Akira’s Hip Hop Shop stars James Kyson Lee (”Heroes”) and Emayatzy Corinealdi (”The Young & the Restless”). A Joe Doughrity film.

AHHS is screening tomorrow in the Bay Area. Thursday May 15 at 4:30 PM in the FORUM 1 building at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA.

click to view full flyer

Thanks to Nathalie Mvondo Hyland for organizing this event!

I also got a nice write-up in Campus Circle magazine. You can view the article here or download the entire issue (featuring a summer movie preview) here (I’m on page 6).

I’ve also added pictures to the previous Blog entry so check out the pics.

Finally, I started a Blog of my own to rant about non-Akira stuff. Bookmark http://dreamandimaginate.blogspot.com/ From now on I’ll leave the Indy trailers and Obama news off of here and keep this site focused on the movie. A free copy of the AHHS DVD for anyone who can guess the story behind the name Dream and Imaginate (Yes I know there’s no such word as “imaginate.”)

Back from the Bay Sunday night and then it’s time to plan for our free screening in Brooklyn on June 3rd and the Hollywood Black Film Festival on June 5th.

We will begin selling the DVD sometime this summer for those who are interested.

Best,

Joe

The day of my screening I had arranged to meet some old friends at Pizza House before the event. Martin is an old high school buddy of mine. He was a year ahead of me and we both majored in Aerospace at Cass Tech. He went on to Michigan where he met his wife, the lovely Helen. They both work on campus and reside in Ann Arbor. Ironically enough (as it relates to my movie) he’s Black and she’s Asian! I went to their wedding and ended up helping my boy Chris videotape the event. The night before the ceremony, we had a rehearsal dinner at the very same Pizza House in Ann Arbor! (I can’t shake this place.)

So after scarfing a couple of slices and talking about everything from high school to the mayor of the city of Detroit’s troubles, it was time for me to go meet my sorority contact in the nearby East Hall. Martin led the way.

ChiChi, one of the sorority members, was as nice in person as she was in her e-mails. She was a gracious host and welcomed me and my crew (my mother came up with me and there was the aforementioned Martin and Helen). I met the other gals of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Incorporated and they were all bright, charming young ladies.

Joe poses with the ladies of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. “Chi Chi” is 3rd from the left.

We waited until around 7:30 to actually roll the film, but even then we had some late arrivals. It started snowing on my drive up from Detroit and continued well into the night. It’s been nearly a year of me going around and showing the film, but this night was special because I was in my hometown! I had family and many friends in the audience. People enjoyed the film and laughed in the right places.

After the screening, I talked about how “Akira” had come about and fielded quesitons from the sorority before opening it up to the audience. We had a lively discussion and since the event was part of Asian Heritage Month there was a mixed audience of Blacks, Whites, Asians and Latinos. The discussion involved dating outside of your race, campus politics, preferences vs. fetishes, and the state of race relations in Michigan as opposed to other parts of the country. It was pretty lively with many different viewpoints represented.

The University of Michigan recently abolished affirmative action regarding their admission policies and was the subject of much debate.

Joe D. speaks. Photos courtesy of Christian Twothunderclouds.

I had a great time and look forward to taking the film to other schools. The only thing that could have made it better is if some of my cast was in attendance. Afterwards we went back to (where else) Pizza House and had more food and drinks. Then I had to drive back to Detroit in the middle of a snowstorm which made for an interesting trip.

If you’d like to schedule a screening drop me a line and if my schedule and those of any cast members allow we will do our best to make it.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS: Check the screenings page as usual, but my webmaster is pretty busy right now so I’ll run them down:

April 23, 2008: DisORIENT in Portland, Oregon. Check their site

May 2, 2008: Visual Communications presents the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

June 7, 2008: Brooklyn Museum. More information to come.

Hopefully I’ll have some video footage of the event to post soon. A buddy of mine in Detroit came out and shot some footage he’s editing.

Take care and God Bless,

Joey D.

Go see “Shutter” co-starring Akira’s own James Kyson Lee this weekend! I’m gonna find a theater in the Detroit area and show my support. James is blowing up with tons of movies coming up.

