[Video Interview] LOUDPVCK
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This post was originally posted on our affiliate site, Chicago Music.
LOUDPVCK is made up of two DJs/producers, Kenny Beats and Ryan Marks, who met in college while studying at Berklee College of Music and started producing music together. They have exploded all over the music with collaborations and remixes from Nervo, Skrillex, A-Trak, Dillon Francis... the list goes on. We spent the day doing some of their favorite things ahead of their recent Chicago show at The Mid. There's no doubt these guys are true music lovers, as well as "marijuana connoisseurs," as Kenny likes to put it. Be sure to check out their new EP, Botany, as well as their upcoming tour dates.
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[Interview] Zac Efron, Max Joseph, Emily Ratajkowski, Them Jeans (We Are Your Friends)
Header via R.M.T. / WENN
While the current EDM scene has only been in mainstream prominence in recent years, it has more than its fair share of detractors and controversy, specifically focused on the wild partying, drugs, and the criticism that comes with any and all forms of music. However, writer/director Max Joseph attempts to offer an honest in-depth look at the EDM scene with his film, We Are Your Friends, using the scene and community as the setting for this coming of age film starring Zac Efron and Emily Ratajkowski.
During the press circuit for the film, I had the chance to partake in a roundtable interview alongside other Chicago-based journalists to discuss We Are Your Friends with Efron, Ratajkowski, Joseph, and DJ consultant Jason Stewart (AKA Them Jeans). Read along as we discuss EDM, the film, the actors' DJ names, and more!
[SXSW Interview] Jim Murphy (Lava)
[This interview was originally published during our SXSW 2015 coverage. It’s being re-posted to coincide with Inside Out's theatrical release.]
Video by Elijah Alvarado
Pixar is renowned for their ability to tell captivating stories that can not only appeal to a large audience, but do so by tapping into very real emotions. Lava, the new short by first-time director Jim Murphy, tells the story of a volcano who yearns for someone to love as millions of years pass. In this short clip from our interview with Murphy during SXSW, he discusses the inspiration behind Lava and even performs a part of the Lava song, as well. Prepare to have the song stuck in your head for days!
Lava will premiere in front of Inside Out when it comes to theaters June 19th.
[SXSW Interview] Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
Video by Elijah Alvarado.
To coincide with the film's theatrical release, we are re-releasing our Spy interviews from this year's SXSW.
Paul Feig has risen up as one of Hollywood's best directors for comedies thanks to films like Bridesmaids and his penchant for creating strong female characters in a socially-aware landscape that asks for such positive depictions. It's this specific point that I wanted to hear more of from both Feig and Spy lead actress Melissa McCarthy (who also played a supporting role in Bridesmaids). I got the chance to do exactly that during a roundtable interview with Feig and a short red carpet interview with McCarthy ahead of Spy's SXSW premiere on March 15th.
[Video Interview] Kim Shaw, David Dastmalchian, and Collin Schiffli (ANIMALS)
[Ruby Hornet will be covering SXSW from March 7th to March 16th. Follow along as we bring you exclusive film reviews, photos, daily features, and interviews with filmmakers, actors, and musicians!]
ANIMALS holds a special place in my heart. The dark drama details the story of a couple, Bobbie (Kim Shaw) and Jude (David Dastmalchian), addled with opiate addiction while living in Jude's car in Chicago. During this year's SXSW, I had the chance to talk to Shaw, Dastmalchian (who also served as the film's writer), and ANIMALS director Collin Schiffli about the film, any semblance to real life events, and how important of a role Chicago played, both as a setting, but also as a narrative piece. ANIMALS won SXSW accolades for Special Jury Recognition for Courage in Storytelling for Dastmalchian's writing, so it's not just my personal bias speaking out about how amazing this film is.
You can watch the video interview below and expect a full review of the film super soon.
Chicago's "Historic" Torture Reparations Package
Post written by special guest contributor, Freddy Martinez.
Chicago has become the first U.S. city to formally acknowledge torture by its police department. Community activists, victims and lawyers first pushed to expose widespread torture under police commander Jon Burge over twenty-seven years ago. The work began when People's Law Office represented Andrew Wilson's civil lawsuit against Chicago Police and Burge in the early 1980s. Human Rights Watch notes that Wilson was burned by cigarettes and electrocuted by a “black box” for over seventeen hours.
In 1990, John Conroy reported that a different person, Roy Wade Brown, was interrogated by police and his finger was placed in a bolt cutter with threats to cut it off. Furthermore, “he was taken to the roof of the police station and was told he would be thrown off." In another instance, while under police custody, Burge and another officer beat a victim named Will Porch "with a .44 Magnum pistol… emptied the revolver of all but one bullet, and then forced him to play a one-sided game of Russian Roulette." Other abuses included electric shocks to the genitals, beatings, suffocation with plastic bags, and coercions into false confessions. The torture was so endemic that in 2009, Illinois established the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act to review and investigate hundreds of cases of alleged abuse. The Commission was defunded in 2012, essentially destroying their ability to investigate further.
The torture committed by the Chicago Police Department occurred long before the much-publicized torture of Iraqis by US troops in Abu Ghraib. Indeed as the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UN CAN) notes “However, it [UN CAN] remains concerned that, despite the fact that [Jon] Burge was convicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, no Chicago police officer has been convicted for these acts of torture for reasons including the statute of limitations expiring. While noting that several victims were ultimately exonerated of the underlying crimes, the vast majority of those tortured most (sic) of them African-Americans, have received no compensation for the extensive injuries suffered”. Of course, Chicago did not unilaterally adopt UN CAN's recommendations. The People's Law Office who worked alongside the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Project, alongside other groups, to lobby for this reparations package. After decades of struggle, the Chicago's City Council has finally created a formal reparations package funded with more five million dollars of compensation to victims among other concessions. The concession package includes a formal apology from the City Council, a public memorial to torture survivors, free enrollment at City Colleges, psychological counseling services and more. Of particular importance is that Chicago Public Schools will create a curriculum that teaches the history of police torture.
To understand the history of torture further Ruby Hornet spoke with Shubra Ohri, staff attorney at the People's Law Office, about the package.
[SXSW Interview] Raekwon
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Video by Elijah Alvarado
During SXSW last month, we had the chance to catch up with RH homie Raekwon The Chef. Rae talked to us about his crowdfunding campaign for "The Purple Tape Files" a documentary based on the making of his debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx." This year marks the 20th anniversary of the project that not only solidified Rae as a solo artist but one of the best MC in Hip-Hop. We also talked about the creative process for his new upcoming album Fly International Luxurious Art (F.I.L.A). He discusses collaborations on the project with A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, and bringing in new producers to the fold. Check out the first part of the interview above and the second part below.
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Steven Piet, Erik Crary, John Ashton (Uncle John)
Photo by Emily Reas
Uncle John was one of my favorite films from SXSW this year, as is not-so-subtly hinted at in my review of the film, because of the film's invitation to explore its characters. And what better way is there to discuss a film than meeting with its writers, directors, and lead actor? Just a short period of time before Uncle John's premiere at SXSW on March 16th, I sat down with the film's co-writers and co-directors Steven Piet and Erik Crary, as well as Uncle John himself, John Ashton. Read on as we discuss the film's story structure, inspirations, and more!