Amazon Freevee to Feature Unscripted, Faith-Based Content FromRenowned Spiritual Leader Bishop T.D. Jakes
For the first time, iconic sermons and inspiring messages from Bishop Jakes will be available to streamon demand and on a dedicated FAST channel, both free to watch. The announcement is part of the Women, Thou Art Loosed! Grand Finale Conferencein Atlanta, taking place this weekend.
Today, Amazon Freevee and Bishop T.D. Jakes announced a two-year deal to stream the spiritual leader’s most-loved sermons on the service in the U.S. beginning December 1. The deal includes streaming rights in the U.S., UK, and Germany, with exclusive on-demand and FAST channel rights to 300 hours of content, featuring some of the Bishop’s most treasured new and archived sermons and interviews.
Bishop Jakes will be the first faith leader to have their ministry available on the service, including a FAST channel, providing a free-of-charge, dedicated space for viewers inspired by his teachings and message. The T.D. Jakes FAST Channel will be available for customers in the U.S. to stream on the Freevee app and within Prime Video in early 2023.
Named “America’s Best Preacher” by TIME magazine, Jakes has commanded stages from the White House to the Aspen Institute, the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University to the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Spanning a wide array of themes and formats that include some of Jakes’ most iconic sermons, Freevee customers will also have access to content that includes emotional well-being; T.D. Jakes on The Road: Australia, London, and Africa; and leadership and business talks featuring National Cathedral messages and conversations with celebrities and heads of state.
“Through his powerful and dynamic sermons and wide-ranging community outreach, Bishop Jakes has been a source of wisdom and guidance to millions around the world,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD Original content and programming at Amazon Studios. “At Freevee, our steadfast mission is to deliver our broad audience a diverse selection of compelling, personally resonant content. As we build our faith-based offerings alongside our entertainment selection, we are honored to be the exclusive video streaming home for Bishop Jakes’ decades-long ministry, and proud to be a destination for viewers to find an ongoing source of spiritual inspiration.”
“The launch of our channel with Amazon Freevee signals a major step forward in providing a protected and trusted space for audiences’ emotional and spiritual fortitude. As Amazon continues to innovate and offer audiences meaningful content, I’m proud to illustrate to the world how ministry and philanthropy can be done in an ever-evolving culture. Though what we’ve been able to achieve with this launch is unprecedented, our mission to positively affect lives by reducing limitations on how people can be ministered to remains our North Star. I look forward to taking more big, meaningful leaps with Amazon.”
American Wisperis the true story of the unsolved murders of an African American family. In the summer of 2016, a mother and her three children were found shot to death in their suburban New Jersey home. They were discovered by father and husband Josiah Wisper — a brash businessman who owned bars, restaurants, stores, and real estate in Harlem, New York. Wisper quickly became an outcast in the Harlem community — and was viewed with suspicion by friends, relatives, and people he had known for nearly half his life.
The original case remains unsolved after more than 30 years. Although the film has exceeded one million views since its release in May, prosecutors remain silent on producers’ numerous requests to reopen the case.
Prosecutors, however, are still silent on reopening the once-famous case
“One million ‘plus’ views for a 90 minute, self-distributed indie film is amazing. From the beginning, we wanted this case reopened. It was our primary motivation for producing the film. With the forensic tools now available, there’s simply no excuse for remaining silent for so long. It’s imperative that prosecutors reopen this case, so that remaining family members can finally have closure.”
Producer and co-writer Howard Nash.
Despite the film’s rising views and strong public interest, the Bergen County Cold Case Division still disregards Nash’s pleas to reopen the case. Says Nash: “The cold case office has solved numerous cases, some going back to the 1950s. Why won’t they reopen this one?”
“American Wisper — a very tight thriller — thanks to a tight directorial effort, a tense script and strong performances by all involved. It’s a genre movie that shouldn’t be missed.” — Mike Haberfelner / SMT News & Reviews
The Pastor and the Pro, a new comedy from one-man studio Matthew Wilson Productions, will have its world premiere Nov. 9th on Prime Video.
The story follows a young, single pastor who needs a date quick for a big church dinner so he hires a prostitute to accompany him. But as she becomes more entangled in his life, her demands become more outrageous. Now he must navigate a moral mine field as he uses the unholy alliance to advance his ministry career. And things get more complicated when he starts to fall in love with her.
A truly independent filmmaker, Matthew Wilson wrote, directed, produced, and edited the movie entirely himself, hiring a small cast and skeleton crew for the shoot days with money he made writing for Cartoon Network’s Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Now, through Amazon’s Prime Video Directprogram, audiences throughout the U.S. and U.K. will be able to watch the film on all their favorite devices.