Emayatzy Corinealdi just shot a commercial directed by Kasi Lemmons! Kasi is best known for playing opposite Jodi Foster in “Silence of the Lambs” but to me she’ll always be the sexy (and fine) reporter in the underrated “Fear of a Black Hat” turned director of films like “Eve’s Bayou” and “Caveman’s Valentine.” Go ‘head Emay…. the rest of the world is about to discover your shining star.

Cordele Taylor, who plays Corey, just did an advertising campaign with Donald Trump, is kickin’ it with college hotties in Mexico during Spring Break, and can be seen around Los Angeles on billboards where he portrays a drug addict! Brother man is versitile and on the grind.

Hitoshi Yoshikawa, Associate Producer of “Akira” is currently shooting his own thesis film. Good luck Yoshi, you’ll do fine…. just sorry I can’t be on the shoot with you.

Randi Tahara and Rintaro Sawamoto just worked together on a USC thesis film playing mother and son. Can’t wait to see it.

“Akira” will be shown in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan next week. I’m excited as it’s the first screening in my home state! Yay!! And I get to spend some time with my family which is always good.

Lots of action on the feature front, but like KRS One said when he was part of Boogie Down Productions: “Real bad boys move in silence.”

And there’s weddings galore happening behind the scenes with several “Akira” crew members. This info isn’t for public consumption, but let’s just say the love generated with “Akira” spread to the crew as well.

Have a Happy Easter everyone.

Industry peeps feel free to e-mail me for ticket info. Others prepare to pay $5. You also get another short or two and a live performance.

I’d also like to acknowledge the passing of acting great Ivan Dixon. If you only know him from TV’s “Hogan’s Heroes” then you’re missing out with his performance in the classic “Nothing But a Man” and his work as a director on “The Spook Who Sat By The Door.”

VARIETY has the story at http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982642.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562

I also had the pleasure of working with his daughter Doris when we were PA’s together on “Boyz N the Hood” and even got to shake his hand. As my friend Chris Thompson in Detroit reminds me, he was part of the ‘black Espionage Triumvirate’ with Bill Cosby and Greg Morris. Ivan was a pioneer and a great man who’ll be missed.

Thanks to LA traffic I arrived late, but breakfast was still being served and the filmmakers were gathered at large tables. I grabbed a bagel and some coffee and found an empty chair at a table. Everyone was cool and I was seated between a brother from Namibia and another from England.

As I munched and scanned the room I saw some familiar faces from fests past and the LA black film scene. Another perusal of the room and I spotted Kasi Lemmons and her husband (a actor/director in his own right) Vondie Curtis-Hall. I made a mental note to go over and introduce myself since we’re both from “Tha D” (Detroit). After parlaying with the fellas at my table for a bit, I excused myself and walked over.

Vondie and Kasi were very nice. I’ve been a Kasi fan since “Silence of the Lambs” and LOVED her in “Fear of a Black Hat”. I introduced myself and told him my film was playing at the fest. I remembered a conversation I had with my Uncle Don last Christmas where he claimed to hang out with Vondie “back in the day”. I decided to take a chance and ask him if he knew my uncle by his legal name and adding in his old nickname “Dink” for good measure. He sparked up and smiled reflectively. “Oh yeah, what’s he up too?” I filled him in, telling him my Unc was high up in the Detroit PD. Vondie confirmed that they used to hang in his “music days” (my uncle was a serious drummer and went all over the world playing in bands). My Unc had made me promise if I ever ran into Vondie to tell him that “Blubs” had gotten himself arrested. (I’m NOT making these names up, okay?!) I passed along the message but couldn’t remember what he’d been locked up for.

Satisfied, I went back to my table and settled in for a very cool presentation. The DGA’s Jon Larson gave some opening remarks and introduced PAFF head honcho Ayuko Babu. Babu has been holding down the PAFF for 16 years! I remember going one year and being blown away by the diversity with films from all over the African diaspora from the motherland, the West Indies, Europe and all over America. It’s only gotten better in it’s old age. If you’re in LA you owe it to yourself to spend some time down at the Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 theater. Start with the AKIRA screening this Saturday at 11:15 AM

After the dynamic directing duo took the stage and gave an entertaining presentation compelling all the filmmakers assembled to strive for DGA membership and to make their films DGA signatory, the keynote speaker took the stage. It was none other than Carl Weathers, best known as Apollo Creed from the “Rocky” films (a shame they wouldn’t break him off to be in the surprisingly respectable “Rocky 6″ last year!). Mr. Weathers gave a great speech about the DGA’s role in Hollywood. It really is a great organization and I’m thankful for their past recognition of my own work. My own union, the fresh from striking WGA, hasn’t given me squat and even took my health insurance away several years ago, so there you go. I hope to one day add DGA creditentials to my resume.

