Maxie D. Collier Movies
- 2007
In 1987 Public Enemy emerged as one of the most formidable forces in rap music with the release of their landmark sophomore album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back; nearly 20 years later, Chuck D and the crew still have what it takes to get their powerful message across while whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy. On the heels of Public Enemy's 2007 release How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul, a wide variety of musical artists including Henry Rollins, Jonathan Davis, Tom Morello, Talib Kweli, and the Beastie Boys come together in order to reflect on the power of a group whose influence continues to be felt even as they move forward to blaze new trails. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck D, Flavor Flav, (more)
A film crew sets out on a journey across the country to discover how money is made in the world of hip-hop. Director Maxie Collier takes us inside the process as he selects his Paperchasers crew and travels across the United States, interviewing people making a living off hip-hop, from street rappers selling tapes out of their trunks, to clothing designers, a hairdresser, DJs, record producers, and recording artists. They're all out to make money, and Collier wants to learn how it is done. In Atlanta, the crew catch rap superstar Ludacris and his crew just months before they sign a record deal and blow up. Collier documents his crew's struggles to land interviews with media bigwigs like Rap-A-Lot's J. Prince and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. Collier also captures the fluctuations in his personal relationships with producer Yvette Plummer, also the mother of his son, and soundman Marquez Edmond (aka "Marquez the Greatest"), as the pressures of making the film wear on the bare-bones crew. Paperchasers, featuring appearances by Fat Joe, Damon Dash, Flava Flav, and James Brown, had its world premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Baltimore native Darryl LeMont Wharton scripted and made his directorial debut with this drama focusing on the problems confronting a group of black high school students held in detention one afternoon. Mrs. Deakins (Charisse Brown) is the instructor who gets the group to discuss their situations -- ranging from drugs and abusive parents, to pregnancy and homosexuality. Writer-director Wharton appears in the role of Langston. Shown at the 1998 Dances With Films Festival of the Unknowns (Santa Monica) and the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (New York). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charisse Brown, Justin Black, (more)