Amazon’s courtship of filmmakers has long been important to Wilson. He credits winning their $100,000 prize for his movie The Umpire in 2011 for helping him transition from struggling screenwriter to struggling filmmaker.
He further honed his filmmaking skills in 2014 with The Virgins, a comedy about a Christian couple who have a wild adventure on their wedding night as one surprise after another thwarts them from consummating the marriage. The film has had a successful run on Prime Video and garnered praise for its humorous handling of Christian characters and themes. Portraying Christian characters honestly has become a passion for Wilson, as he sees a deep lack of it in both mainstream and faith-based movies.
The comedy will be available to watch November 9th on Prime Video in the U.S. and U.K. Subscribers can watch for free and others can rent for $2.99 or purchase for $9.99. More about the filmmaker www.Matthew-Wilson-Writer.com
AFTER NEW JAZZ SITCOM GOES LIVE, WHITE COLLEGE STUDENTS RANT SAYING “JAZZ WAS SAVED BY WHITE PEOPLE” AND “BLACK PEOPLE DON’T LISTEN TO IT ANYMORE”
A controversy arose on social media following a recent BlackNews.com story entitled, “Giant Steps TV Show — America’s First Jazz Sitcom Launches on Amazon” which was published on October, 31, 2017. Apparently, three white students at The New School School in New York posted that the show “sucked” and was “bad for jazz”, “not remotely funny or interesting”, and then followed with a claim that “whites saved jazz because Black people don’t listen to it anymore” and that “whites have evolved the music to be more intellectually engaging”. They further offered anecdotal proof claiming that booking agents nationwide hire more white artists than black artists.
This happened on the same day that Grammy award-winning iconic drummer Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts had given the show 5 Stars on Amazon, where the bulk of comments surrounding the show applaud it as funny, entertaining, historic, and a first step in addressing the plight of jazz within the sitcom format, utilizing three top Black musicians as the principal actors.
Several musicians excoriated the students’ assertions, including William Murray, an celebrated original member of the famed Howard University Jazz Ensemble, legendary bassist Mickey Bass, who stars in the show, and Dr. Geraldine Seay a Florida A&M history professor and owner of B Sharp’s Jazz Club in Tallahassee, Florida.
Former Duke Ellington Orchestra alum Gregory Charles Royal, who created, wrote, and co-stars in Giant Steps with Mickey Bass and Lauryn Hill saxophonist Brent Birckhead said, “These comments open up a simmering wound that has been on the surface for decades. Jazz in no way knows color, but in every way it knows tradition. Many Black musicians feel that the ill effects of academia have created a class of people who have no idea about jazz’s traditions, nuances, humor or historical context.”
He continues, “We never expected people such as this to ‘get it’ with our show. And obviously the show will improve its production quality as we move out of the pilot. But the bigger issue is do we as Americans want our artforms co-opted by people who have no sense or desire to respect or understand tradition or context? That jazz is the only Black artform that has been co-opted to this extent, Giant Steps and other future shows depicting the jazz experience in creative ways are an obligation of its warriors to produce.”
Giant Steps, a new sitcom starring three very accomplished Black jazz musicians, has just been released on Amazon Prime.
Dubbed “America’s First Jazz Sitcom,” Giant Steps, which is shot in Harlem, is an old-school comedy in the spirit of Sanford and Son and stars legendary bassist Mickey Bass, Duke Ellington Orchestra alum and creator Gregory Charles Royal, and Ms. Lauryn Hill’s saxophonist Brent Birckhead.
“In the tradition of Black creativity, where we always find a way to express ourselves in fresh ways, the sitcom format allows us to hit America with jazz in a brand new flavor,” says Royal.
Giant Steps centers around three older guys: Mickey, the legendary bassist, his longtime student Chuckie, and Mickey’s best friend and manager Manny, who share a Harlem apartment where, as the tagline states, “Every day is a rollercoaster”. Their arch rival is a young braggadocious sax player named Brent, who thinks the old cats need to step aside and let some new blood into the game.
The unique nature of the show allows the main actors to actually perform, something that has never been attempted in modern television and a tradition lost from the early movies of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and others.
The aspect of the musician-actors is not a coincidence, as it is the primary mission of its creator Gregory Charles Royal, who has championed the concept with his organizations New York Jazz Film Festival and American Youth Symphony. “Just like Def Comedy Jam did with comedians, jazz musicians need to also adapt and branch out into the current mediums of the 21st century,” says Royal.
The first season is a 3-part episodic titled ‘April Fools Jazz’ and can be viewed free with an Amazon Prime membership. Royal hopes that an African American outlet such as a Bounce or a BET will see the value in the programming to produce season two.
