Latin Heat Entertainment Digital
February 27, 2012
1, January 20, 2012
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10,000 Days: Surviving the Comet
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By Bel Hernandez Castillo
t struck with a magnitude of all the nuclear weapons in the world. Comet 23, sixty kilometers of mass and gases plunges into the Pacific Ocean, knocking the earth away from the sun; causing tsunamis worldwide of up to 4,000 feet high; eventually leading to the planet being encased in snow and ice. 10,000 Days, the webseries, written and directed by Eric Small (Penn & Teller’s: Bullshit), is about four families who survive and after 10,000 days continue to fight the bitter cold and now — each other. Good friends Isaac Farnwell and William Beck (John Schneider) of Westcliffe Colorado devise a survival plan, sure the comet would be a likelihood. Through his work as a forest ranger Beck knows of an abandoned observatory in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado. It is to this mountain sanctum that they will head!
Beck had studied geology in college and his wife infectious diseases. Their neighbor David Ruiz (Jay Montalvo), an aerodynamic engineer, had Continued on Page 3
l The Drama of a Digital
Series............................Cover Story l Who Will be Our Latino Tyler
Perry………………………...……..Page 2 l Robert Rodriguez is “ El
Rey”………………….………………..Page 6
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Latin Heat Entertainment Digital
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January 27, 2012
Who Will be Our Latino Tyler Perry?
s a young immigrant in the U.S., my native culture barely stood a chance. Like all the other niños, I immersed myself in English-‐language TV programming. In fact, the first phrase I learned in English was, “my name is Bugs Bunny!” I know more about American history than the history of m y native Ecuador. This is a direct by-‐product of a K-‐12 educational system in the U.S. that re-‐imagines the universe within the confines of the borders of the United States.
By Rafael Agustin
According to the 2011 Census Bureau, Latinos are now 1 in every 6 U.S. residents. The executives in those largely white network offices need to wake up and start seriously asking, “Will it play in Pico Rivera?” [California]
Why are we still waiting for main-‐stream m edia to tell our stories? Maybe its time we took our cue from Forbes’ Magazine’s Highest Paid Man in Entertainment today, Tyler My parents worked too hard and were too broke to take m e to any Latino Perry. Perry figured out how to work outside of Hollywood when Holly-‐ arts festivals or, hell, even Olvera Street, so I settled down with a wood thought programming for borrowed VHS copy of Steven Spielberg’s An American Tale. I didn’t understand all the dialogue, but I found myself crying hysterically at night African-‐Americans was a bad in-‐ over Fievel’s plight – imagining it as my own. That little m ouse and I both vestment, and now his empire re-‐ portedly rivals that of luminaries like shared a fear of losing our parents in the U.S. Steven Spielberg, w ho apparently That animated film about a family that flees the turmoil of their homeland made a few other m ovies besides the in search of a better life was like my own life. My family and I also wished whole Feivel thing. for a land of security and prosperity, which the film beautifully compared to a land with “no cats” and “streets filled with cheese.” Like any kid, I wanted to relate to what I saw on our TV, so I imagined myself to be that intrepid little Jewish, Russian rodent. However, outside of the Mousekowitz, there just hasn’t been m uch for me to relate to. Wait – that’s not true. Back in 1990 I remember an episode of that outer space puppet show AL fin which a government agency calls to say they know the family is harboring an alien. Everyone freaks out, but they finish laughing at the end when immigration enforcement shows up looking for an “illegal alien.” I’ve never been so terrified watching a TV show in my life. Years later, sitting in the office of a major television production company
I actually heard someone say the phrase, “Will it play in Peoria?” I get that Middle America sets the standard for entertainment, but the population is changing.
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“Why Are we Still waiting for mainstream media to tell our stories?”
