or


[06/02/15 - 08:59 AM]
"Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014," A Thought-Provoking Look at the Lives and Untimely Deaths of People Killed by Gun Violence in America, Debuts June 22, Exclusively on HBO
The film details victims' lives in the moments leading up to the shootings and shows how each death reverberates in the lives of others.

[via press release from HBO]

"REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD: AMERICAN SPRING 2014," A THOUGHT-PROVOKING LOOK AT THE LIVES AND UNTIMELY DEATHS OF PEOPLE KILLED BY GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA, DEBUTS JUNE 22, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

Emmy(R) Winners Shari Cookson And Nick Doob Direct

More than 32,000 people die from gun violence every year in America, an average of 88 people per day. REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD: AMERICAN SPRING 2014 highlights a few of the estimated 8,000 individuals who died from gunfire that spring, drawing exclusively on found media - news accounts, police investigations and social media - to shine a light on little-known stories of tragic loss, bringing the victims to life in their own words and images.

Directed by Shari Cookson and Nick Doob (HBO's Emmy(R)-winning "The Memory Loss Tapes" and Emmy(R)-nominated "Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert"), this timely documentary debuts MONDAY, JUNE 22 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: June 22 (4:35 a.m.), 25 (5:00 p.m.) and 28 (3:45 p.m.), and July 3 (9:00 a.m.), 4 (12:30 p.m.), 9 (12:15 p.m.) and 14 (3:35 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: June 24 (noon, 8:00 p.m.) and July 7 (12:10 a.m.), 12 (8:30 a.m.) and 31 (8:15 a.m.)

From a Facebook status update to a post on Instagram, from a newspaper headline to on-the-scene video, REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD details victims' lives in the moments leading up to the shootings and shows how each death reverberates in the lives of others.

Whether by homicide, accident or suicide, a wide cross-section of Americans - men and women, young and old, from every racial background - are victims and perpetrators of gun violence. With images from social media postings, frantic 911 calls, police reports and videos, each story is hauntingly laid out through the unmediated expressions that remain. REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD places the viewer in victims' and their families' lives, capturing the shock and grief felt by their loved ones as the survivors are left to make sense of the horrific events.

Among the eight stories from 2014 are:

"Military Wife" - By all appearances, Kyla and Alex Ryng lived a happy life with three young children in Bristol, Conn. But the pair began having marital issues, and Kyla filed for divorce. Alex, a member of the Army National Guard, bought a gun, and shot his wife and himself a few days later while the kids were in their bedrooms.

"My Rock Is Gone" - Tiffany Davenport married Melvin Ray in Topeka, Kan. on May 24. But the couple's joy turned to tragedy in the early hours of the next morning, when she was killed in the crossfire of a gang shootout, leaving her new husband and daughter, Destiny, devastated.

"In the Other Room" - Drafted by the Green Bay Packers, Jerel Worthy was always excited when his grandma, Mae Worthy, came to his games. When a gun handled by his grandfather discharged in the bedroom of his grandparents' Huber Heights, Ohio home, the bullet passed through the wall and into the living room where Mae was sitting, striking her in the head and killing her.

"Best Friends" - Lucas and Brady were 11-year-old best friends in Frazeysburg, Ohio, who liked to bike and play video games together. When Brady went into his dad's bedroom one day to show Lucas a loaded pistol under the bed, it accidentally went off, shooting Lucas in the heart. Brady made a frantic 911 call, but it was too late.

"My Most Beautiful Memory" - Eight days before Father's Day, Renotta Jernigan of Chesterfield, Va. asked her husband, Chris, who had trouble holding a job and was suffering from depression, for a divorce. On Father's Day, Chris shot and killed her and their two children (ages nine and two) before killing himself.

Bridging these main stories are dozens of headlines, brief, stark and shocking, coupled with vibrant photos of the people whose deaths are recounted. The film contains imagery for more than a hundred victims of gun violence in spring 2014, which is a small fraction of the 8,000-plus estimated to have died in that three-month period.

"As vérité filmmakers, we seek the authentic voice of our subjects," explain directors Shari Cookson and Nick Doob. "So in this case, we turned to social media as a way to find that voice. It was a kind of frozen time capsule, where we found our subjects engaged in their everyday lives, often until just before the shooting occurred. This became the heart of the film, the verite."

In addition to found footage, REQUIEM uses 38 pieces of preexisting music from the internet, each with its own life and intrinsic emotion, which frame the moments collected.

As the stories accumulate, it becomes evident how many of these incidents could have been prevented by proper mental-health treatment, or if guns were absent or stored more securely.

