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Home » Entertainment Content Studio HOBO Films Launches, Debuting New Episodic Drama “The System”

Entertainment Content Studio HOBO Films Launches, Debuting New Episodic Drama “The System”


On The Heels Of The 2017 Viral Hit “This Is Your Brain On Drug Policy,” 
New Series Features Actor Lolita Foster From Netflix’s Hit “Orange Is The New Black”

NEW YORK, NY – Howard Bowler, the Founder/President of Green Point Creative, the marijuana advocacy branding agency, and HOBO, the award-winning creative audio studio known for its work in features, television and advertising, has announced the launch of HOBO Films, a long-form original content development company. In conjunction with the launch of the company, and the annual 420 day, they have released the first five-minutes of episode 1 of “The System,” a scripted, dramatic coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the war on drugs.  The show was created by Bowler and features actress Lolita Foster from the Netflix show “Orange Is The New Black.” HOBO Films is currently pursuing distribution options with both traditional broadcast networks and streaming services.

“This series is based on my personal experience raising mixed race children and how the war on drugs affects them differently than it affected my own life,” Bowler says. “When I learned how in the 1970s the federal government came to classify marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, I found the key to a much larger story — one that hasn’t been told.”

Click here to watch the episode.

In 2016, Bowler took his first steps towards drug law reform by launching Green Point Creative, the agency he created along with HOBO Vice President Chris Stangroom. The mission was to educate the public on the origin of the “war on drugs.”  In 2017, Green Point Creative scored a huge viral hit with the PSA, “Your Brain On Drug Policy.”  In this recreation of the classic 1997 anti-drug spot, “Your Brain On Drugs” actress Rachael Leigh Cook, reprised her iconic role but with a twist. The Green Point produced PSA was seen over 7 million times and received wide media coverage in publications including Rolling Stone, Slate, Glamour, Essence, Playboy, NY Daily News, CNBC, New York and others. “The System” pilot was directed by award winning, commercial director Michael Cruz; and edited by Oliver Parker, who just wrapped two seasons of the critically acclaimed BBC series, “London Kills.” 

“Now that the pilot is complete, our hope is that the audience will relate to the characters in our story and come to understand the hidden dynamics of the war on drugs,” Bowler notes. “Releasing it for 4/20 will hopefully serve as a reminder that not everyone gets to party.” 

Bowler adds, “This show exposes how through traffic stops, tickets, searches and multiple court dates the ‘war on drugs’ has expanded from its origins into today’s massive catastrophe. Like alcohol prohibition from the 1930’s, ‘The System’ illustrates what happens when society outlaws a relatively benign and popular substance. Marijuana in particular captures the imagination. It impacts everything from history, politics, race, science, health, criminal justice and the arts. All these topics will be woven into the series’ storylines. Given the current climate, we believe the public is ready for this kind of show.” 

For more information about “The System,” go to IMDB.com.

About HOBO Films:

HOBO Films is the latest venture from award-winning creative audio studio HOBO and Green Point Creative, the marijuana advocacy agency whose 2017 PSA “This Is Your Brain On Drug Policy,” starring actor Rachael Leigh Cooke, went viral with over 7 million views on social media. The first project from HOBO Pictures is “The System,” a dramatic series about the real world effects of the drug war on one New Jersey middle class family. For more information about “The System,” go to IMDB.com.  

Community & Partner Links

How Sony’s New Virtual Sound Technology Can Change How We Hear Films

Kami Asgar and Jessica Parks are post-production heavyweights who work with major studios, namely Sony. As a sound designer (Asgar) and as a post executive (Parks), their collective resume touches on everything from Apocalypto to Grandma’s Boy to Venom.

Parks has recently shifted her focus from supervisor to hands-on sound design, and we talk about how it’s never too late to pivot on your career path and find the thing you love doing wherever you are in life.

Click on this link to read the rest of the article on No Film School’s site.

NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020

 Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years.

Click this link if you want to read the full article on the Lexology site. http://bit.ly/35NtDx6

Film Commish announces date for production restart

In her December 18, 2020 news update, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo announced that the Film Office is now accepting permit applications for production activity that begins on July 27th.

She also announced awards now (Awkwafina) and more. To read all of the Film Commish’s bloggy sort of news column, click here.

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

The coronavirus relief package that Congressional leaders agreed to this week includes grant money that many small proprietors described as a last hope for survival.

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last.

To read the full article on The New York Times’ site, click here.

If you want to start production, here’s the latest news from the Mayor’s Office

Phase 4 production guidance is available on the Film Permit website. All production activity, whether it requires a Film Permit or not, must comply with New York Forward Industry Guidance.

For more information see, please refer to the State Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for Media Production During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Please review the guidelines and FAQ before submitting permit applications. The Film Office is operating remotely, so please allow additional time for Film Permit processing.

The above paragraphs contain links to the various FAQ – just mouse over the relevant words.

Nikon to Stop Making Cameras in Japan

Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there’s a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.

To read the full article on Petapixel’s site, click here.

NVIDIA Uses AI to Slash Bandwidth on Video Calls

NVIDIA Research has invented a way to use AI to dramatically reduce video call bandwidth while simultaneously improving quality

What the researchers have achieved has remarkable results: by replacing the traditional h.264 video codec with a neural network, they have managed to reduce the required bandwidth for a video call by an order of magnitude. In one example, the required data rate fell from 97.28 KB/frame to a measly 0.1165 KB/frame – a reduction to 0.1% of required bandwidth.

To read the rest of this article on Petapixel, click this link.

 

 

 

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) — The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit accusing board members of breaching their duty to treat all plan participants fairly.

Endries and Nichols, members of Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild, said in July that the board left them and others “out in the cold” in its attempts to address the problems COVID-19 caused for plan participants.

But Judge Klausner agreed with the board’s contention that the case, which alleged a fiduciary breach, should be tossed because plan administrators don’t act as fiduciaries when they amend health care plans.

Read the full article on the Law360 site by clicking here.

Russo Brothers Received Close to $50 Million From Saudi Bank

Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo photographed at the PMC Studio in Los Angeles for the Variety Playback Podcast.

The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company AGBO from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell Variety.

In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop.

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