Tyler Perry was not the first Black entertainer to create his own oppor-‐ tunities outside of the Hollywood system (Melvin Van Peebles and Spike Lee come to mind), but Continued on Page 7
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January 27, 2012
“The Drama” Continued from Page 1 been part of the defense team responsible for trying to deflect Comet 23. His wife Rita was a biochemist working on stem cell research. They are recruited to join the Becks and Farnwells in their survival plan. The fourth and final family to be asked to join the group was Fred and Anna Hesse. Fred, a physicist, and Anna a medical doctor, would compliment the group’s skill set. Based on the premise of an comet crashing into earth (a scenario that has happened before, only this time it’s 60 kilometers!) Small wanted to do a series based on scientific theory so he sought out the top scientists and comet experts – including Brian Marsden who the NY Times called the “go-‐to guy for anything related to comets.”
Latin Heat sat down with both Eric Small and cast member Jay Montalvo to talk about the drama of creating, producing and launching this ambitious and insightful digital series -‐ 10,000 Days. LATIN HEAT: A lot m ore research goes in to creating a Sci-‐Fi series, it seems it would be m ore costly, at least 10,000 Days looks like a million dollar series. Why a Sci-‐Fi series on the web? Jay Montalvo
Eric Small
Eric Small: That is my expertise. I began my career writing Sci-‐Fi and a ction. But the idea for the webseries came to me during the 2007/2008 writer’s strike. I was going to make it a feature b ut thought to myself, why not as a digital show for the web. Erika Lockridge put some money behind it and here were are.
LATIN HEAT: Tell us about the geneses for your story. ES: My premise for the story was ‘what if a comet hit earth?’ It’s all speculative but based on scientific theory. I spoke to scientists and physicists, one of who was Brian Marsden the utmost expert on comets (he passed away last year). He said no one really knows what would happen if a comet should hit earth. It depends on how dense it is, how much is made of rock, how much of gas. So I came up with a 60 kilometer comet — Marsden said ‘OK you can have a little creative license’. He calculated that if a 60 kilometer comet crashed into the earth’s ocean it would go straight to the bottom in a nano second and explode, creating a crater 10 times the Continued on page 4
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“Westcliffe Colorado is a diverse area. There are Latinos, Native Americans -‐-‐ a melting pot. That became part of the deal.” “The Drama” continued from page 3
diameter of the comet. Now you have a 600 kilometer crater in the ocean and what that does is displace all that water in every direction traveling 600 kilometers inland. There would then be heat blasts and fire storms. Then the freezing would begin, which is exactly what h appens in 10,000 Days.
The Observatory is home to the Becks and Hesses
Anarchy): Peter Michael Wingfield (X-‐ Men, Highlander: Endgame); Lisa LATIN HEAT: I am so not a Sci-‐Fi fan Pelikan (Lionheart, Julia); Jay Montalvo but I did get to see some of the (Los Americans, Commander in Chief), episodes and I really got into Riley Smith (The Glades, Not Another them. What’s going to get everyone Teen Movie), Kim Myers (Nightmare on excited about seeing this series and not have them feel like it’s a “shoot’em Elm Street Part 2, White Palace) …all felt the same thing. up in outer space”? ES: Seeing a show online that really captures the spirit of storytelling – and the great cast we have p ut together. If you get p eople interested in the characters they will follow the show. There is also the relatability factor. When you h ave people asking themselves ‘What would I do if I had been chosen? What would I be able to contribute to the clan in some meaningful way to survive if I had been chosen?’ Then they are engaged. That is what excited our cast. John Schneider (Smallville, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman) came on board because of the concept — and h e’s had a great career. He doesn’t need to do a digital series. All the rest of the cast – James Harvey Ward (Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Sons of
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Jay Montalvo: That’s where I think it pulls d ifferently from other Sci-‐Fi shows. I’ve seen other shows…and It’s always been about the ‘what if’ situation or ‘let me show you something you’ve never seen before’ but the aspect of what is true to the nature of humanity isn’t there – at least I h aven’t seen it.