After Carl Weather’s speech they passed a cordless mic around and each filmmaker got to stand and introduce their film. My table was chosen first and I think I was the fifth or sixth filmmaker to stand and do their schpeal. “Come see my film (insert title), an interracial love story about a Japanese guy and Black girl. Screening at …. (blah, blah, blah)” There were a lot of black folks (and some white folks who’d done black subject matter) with interesting material. I hope to catch some of the films this weekend.

After that I was supposed to go down to do a Q&A with some high school kids at the theater around 11:30 AM, but I didn’t get out of the DGA thing until around noon. By the time I got to the theater at 12:30 the kids were at lunch. I really wanted to hear their thoughts and criticism, too. Oh well…

Went to work at the school I teach film afterschool at then had to rush back to Crenshaw for my screening at 6:15. By the time I got my actors their tickets and we settled in, the movie was ready to roll. James couldn’t make it, but the lovely and talented Emayatzy joined me along with Cordele Taylor who plays her man in the film. The screening went really well. It was the first time that I showed the film to a majority Black audience and they laughed in all the right places. I cringed at a few nitpicky things with the projection (it was a bit dark and artifacted in a few places) but Emay and I had fun whispering about certain scenes. Seeing it on the big screen, admittedly for the fourth or fifth time, was a thrill. The sound was fantastic!

Photo credit: E. Corinealdi

Along with my film was a documentary called “As Old as My Tongue” on a singer/cultural icon from Zanzibar named Bibi Kidude who continues to perform and shock audiences in her Muslim country. It was very good and I can see why they paired me with it. It covers topics ranging from arranged marriage, cultures clashing (Arabs and Africans), and the music is funky, call and response meant to be performed around a ritualistic dance that looks like something you’d see women doing in a strip club. Except these women were fully clothed!

When the lights came up, it was time for the Q&A. No one from the second film was present, so I decided to say a few complimentary words and draw some comparisons between our films which seemed, on the surface, very different. I was joined at the mic by Emay, Cordele, Eric Kalmus and Ralph Wilson. We talked about the film. People wanted to know how I’d gotten the idea, what kind of camera I’d used, and what my future plans for it were. Autumn, a cute young lady I met via this site who came out with her sister, talked about the reality of being biracial (she’s 1/2 Black and 1/2 Japanese) and dealing with many of the things our couple endures. An older Black woman said she really enjoyed the film and wasn’t offended by any of the characters. It was great fun.

After the Q&A people left and a group came up and spoke with me. One of the first people to shake my hand looked vaguely familiar. He eventually said his name was Charles and it clicked. It was Black Cinema legend Charles Burnett! I was humbled and told him as much. The man who did “Killer of Sheep”, “To Sleep with Anger” and “My Brother’s Wedding” (not to mention “Namibia”, the festival’s opening night film) came to my screening! Recognized as a filmmaker’s filmmaker, Mr. Burnett also mentored another of my cinematic heroes Haile Gerima (”Sankofa” and my favorite, “Bush Mama”). He said he enjoyed the film and I thanked him. It really meant a lot and, in a day full of celebrity sightings, was the highlight of my day!

After milling around they cleared us out into the hallway where we mingled further. Some actors and actresses gave me their cards and we discussed the film. Before I left for the evening I had one more celebrity encounter. I ran into Keith David, another actor I’ve dreamed of working with. I pointed out my poster and we struck up a conversation. I told him I also make documentaries and would love for him to narrate one. He was very down to earth and asked when my next screening was. I told him Saturday but he had a prior engagement. I ended up giving him a DVD. He gave me his info and I’d love for him to play Daphne’s father in the film. Can you imagine an Asian guy, any guy for that matter, having to pick up Keith David’s daughter for a date? Check out his roles in “Crash”, “Barbershop” and especially “Requiem for a Dream”!

