes forever when he rescues television personality Laura Charles (Vanity) from evil businessman Eddie Arkadian (Chris Murney). Impressed by Leroy’s bravery, Laura falls for Leroy — but to keep her safe, he will have to defeat a gang leader named Sho’nuff (Julius J. Carry III), the self-styled Shogun of Harlem.
THE LAST DRAGON MOVIE MIXER
WE PRIDE OURSELVES WITH NOT ONLY SCREENING BURIED TREASURE BUT ALSO CREATING A GREAT ATMOSPHERE. THIS MOVIE MIXER WAS ELECTRIFYING! IT WAS AMAZING TO HEAR HOW THIS MOVIE INSPIRED SO MANY PEOPLE IN THEIR CHILDHOOD AND TEENAGE YEARS!
VIDEO TO BE POSTED SOON!
Sunday, March 19th @ 3:30 pm
“The Brother” (Joe Morton) is an alien and escaped slave on the run from his home planet. After he lands in New York City, he tries to adapt to life on the streets of Harlem. Although the Brother is mute, he does have great abilities at fixing machines, and he gets a job. As the Brother tries to blend in with his new culture, he finds an apartment and gradually makes friends. Meanwhile, he is pursued by two agents from his home world who are intent on returning there with him.
THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET MOVIE MIXER W/ ACTOR TOM WRIGHT
Tom WRIGHT IS THAT ACTOR FROM THAT MOVIE
Sunday, JANUARY 22nd @ 3:30 pm
VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN MOVIE MIXER W/ PRODUCER RAY MURPHY!
Join us for our inaugural Q & A series, featuring an actor, director or producer from that movie. Following Vampire In Brooklyn, Ray Murphy will participate in our first Q & A. In case you don’t know, Mr. Murphy entered films in the early ’80s, working his way up to producing some of the biggest movies of the decade at Paramount Pictures. Along with Lawrence Gordon, Murphy also co-produced Walter Hill’s Another 48 Hours (1990), starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. Among Ray Murphy’s most lucrative productions have been Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and Life (1999); he has also managed to parlay “small” films like Bilingual (2011) into audience favorites. He also owns and operates an American Film Distribution Company.
Sunday, SEPTEMBER 18th @ 3:30 pm
MENACE II SOCIETY MOVIE MIXER
OUR POST movie discussion was one of our liveliest and most passionate. We talked about the social commentary in this landmark and hard-hitting movie. WE discussed the Watts riots and how they were a watershed moment both in the civil-rights story and in mainstream America’s attempts to understand black-on-black violence.
Things then got really interesting when we touched on the role our parents played in our maturity and the affect a fatherless home can have on both boys and girls. Different audience members opened up on their upbringing, societal pressures and avoiding the gaping pitfalls that swallowed up their closest friends. We ended on a frank talk about PTSD and how some people in the inner city suffer from trauma and never really get treated for it and must find a way to navigate life and picks themselves up by their bootstraps unassisted. THis movie opened us up in ways unimaginable and we all left feeling deeply connected. Tank you to the near sell out crowd!
Sunday, SEPTEMBER 18th @ 3:30 pm
HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE MOVIE MIXER
Yesterday at 3:30 pm was another tremendous meetup and post-movie discussion. We talked about how Hollywood still struggles with stereotyping and pigeonholing many leading men and women of color. The discussion took an interesting turn when one of the actors in attendance talked about refusing to audition as a gay man, which involved him kissing on another man, but in turn, he said he comfortable auditioned as a pimp in a later audition. He was subsequently called out by another actress in attendance who said how ironic he would be comfortable playing a pimp but not a gay man. She believes that the repugnance he felt playing a gay man should be the same as playing a character known to objectify and dehumanize women. At the end of the discussion, we learned that the actor actually was raised around pimps and had a far more sensitive and real-life understanding than any of us had. Also, the actress has many gay friends and very sensitive to gay rights. Once we peeled back more layers we were able to find peace through a greater understanding. Knowledge is key.
Sunday, July 10th @ 3:30 pm
Play’s parents are out of town, and he’s planning the house party to end all house parties. His best friend, Kid, wants to go more than anything, knowing Sydney (Tisha Campbell), the hottest girl in school, is sure to be there. But when Kid gets into a fight at school, his father (Kid ‘N Play) grounds him. Still determined to go, Kid sneaks out of the house and faces one calamity after another as he makes his way to Play’s house and the party of the school year.
HOuSE PARTY MOVIE MIXER
YESTERDAY AT 3:30 PM WAS ONE OF OUR MOST INSPIRED MEETUPS TO DATE. WE REALLY ENJOYED HOUSE PARTY, BUT IT WAS THE POST MOVIE DISCUSSION AFTERWARDS THAT LEFT US FEELING LIFTED. AS ATTENDEE JEMILA PUT IT… “I HAD A GREAT TIME, LEFT FEELING UPLIFTED, VALIDATED, AND LIGHTER THAN I HAD FELT EARLIER THIS WEEK. SEEING HOUSE PARTY WAS NICE, BUT THE DISCUSSION AFTERWARDS ENCOURAGED PARTICIPATION FROM EVERYONE AND INSPIRED ACTIONABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO STAY VIGILANT WITH MY SPIRIT INTACT. WISH I COULD’VE STAYED LONGER.”