Jules Willcox is Amelie
I feel Eric has captured that ability to really bring in that tie so that as a viewer you really could feel — allow yourself to be more receptive to what’s being shown to you and finding the real science behind it.
ES: The love story and rivalry: Lucas has taken over as leader of the Beck clan who live in the Observatory with the Hesse clan. Veena Hesse is in love with him but he is in love with the enemy, Amelie, who is the sister of Remy Farnwell, who in turn hates the Becks. Forbidden love -‐-‐ something that at one point might bring the clans together.
LATIN HEAT: You have a great mix of drama, a love story, intrigue, rivalry, and a good dose of science thrown in. Give us a few story highlights
LATIN HEAT: Your characters are Anglo-‐American, Asian, Native American and Latinos who are an aerodynamic engineer and his wife a Continued on Page 5
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January 27, 2012 is that hopefully Hollywood will start to get an idea. LATIN HEAT: How does your character contribute to the survival of the
bio-‐chemist — not your usual Hollywood stereotypes. Why was it important to have a diverse cast? ES: Westcliffe Colorado is a diverse area. There are Latinos, Native Americans -‐-‐ a melting pot. That became part of the deal. America today is such a different place and to be stuck in some old concept of what it is to be Latino-‐American it’s kind of ridiculous. We are who we are and we are a product of our environment…and that’s how we built this series…we built it organically. Jay’s role was specifically designed as part of the history of the series, most of the other roles were open to whomever, 100% open. LATIN HEAT: Now Jay, how long have you waited to play a role like David Ruiz? Jay Montalvo: For me it’s been a long journey. It’s been 25 years and 25 years later I am actually getting a chance to play this role which is – wow! This character d oesn’t become “just a Latin role”, it loses itself –it’s a fabric that intertwines. And the idea that we [Latinos] exist in the future is fascinating to me! Not only as an actor but also as a h uman being. And best of all I have an opportunity to speak like I do instead of ‘speaking like dis’. Another reason
JM: David Ruiz, because of his expertise in science and engineering is in charge of the solar and the wind power that sustains them from a p ower source and anything that has to do with tech David is the guy. We have all participated in the idea of trying to make this “clan” a unit that will sustain them from a power source and anything that has to do with tech David is the guy. We have all participated in the idea of trying to make this “clan” a unit that will sustain it and have survived as a unit –like a family…literally. My character loses a daughter during the journey, but there is a grandson whose father is Lucas Beck. So the Becks and Ruizs now are connected through their grandson, M ilo Beck. LATIN HEAT: So what is the difference between a digital series and a TV show audience? ES: Web audiences’ attention span is short 2-‐ 3 minute, average. It’s what we call lean forward watching, making it a challenge to get loyal dedicated audiences. Television is lean back viewing. It’s been documented that the average TV viewing for individuals is 5 hours a day. Now everyone wants a piece of that 5 hours -‐-‐ online, cable, network want a piece of that 5 hours. Things will change, as p eople will be able to connect their Web-‐TV viewing to a television screen. Most new TVs have Netflix and h ave Wi-‐Fi and now you just plug in and watch our shows. LATIN HEAT: You actually laid out a plan for the life of your webseries. Can you share that with us? ES: Our plan was, shoot the episodes and get a distributor to sell the webseries. It’s hard Continued on Page 6
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By Bel Hernandez
Philadelphia, PA – Comcast made a major announcement recently that has been a long time coming. Comcast has selected four networks, two headed by American Latinos with English programming and two by African-‐Americans. Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Robert Rodriguez heads the El Rey Network, one of the four selected out of over 100 proposals, to be broadly distributed on Comcast Cable systems between April 2012 and January 2014. Rodriguez, who already heads Troublemaker Studios will now add TV mogul to his growing list of credits. Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures executives John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa proposed the El Rey Network which is designed to be an action-‐packed, general entertainment network in English for Latino and general audiences that includes a mix of reality, scripted and animated series, movies, documentaries, news, music, comedy, and sports programming. The El Rey network will include programming that features Latino producers, celebrities and public figures. The network has entered into an agreement to launch by January 2014. “This partnership with Comcast signals an important moment for the Latino community in this country – we are passionate about creating a wildly en-‐ tertaining destination that we can be proud of by appealing to both Latino and mass market audiences,” said Robert Rodriguez and CEO of FactoryMade Ventures John Fogelman. “We engineered El Rey to address a burgeoning opportunity to deliver unique, high-‐quality and compelling content to a hard-‐to-‐reach demographic and are excited to bring more opportunities to generations of talent, storytellers and dreamers…
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to create a show that looks good and ultimately makes money , so we use the website as a sales tool…and we figure out the demographics with Google analytics…again a sales tool. Our ultimate goal is to get it on TV. The web is a great place to begin to incubate an idea…but wouldn’t it be fantastic to develop a one-‐hour show for TV? But not stop there, after the TV deal, the web show would be developed to present back-‐story and go back 10,000 days with the characters all recast younger and say here is how they were back then. LATIN HEAT: And the response has been good I hear with both the audience and the industry. Can you project forward? ES: Yes, we are in talks with a major studio. If all goes well we’ll have a deal with them; they in turn will make a deal with an online premiere site, whether it’s like Hulu or YouTube or whoever wants to support with marketing and advertising. From there they will window it out to other online video sites, which will then go to iTunes as a download and Amazon for DVD. Hopefully we will get a mobile deal or sponsorship and then they will spin it out internationally. That is the goal. Eric, Jay — Thank you for granting Latin Heat one of the first few interviews in this early stage of the show. It’s made a Sci-‐Fi fan out of me — at least a 10,000 Days Sci-‐Fi fan. Author: Bel Hernandez Castillo is an award-‐winning journalist and publisher of Latin Heat Entertainment
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“WHO” Continued fro Page 2
he was the first to do so with a with a unique formula: “Comedies for us, by us”. By constantly writing, directing, producing, and acting in Black family comedies, he essentially wrote otherwise invisible African-‐American families into existence. Black-‐Americans responded by supporting Perry’s efforts with their attendance, viewership, and dollars. Which raises an important question for the Latino community today: who will be our Tyler Perry? Who is that man or woman that will take our unique point of view, life experiences and universal stories to the forefront of American culture and then – hopefully – the world? Before anyone replies with a searing criticism of the Madea films, I’m not talking about duplicating the artistic sensibility of Tyler Perry’s work; I’m talking about a creative leader who capitalizes on his fundamental premise: culture-‐specific projects with great characters and heart.
Tyler Perry Studios employs over 300 industry professionals, a significant number being of African-‐American descent. Imagine what a Latino-‐owned studio like his could do for our community. So who could it be? Robert Rodriguez maybe? Rodriguez who will be heading the new El Rey Network to be distributed by Comcast, is in the prime position to step into Perry’s TV mogul shoes. He is already familiar with successfully working outside the Hollywood system (Machete, Spy Kids, Desperado, Sin City) making box office hits. Other candidates include Stand-‐up Comic and TV personality George Lopez, multifaceted actress/producer Salma Hayek or new reality Queen B, Jennifer Lopez. I’m leaning toward San Diego border-‐child and award-‐ winning writer Rick Najera (Latinologues, Nothing Like he Holidays, Mad TV), w ho has been w riting Latino comedy for the stage, film and television for years and is m y current business partner. Together we are working the “Perry” angle. Stay tuned. La lucha continua. Author:
Rafael Agustín is the co-star and co-writer of the comedy show N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK, Festival Manager of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) and alumni of 2011 CBS Diversity Showcase. He received his BA and MA from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television.
Read related articles on latinheat.com lRobert Rodriguez Is “El Rey” at New Comcast TV Network l“QʼViva! The Chosen” To Premiere March 3 on FOX lLatinos Speak English…Networks beginning to listen
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January 27, 2012