Shari Cookson and Nick Doob won an Emmy(R) for 2009's "The Memory Loss Tapes," part of HBO's "The Alzheimer's Project." Their other HBO projects include the Emmy(R)-nominated "Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert," the Emmy(R)-nominated "The Weight of the Nation for Kids: The Great Cafeteria Takeover" and "Quiz Ed!," the Emmy(R) nominees "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" (Cookson) and "Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen" (Cookson), and the Emmy(R)-winning "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty" (Doob).

REQUIEM FOR THE DEAD: AMERICAN SPRING 2014 was directed and produced by Shari Cookson and Nick Doob; executive producer, Sheila Nevins; senior producer, Nancy Abraham; producer, Sascha Weiss; edited by Shari Cookson, Nick Doob, Charlton McMillan.





  [june 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[11/21/24 - 01:05 PM]
NBC Orders Five Additional Episodes of Its Friday Night Comedy Hit "Happy's Place"
The "Happy's Place" premiere has hit 14 million viewers across all platforms.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and Believe Entertainment Group's "Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids" Is Now Available to Rent on Amazon Prime
The feature-length documentary captures the incredible true story of the dolls, leaving nothing untouched, including the fundamental dispute over who originated the idea.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
MGM+ Renews Sci-Fi Horror Series "From" for Season Four
The series is set to return to production in Nova Scotia in 2025, and premiere in 2026.

[11/21/24 - 12:00 PM]
What's New on Max This December
Watch the debuts of HBO originals "Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North," "Nature of the Crime," and "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Max originals "Creature Commandos," "Fast Friends," "Rose Matafeo: On and On and On," and season two of "Bookie," and Warner Bros. film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

[11/21/24 - 11:00 AM]
HBO Renews Original Late-Night Comedy Series "It's Florida, Man." for a Second Season
The season one finale debuts Friday, November 22 and the first season is available to stream on Max.

[11/21/24 - 10:32 AM]
Taylor Sheridan's "Landman" Explodes with Over 5M Global Viewers Across Paramount+ and Linear Preview
The series also secured the #1 spot for a U.S. premiere in Paramount+ history within its first three days.

[11/21/24 - 10:31 AM]
Video: "Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Filmed over a five-night sold-out run in Honolulu at the historic Hawai'i Theatre, this extremely personal special hilariously unpacks the indignities of the IVF process, the pitfalls of being a man on the internet, American politics and the place of the older generation in today's world.

[11/21/24 - 10:06 AM]
CNN Renews "Have I Got News for You" for a Second Season
Produced by Hat Trick Productions for CNN Originals, "Have I Got News for You" concludes its 10-episode freshman season on Saturday, November 23 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.

[11/21/24 - 10:04 AM]
"CMA Country Christmas" Returns Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 8/7c an ABC and Next Day on Hulu and Disney+
Filmed in Nashville in front of a live audience, the festive special showcases one-of-a-kind musical performances of Christmas classics from Country Music's biggest stars.

[11/21/24 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Brings "Squid Game" to Los Angeles with Immersive Fan Event & US Premiere Set for December 12th, 2024
The interactive event, which will give fans a chance to compete for their seat at an exclusive advance screening, will feature director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, and more cast members from Season 2.

[11/21/24 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Documentary Films' "Nature of the Crime" Debuts December 10
Over a period of four years, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet follow Todd Scott and Chad Campbell: two men involved in violent crimes as teenagers who have since served more than 30 years of their sentences and have each been eligible for parole for more than a decade.

[11/21/24 - 09:39 AM]
TLC's "7 Little Johnstons" Returns for a New Season January 7th at 9/8c
The Johnstons are back! Liz and Brice's baby girl, Leighton, has arrived home safely from the hospital, and the lively Johnston family quickly realizes that life gets even more interesting with a newborn in the mix.

[11/21/24 - 09:30 AM]
Video: Starz Announces January 17 Premiere Date and Releases Trailer and Key Art for Steamy Seductive Thriller "The Couple Next Door"
The series, starring Sam Heughan, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jessica De Gouw and Alfred Enoch will be available to stream weekly on Fridays on the Starz app, all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms.

[11/21/24 - 09:08 AM]
Food Network's After-Hours Culinary Poker Game "Wildcard Kitchen" Raises the Stakes with Brand-New Season of All-Star Battles
In the season premiere on Tuesday, January 7, Vegas big spenders Jet Tila and siblings Michael and Bryan Voltaggio up the ante by bringing double the cash to the table, while serving up delectable dishes and lots of trash talk to determine who will be crowned king of the high-stakes kitchen.

[11/21/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Dragon Prince" Season 7 Trailer - Netflix After School
The epic saga concludes on December 19, only on Netflix.