The awards brunch is Monday and I plan to attend. Neither of my producers could attend today’s DGA bash as it was ONLY for the directors of the film. I kept them in the loop throughout the day. (Glad I have a good text plan.) So it was an eventful day. I don’t anticipate a repeat for Saturday’s show since it’s an 11:20 AM slot and there’s no Q&A, but it should still be fun.

The cherry on top of my Valentine’s Day was the unveiling of the trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie (yeah, I know I’m a geek). I’ll be there on May 22nd wherever there is (and I hope “there” has IMAX). Check it out below and thanks for reading.

LOS ANGELES, California (February 4, 2008) – “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop”, the award-winning romantic comedy short written and directed by Joe Doughrity, will screen in Los Angeles on February 14th as part of the 16th annual Pan African Film Festival.

The Pan African Film Festival is the largest Black film festival in America. Screenings take place February 7th thru February 18th at the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 Theatres. “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” is an interracial love story about a Japanese guy (James Kyson Lee from NBC’s “Heroes”) infatuated with rap music who falls for a beautiful African-American culinary student (Emayatzy Corinealdi). They wrestle with prejudice and stereotypes from family and friends in an effort to sustain their relationship.

“Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” will be shown on February 14th at 6:20 PM. Writer and Director Joe Doughrity, recipient of the Directors Guild of America’s “Best African-American Director Award” in November of 2007, will appear at a Q&A session following the screening. Cast members Emayatzy Corinealdi and Cordele Taylor (“Epic Movie”) will also be on hand for the event.

For ticket information please contact: http://www.paff.org/home/store

An additional screenings will be held on Saturday, February 16th at11:20 AM.
Two special screenings for high school students will take place on Friday, February 8th at 10:00 AM and Thursday, February 14th at 10:00 AM.

For more information on the Pan African Film & Arts Festival please visit www.paff.org or contact info@paff.org

About “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop”

“Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” is a romantic comedy short film about a Japanese guy and a Black girl who fall for each other based on mutual attraction and common passions. The running time is approximately 37 minutes. In English with some Japanese subtitles.

www.myspace.com/akirashiphopshop

About Joe Doughrity

Photo Credit: AS Eugenio

Joe Doughrity is a screenwriter, director and documentary filmmaker. He began his careeer as an assistant to Oscar nominated director John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood). Signed by Creative Artists Agency in his early 20s, Joe enjoyed a successful career as a professional screenwriter. After watching many of his scripts languish in development, he decided to make his own films. His first effort, “Seven Days in Japan”, won Best Documentary at the San Diego Comic-con International Film Festival in 2005. Joe is a graduate of Columbia College and a member of the Writers Guild of America.

Media Contact:
Harper Public Relations
Traci Harper
HarperPR@aol.com
(310) 497-4886

Management:
Jon Brown
Ensemble Entertainment
(310) 882-8900

Direct:
joedoughrity@gmail.com

As always the credit goes to my amazing performers, fantastic crew and hard working producers.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 1, 2008

LARGEST U.S. BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT
ANNOUNCES FILMS IN COMPETITION

16th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival
Opens February 7 in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA - The 16th ANNUAL PAN AFRICAN FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL (PAFF) todayannounced the line-up of films selected from a record number of submissions for their 2008 film competition. Known for showcasing new films first and recognized as America’s premiere black film festival, past PAFF features have included box office and award-winning hits: Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Redemption, Crazy As Hell, Kingdom Come, The Brothers, Gridlock’d, Days of Glory, and the 2006 Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Film, Tsotsi. The film festival will take place in Los AngelesFebruary 7-18, 2008 and is expected to draw over 40,000 attendees during its twelve-day run. The complete list of films is available at www.PAFF.org.

For the 2008 Pan African Film and Arts Festival, 162 films were selected including 25 world premieres and 10 U.S. premieres representing 31 countries with 9 first-time filmmakers, 49 feature-length films, 59 documentaries, and 54 international films. These films were selected from over 2,500 submissions.

At the 2008 Festival, Jury Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: Best Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Narrative Short, Best Feature, and Best Director-First Feature. New for the 2008 PAFF is the addition of The Oscar Micheaux Award, named after the first African-American filmmaker. In addition to the Jury Prizes, Audience Favorite Awards will be voted on in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short Narrative. The PAFF Vision Award will be given to the film that the Festival has chosen that best exemplifies its mission of reinforcing positive images and helping to destroy negative stereotypes.

