by Todd Spangler

Ken McKay/ITV/REX Shutterstock

Maker Studios, the short-form digital studio owned by Disney, is opening its wallet to produce original entertainment programming — from talent both within and outside its network of 60,000 creators.

Under the new Maker Studios Spark program, the company invited creators to pitch original concepts. From those submissions, Maker picked the most promising concepts and is producing them as series or cross-platform franchises. Initially, it is working with a group of 34 Maker-affiliated creators and has greenlit more than 100 additional concepts.

Members of the inaugural Maker Studios Spark class come from YouTube, as well as other platforms including Vine, Instagram and Facebook. The content ranges in genres and styles across gaming, lifestyle, family and entertainment. A Maker rep declined to disclose how much it’s investing in the initiative.

Creators tapped for the program include 12-year-old Sophia Grace Brownlee (pictured above), the British tyke who rose to fame after a regular stint on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” with her cousin; prankster Magic of Rahat, father-daughter music team RealityChangers; gamer Chris Pirillo; and Viner Nampaikid.

In addition, programming rolling out as part of Maker Studios Spark will feature talent not affiliated with Maker, including singer Andrew W.K. and teen digital personality Luke Korns.

Separately, YouTube has been funding its own batch of original programming, available initially on the YouTube Red subscription service. Maker is one of YouTube’s partners in the effort: It co-produced the “Scare PewDiePie” series, starring Maker-affiliated Felix Kjellberg (aka PewDiePie), who is arguably YouTube’s biggest star. Verizon’s Go90 mobile-video service also has made moves to snare digital talent in exclusive content pacts.

Maker said it selected the initial creators for Spark based factors including creative abilities, audience engagement and their potential for expanding beyond native platforms and formats. All told, according to the company, Maker Studios Spark talent have garnered more than 2.6 billion lifetime views on YouTube as well as 19 million subscribers across YouTube and Vine, more than 5 million Facebook followers, 4 million Instagram followers and 1.8 million Twitter followers.

“The heart and soul of this program is our creators,” said Gabriel Lewis, Maker’s EVP of development and studios. “It’s an innovative way for them to leverage the resources of Maker to create original franchises for their existing audiences while taking some new and exciting risks.”

Maker is hosting a premiere screening for members of the initial Spark program at the ArcLight Cinemas in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 29.

One of the first Spark series is “Intro To…,” a format developed by and featuring the Holderness Family (headed by two former TV reporters). The first installment, which answers questions from kids using musical comedy, is an explainer about two of the highest-profile presidential contenders – Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.

Here’s the full list of creators participating in the initial Maker Studios Spark program: AJ Rafael, Alex Made Costa, Bath Boys Comedy, Beau’s Toy Farm, Blame Society Films, Bored Shorts TV, CaseyLavere, Ceciley, Chad Quandt, Charisma Star, Chris Pirillo, Christina Blanco, Dexter Manning, The Holderness Family, Jessica Harlow, Jouelzy, Kali Muscle, Magic of Rahat, MakeupbyEman, Mikey Murphy, Mockstars, Muffalo Potato, Nampaikid, Octopimp, Reality Changers, Richie Le, Romeo Lacoste, Sam Macaroni, Simone Shepherd, SimplyBiancaAlexa, Sophia Grace, ThatChickAngel, Tiffany Rothe and VoicePlay.

Check this out on variety.com

The Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival is a singular experience where LA's diverse communities come together to celebrate LGBT people of color and amplify their voices through media images and storytelling.

Outfest Fusion will be March 4-16, 2016 and will include film screenings, filmmaker Q&As, workshops and masterclasses, industry networking, and one-minute movie contest.

Tickets available now on outfest.org

by Tambay A. Obenson

Miles Ahead

Absolutely nothing here that we haven't already talked about ad naseam, but I thought you'd all like to know about it anyway.

In brief, while addressing the press after the screening of his "Miles Ahead" at the Berlin Film Festival earlier today, Don Cheadle shared that he wanted to make a film about Miles Davis that was as "explosive" as the jazz legend's music, but he wasn't even able to get it off the ground (in terms of financing) without a white co-star.

Thus, enter the character played by Ewan McGregor in the film.

Cheadle called the decade-long effort to get the film produced, a "Herculean" task, thanks to the lack of interest from studios and other industry financiers. So he had to take to crowdfunding, launching an Indiegogo campaign, which successfully raised about $360,000 total. He also used some of his own money to help fund the film.

