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Critically Acclaimed B-Boy Blues Series Headed to Silver Screen
James Earl Hardy and Maurice Jamal to Team Up with the Producer of "Noah's Arc"
Filmmaker Maurice Jamal ("Dirty Laundry," "The Ski Trip") and author James Earl Hardy ("B-Boy Blues Series," "The Second Time Around") have announced that the acclaimed first novel in the "B-Boy Blues" series "B-Boy Blues," is headed for the silver screen.
Scheduled to begin shooting this fall in Brooklyn, New York, the film will be directed by Maurice Jamal, produced by Carol Ann Shine ("Noah's Arc") and executive produced by Neil R. Lowe, for Phoenix Communications.
The critically acclaimed "B-Boy Blues" series is an international best seller that is credited with starting a national discussion about urban gay life. After five sequels, the series has earned millions of readers and adoring fans of a sexual orientations.
"B-Boy Blues" follows the life and misadventures of Mitchell Crawford, a young, smart, magazine writer who has a great career but is unlucky in love. One day a 21-year-old bike messenger named Rahiem walks through the door, and neither his nor Mitchell's life will ever be the same.
Relevant and bold, the film tackles sexuality and romance in a daring love story with no bounds for the hip-hop generation.
Casting for "B-Boy Blues" is currently underway in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.bboybluesthemovie.com.
Maurice Jamal
Maurice Jamal is a critically acclaimed and award winning feature-film producer and director. He is President and CEO of MoJAM Entertainment whose mission is to produce high-quality films and television programming geared towards an urban audience with strong crossover appeal. Mr. Jamal's latest film, "Dirty Laundry" is the winner of the 2006 Blockbuster Audience Award for Best U.S. Feature at the American Black Film Festival and is being distributed in theaters nationwide by Codeblack Entertainment and FOX Pictures.
His first film, "The Ski Trip" was a indie cult hit and was made for under $30,000 dollars in just 10 days. The film went on to win four Best Feature film awards and two Jury prizes on the festival circuit including three directing awards for Jamal. It struck a strong chord with audiences looking for progressive urban films and played to sold-out audiences across the country.
A noted cultural critic, writer and comic, Maurice Jamal is the Editor-at-Large for UNeQ Magazine, the African-American lifestyle magazine. He also regularly writes op-ed pieces about hip hop culture, politics, sexuality, and pop culture that appear in publications and online, including VIBE and AOL Black Voices. He also appears in the documentaries "Pick Up the Mic" and "Just Between Us." In addition, he is producing the landmark documentary "Black or Pink: Sexuality, God, and Black America."
Jamal is a founding member of the Board of Directors of The Blackhouse Foundation, a newly launched initiative designed to increase opportunities for African-American filmmakers.
James Earl Hardy
James Earl Hardy is best known as the author of the "B-Boy Blues" series which includes: "B-Boy Blues," "2ND Time Around," and "If Only for One Nite." The series is credited with launching the afrocentric, gay, hip-hop, love genre.
Mr. Hardy has also written a biography on filmmaker Spike Lee and a portrait of recording artists Boyz II Men, both are part of the Chelsea House Black Achievement Series. In addition, he is featured in "Out With It: Gay and Straight Teens Write About Homosexuality," "Out In All Directions: The Almanac of Lesbian," and "Gay America and Shade: An Anthology of Fiction by Gay Men of African Descent."
Mr. Hardy is an honors graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism; he is also a feature writer and entertainment critic. His work has earned him grants from the E.Y. Harburg Arts Foundation and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors; two Educational Press Association Writing Awards; a Columbia Press Association Feature Writing Citation; a Village Voice writing fellowship; and scholarships from the Paul Rapport Memorial Foundation and the National and New York chapters of the Association of Black Journalists.
About MoJAM Entertainment
Established in 2004, MoJAM Entertainment is an independent media company dedicated to creating quality film and television projects that represent the diverse urban experience. By combining compelling stories with expert craftsmanship and utilizing the newest technologies, MoJAM has quickly made a name of itself by producing topical and relevant films to the screen and showing their commercial viability. We aggressively seek out projects that represent often undeserved audiences, including youth, female and gay and lesbian focused stories. This is due in part to our commitment to expand the current panorama of cinema and a sound business model that shows the economic upside to serving these audiences and moving them to the mainstream.
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