With an overall festival attendance of 200,000, the PAFF attracts a diverse audience of over 40,000 people to its films at the AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 Theaters. Each year the PAFF presents quality films from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the South Pacific and Canada, all showcasing the diversity and complexity of people of African descent. PAFF also presents one of America’s largest fine art shows featuring prominent and emerging Black artists and fine craftspeople held at the BaldwinHillsCrenshawPlaza. Other signature PAFF events include over a dozen industry panels and workshops, the PAFF StudentFest®, ChildrensFest®, SpokenWord Fest®, Senior Connections®, and Comedy Night. For more information, please visit www.PAFF.org or call (323) 295-1706.

NOTE: Only the narrative shorts in competition are listed below. For the full list please visit www.paff.org

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION

The films screening in the Best Narrative Short Competition are:

AKIRA’S HIP HOP SHOP (US/Director: Joseph Doughrity) - A romantic comedy/drama about an expatriate Japanese hip hop DJ. When a young Black culinary arts student walks into his shop, his life is changed forever. Does love conquer all? Or will prejudice and politics drive the couple apart?
Los Angeles Premiere

BOLD AS LOVE (US/Director: Joshua Gee Alafia) - Mbube is a South African Saxophone player with a heroin addiction. Thandeka is his childhood friend working in new york as an au pair. A funeral brings Thandeka back to South Africa and she returns to new york with an herbal potion to help Mbube quit heroin. After fighting the advances of her employer, she loses her living situation and moves in with Mbube. Bold As Love is a film about the powers of creation and destruction, and the fine line that separates the two. It’s about facing the love that is the core of our being. Starring Thandiwe Maphumulo, Ezra Mabengeza, Roger Guenveur Smith, Magaly Colimon, Masauko, Vincent Burwell, Lady Blue, Miralva Melo Swaby, Lady Blue and Duke Mseleku.
Premiere

DRAWING ANGEL (US/Director: Rosalyn Coleman Williams) - Lonely and new to the city, Samantha meets Levi, a 9-year-old boy displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Starring Vanessa Williams.
Los Angeles Premiere

PARIAH (US/Director: Dee Rees) - A Bronx lesbian teenager juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from friends and family but pressure from home, school, and within corrodes the line between her dual personas with explosive consequences.
Premiere

SPIN (US/Director: Tamika Lamison) - On the eve of a big press conference with the nation’s top critics, premiere book publicist Alex Burke and her lover James Hughes, a former National Fiction Award winner whose last three novels bombed, joyously celebrate that she hooked the New York Times and he negotiated the printing of 100,000 more copies of the book. Yet a horrible betrayal deals a deathly blow to their relationship. What follows is a series of events that make us question the reality of artistic integrity–do we ever really know the truth behind who wrote a famous novel, movie, song? In the end, Alex learns that every lie has a consequence. Even her own.
Premiere

THE KNIFE GRINDER’S TALE (US/Kenya/Director: R. L. Hooker) - Based on the short story by award-winning Kenyan author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. Ogwang, a countryside knife grinder, has lost his son to an angry city mob. Not knowing the place his son lost his life, Ogwang sets out on a journey to bridge the distance between love and death in the face of violence.
Premiere

URBAN GENESIS (US/Director: Larry Bryant) - After serving 20 years in prison, Clifford comes home to live with his daughter in hopes of making up for lost time. But the road to redemption will be harder than he thinks when he realizes that he has to deal with his daughter’s live-in boyfriend who is the mirror image of Clifford as a young man.
World Premiere

WE ARE ALL RWANDANS (Rwanda/UK/Director: Debs Gardner-Paterson) - NyangeSchool, 18th March 1997: a day in the life of six normal students who had to make the decision of their lives. Recreated in dramatic form, this is the true story of a rebel attack in post-genocide Rwanda, filmed in the school and village where the real events took place.
Los Angeles Premiere

The film will be shown in Los Angeles as part of the Pan African Film Festival on Thursday February 14th at 6:20PM at the Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 Theater. For ticket information please see the site. The film will also screen on Saturday February 16th at 11:20 AM.