In essence, he wasn't able to make the film he really wanted to make, because he could not raise the necessary funds to make *that* film, and apparently almost wasn't even able to make a film at all ("explosive" or not), unless he added a white co-star.

Calling it "one of the realities of the business that we are in" - essentially, the self-fulfilling prophecy that films with all-black casts won't sell as well as those with white actors in them - Cheadle added, "There is a lot of apocryphal, not proven evidence that black films don't sell overseas... Having a white actor in this film turned out to actually be a financial imperative."

A "financial imperative" he said!!

And thus, he was forced him to rework the script, adding the character McGregor plays -a shady Rolling Stone reporter - turning the film into something more akin to an interracial buddy-action-comedy flick, than something that would be truly worthy of Miles Davis.

"I wanted it to be a movie that Miles Davis would want to star in. He would have laughed at it, he would've dug it and been like 'That's slick, I didn't do that -- that's bullshit -- but I like that'," Cheadle said. "That's what I wanted - a movie that felt like the experience I have when I listen to his music... I wanted to do something explosive, exciting, that felt like a ride and felt impressionistic and free form because that's what his music does to me."

This is all actually a somewhat sweet & sour realization for me, because, as I said in my review of "Miles Ahead" after I saw it at the New York Film Festival last fall, if I did have one expectation going into the screening, it was that I was more than prepped for something entirely unconventional, given what Cheadle previously shared about the film - essentially, a film that Miles Davis himself would make, employing the organic, experimental approach he used in creating some of his best music; notably an album like "Bitches Brew," which was recorded in just three days. Like Davis, a rejection of the traditional (jazz / filmmaking) in favor of an approach that's more aggressive, free-form and, I even also used the word "explosive" in my review as well. And you can see Cheadle going for that in "Miles Ahead," but, as I argued, not quite enough. I then added that he may have been constrained by the fact that he needed to create something that could sell a few tickets, and not be painted with the sometimes dreaded "intellectual cinema" (read: inaccessible) brush. So we are presented with what you'd call a more conventional, commercial narrative, a fictional crime caper that sees Davis teaming up with an ambitious white journalist to track down a much-coveted stolen tape of a recording session.

So, in summary, it's good enough; but given the legend that is the subject matter, and the paucity of films in which his story is central, I argued that it needed to be better than "good enough" - if not great!

Knowing some of the backstory today on the making of the film that I wasn't fully aware of previously, months after seeing the film, it makes sense I suppose. Not that I'm pleased by this; quite the opposite. But this new awareness of what Cheadle's original intent was, and knowing that this wasn't just the case of him simply not meeting expectations, but that he was constrained in what he could and couldn't do, helps.

"I think it works great, and particularly the fact that Ewan McGregor is the actor who is in it, I think he is fantastic in the movie. But that was a component of... allowing us to even have a budget to get the film made," he said in closing on that subject.

An unfortunate reality. One that we've discussed endlessly on this blog. But something that I believe will change eventually.

Sony Pictures Classics will release "Miles Ahead" in April.

Check this out on IndieWire.com

by Laura Prudom

NBC

NBC has renewed freshman comedy “Superstore” for Season 2, the network announced Tuesday. The series stars America Ferrera, who also serves as producer, and Ben Feldman.

“We’re thrilled to renew a show that’s so incredibly funny and relatable, full of great characters who are brought to life by an amazing cast and creative team,” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “After such a successful first season, we look forward to seeing more of the wonderful America Ferrera, Ben Feldman and the rest of this hilarious cast in season two.”

“Superstore” centers around Amy (Ferrera), the megastore’s most stalwart employee as well as the glue holding the place together, and newly hired Jonah (Feldman), a naive dreamer determined to prove work doesn’t have to be boring. Their fellow associates include the sardonic Garrett (Colton Dunn), the ambitious Mateo (Nico Santos) and the sweet pregnant teenager, Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom). Overseeing them all are Glenn (Mark McKinney), the store’s affable, clueless store manager, and Dina (Lauren Ash), the aggressive assistant manager who lives by a very specific code — namely the store’s employee handbook.

Season to date, the single-cam comedy is averaging a 2.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, and 6.9 million viewers overall in Nielsen’s “live plus seven” measurements.

“Superstore” was created and written by Justin Spitzer, who also serves as an executive producer along with director Ruben Fleischer, David Bernad and Gabe Miller & Jonathan Green. “Superstore” is produced by Universal Television, Spitzer Holding Company and The District.

No decision has been made yet on NBC’s other freshman comedy, “Telenovela,” and insiders say a renewal announcement is not expected anytime soon, but the network very happy with the show and its star Eva Longoria.

Check this out on variety.com

by Kate Linthicum

Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Last summer, Univision went to war with Donald Trump after he called Mexicans drug dealers and rapists -- a move typical of the network that views itself not just as a media company but as an advocate and defender of the Latino community. 

Now Univision is launching a major voter registration and engagement campaign aimed at turning out 3 million new Latino voters ahead of this year's presidential election. 

The network published an online voter guide Tuesday and is partnering with several organizations to register eligible Latinos -- a population that has grown 40% in the past eight years alone. Univision will broadcast public service announcements across its 126 local television and radio stations about the importance of voting and is enlisting one of its young stars to tell his own story about becoming a voter. A spokeswoman for the network said Univision's campaign news team will be bigger than any previous election, with 36 reporters and producers already assigned to campaign coverage.

Critics of the network questioned whether the ambitious effort would be nonpartisan, given the tussle with Trump and the fact that Latino voters tend to favor Democratic candidates. But star anchor Jorge Ramos defended it, saying Republicans had only themselves to blame if the network's emphasis on immigration news reflects poorly on the GOP.

"The Republican Party has had an incredible opportunity to reach Latino voters, and they failed," Ramos said in an interview. "You cannot say, 'Vote for me, but I want to deport your mother or your brother.'"  

Univision and other Spanish-language news outlets have conducted similar voter engagement campaigns in previous years. But its efforts are coming under extra scrutiny this campaign cycle because of the network's starring role in the presidential race. 

After Trump disparaged Mexican immigrants in his presidential campaign announcement in June, Univision officials announced they were cutting all business ties with him and would not air his Miss Universe competition. Network officials said they had a duty to stand up for their viewers, many of whom are Latino immigrants or have family members who are. Trump sued, and the parties settled their lawsuit this month.

In Iowa last summer, Trump had Ramos ejected from a news conference after Ramos questioned him repeatedly about the cost of Trump's plan to deport the estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S. 

Ramos and Univision's co-owner have been criticized for their own ties to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which some conservatives believe calls into question the network's objectivity. Univision co-owner Haim Saban has donated several million dollars to an outside group working to elect Clinton, and Ramos' daughter is working on the Clinton campaign. 

Because Latino voters tend to side with Democratic candidates, with two-thirds of Latinos voting for President Obama in 2008, that has led to questions about whether Univision's latest efforts are an attempt to create more Democratic voters.  

Ken Oliver-Mendez, the director of an organization that tracks what it sees as liberal bias in the Spanish-language media, said Univision has not covered Republicans fairly in the past, and its voter-registration efforts should be closely examined.

“We all believe in getting more people to vote,” said Oliver-Mendez, director of MRC Latino. “But we’re going to be looking critically at what issues they present as important.”

He complained that Univision puts too much emphasis on immigration coverage -- which he says favors Democrats -- and doesn't spend enough time on other issues that are important to many Latinos, such as abortion or the economy. 

Ramos disagreed, saying the network covers a multitude of Latino issues and is even-handed in its coverage of all political candidates.

Ramos said his network has an obligation to its viewers, noting that 66,000 Latinos turn 18 and become eligible to vote each month. "There is truly a demographic revolution," Ramos said. "In order to go from big numbers to true power, you need people going to vote on election day."

Igniting action among millennial voters is always a challenge, regardless of race. But Latino millennials tend to vote at even lower rates than their white and African American counterparts. As part of the network's election efforts, it will set up voter registration booths outside the Copa America soccer tournament in June around the U.S. and will broadcast public service announcements during coverage of the matches. Fusion, the network's English-language Web platform geared toward younger Latinos, will also be part of the voter outreach campaign.

The network has partnered with several Latino voter registration groups, including Mi Familia Vota and League of United Latin American Citizens. 

Brent Wilkes, national director of LULAC, said his organization has registration efforts underway in 22 states. It helped register more than 10,000 Latinos in Iowa ahead of the state's February primary -- an effort Wilkes said was helped by Trump's comments. 

Wilkes said he hopes the Univision partnership will help empower Latinos at a time when they have come under attack.  

"We’re hoping the Latino community will stand up and defend itself," he said. 

Check this out on latimes.com