I can’t think of a better day than Valentine’s Day to showcase our romantic, 21st century couple! Hopefully you can come out and join us. There will be a Q&A following the screening. Industry folk should contact the Pan African Film Festival staff or me directly.

Also it appears we’ve fixed our newsletter problem, so be sure you sign up via the link on the top of the front page. This way you can be kept up to date on screenings, news, developments with the feature, etc.

May is Asian American Heritage Month and we’ve been invited to a couple of colleges to screen the movie and talk race relations. I’ll announce the first school and date in the next e-blast. If you want us to visit your campus drop me a line.

best,

Joe D.

******************************************************************
In this edition…

1. The Directors Guild of America promotes “Akira” among winners.
2. “Akira” to screen at the L.A. Pan African Film Festival in February.
3. “Akira” to screen in New York City on February 9th.
4. Joe gets some ink (Part I).
5. Joe gets some ink (Part II).
6. Progress report: “Akira” feature film.

1. THE DGA MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES THEIR MINORITY WINNERS

The Directors Guild honored their “Best Directors” in November and I was lucky enough to nab a trophy and some much needed funds. It meant a lot winning such a prestigious award and I invited 10 crew members to attend the ceremony and reception. See me cheesing smack dab in the top center of the photo at:

http://directors-guild.org/news/dgamonthly-0108/evnt_sfaw-0108.php3

2. AKIRA AT THE PAFF NEXT MONTH

I’m happy to announce that “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” has been accepted in the 2008 Pan African Film Festival being held February 7-18th in Los Angeles. This is a very happening festival I’ve attended many times in the past and seen rare gems like the British sci-fi flick “Welcome to the Terrordome.” When our screening time(s) are announced I will likely post it on the site or send out a quick E-blast. Screenings will be held at the DGA and the Magic Johnson Theaters. For more info check out www.paff.org

Some of the films go on to screen in Atlanta so stay tuned ATL!

3. AKIRA IN THE BIG APPLE

My esteemed producing partner Joseph Shim hooked me up with a guy out of New York named Dave Kim who’s bringing “Akira” to NYC in a big way as part of the Korean American Film Festival on February 9th at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts NYU. They will also be showing one feature, Juwan Chung’s “Baby”, which is sort of an Asian-American “Boyz N the Hood”. I saw it in San Diego when Juwan and I were both part of the SDAFF and I can tell you it’s damn good. The short program, where “Akira” will air, starts at 4pm while “Baby” rolls at 7pm. Unfortunately, yours truly won’t be in attendance but hopefully some of my NYC Peeps will show up for a chance to see the flick. For more info see www.kaffny.com

4. INTERVIEW WITH IFQ MAGAZINE

Photo credit: Elisa Haber/DGA

Independent Film Quarterly did a nice write up on me where I talk about my filmmaking experiences. It makes for an interesting read (but then I’m biased). Go to: http://www.independentfilmquarterly.com/ifq/interviews/joseph-doughrity.htm

5. INTERVIEW WITH HOLLYWOOD SCRIPTWRITER MAGAZINE

Hollywood Scriptwriter wrote me up in their new issue. The picture they used was of me winning Best Documentary down in San Diego at the Comic-con for “Seven Days in Japan” (which you can order at www.popcultureshock.com/sevendays). The issue is available for download at the URL below. My piece is on page 26 if you wanna get right to it.

http://www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com/subscription_downloads06/Dec07.pdf

6. PROGRESS REPORT: WHAT’S NEXT FOR “AKIRA”?

As I’ve mentioned in the blog, the Writers Guild strike is slowing us down a bit. Still, we’ve had inquiries from production companies, financiers, and even an agent at one of the big talent agencies to be a part of this thing. There are many scenarios at play and I’m looking to take my time and make the right deal with the right people for the feature film. It’s gonna be bigger and better than the short. Expanding on the characters, situations and themes of the world we merely touched on in the 37 minute short. I’m excited and grateful for the support.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

—————————————————-
Joe D. (Doughrity)
Writer / Producer / Director
Scripts + Docs + Motion Pictures
Gre8t Lakes Entertainment
http://www.akirashiphopshop.com
http://www.myspace.com/akirashiphopshop
http://www.youtube.com/jdtube2006
Contact: joed@akirashiphopshop.com