News

Maggie Grace, renowned for her appearances in TV series such as “Lost” and “Fear the Walking Dead,” boasts a height of 5 feet 9 inches (175.3 cm), making her about 5 inches taller than the average American woman, who typically stands at around 5 feet 4 inches (162.6 cm).

Standing next to her Alias and Lost co-star, Mia Maestro, who measures just 5 feet 3 ½ inches (161.3 cm), Maggie Grace’s statuesque frame is even more striking. For the occasion, she wore a sheer pink embroidered dress from Stella McCartney’s Resort 2019 collection, layered over a coordinating slip for modesty.

She styled the ethereal look with a white Stella McCartney clutch featuring chain detail and stepped into transparent pumps adorned with pearls. While the accessories elevated the ensemble, a closer color match between the dress and slip could have enhanced the overall polish.

Maggie Grace dazzles in a sheer pink lace ensemble with pearl-embellished Pvc pumps, while Mia Maestro keeps...

About a decade into its existence, Hulu became a major player in the world of nonfiction cinema, releasing some of the best documentaries exclusively on its streaming platform. Since debuting its first original documentary acquisition in 2016, with Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, Hulu has received numerous accolades. These include multiple Academy Award nominations in the Best Documentary Feature category and even an Oscar win for Summer of Soul. Hulu's documentaries have also done well at the Emmys and the Grammys.

Additionally, Hulu features many great documentaries in its library that are not Hulu originals. Through its partnership with Disney, which owns a majority stake in the streamer, Hulu is another place besides Disney+ to find National Geographic Documentary Films selections, including more Academy Award nominees and winners. While the platform is lacking in documentaries from before the 21st century, Hulu more than makes up for its...

You’re more likely to go to prison in the United States than any other country in the world, as writer and director Matthew Cooke argues in his new film Survivors Guide to Prison. With the help two men who spent decades behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit, Survivors Guide to Prison exposes a seemingly broken justice system that needs to change.

Cooke and the documentary’s producer, David Arquette, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss their eye-opening film. “We’re the largest prison population on the planet and it’s not because Americans are uniquely evil and criminal, and therefore more Americans are in prison,” Cooke...

Maggie Grace is officially taken!

The Taken actress, 33, married her boyfriend Brent Bushnell in La Jolla, California, on Sunday, People has confirmed.

For the wedding, Grace opted to keep her look classic and elegant. “Her choice of wedding earring was inspired by her Edwardian lace veil,” jeweler Neil Lane tells People. “They are vintage with delicate swirls of circular diamonds set in platinum. Her pearl-and-diamond hair combs are also of the Edwardian era.”

People reported the couple’s engagement in February. At the time, the former Lost actress took to Instagram to post a loving photo of herself and her fiancé in a canoe,...

Lucky in love! Maggie Grace is engaged to boyfriend Brent Bushnell, People confirms.

The former Lost actress took to Instagram to post a loving photo of herself and her fiancé in a canoe, writing, “The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung (Whitman).”

Grace, 33, also posted a photo of Bushnell in January at the Women’s March in Los Angeles with the caption, “What A Man #StrongMenSupportStrong.”

Bushnell is the founder of an engineering entertainment company called Two Bit Circus.

The Taken star was previously engaged to director Matthew Cooke in February 2015. She announced their separation in February...

Oscar winner Susan Sarandon is appearing in a new ad for Bernie Sanders. “I’m so happy to have somebody that I can vote for that really represents everything that I care about,” Sarandon says in the political spot, which also features documentary filmmaker Matthew Cooke. The ad titled, “Fight for Change,” includes video of Sanders speaking about social justice, women’s rights, the environment and trade. “He’s authentic,” she continues in the ad. “We haven’t heard authentic in a while.” Also Read: Hollywood Stars for Bernie Sanders (List) Watch the video above.

19 year old newcomer Grace Hogg-Robinson stars alongside former Casualty stars Claire Goose and Matt Bardock in a new BBC Daytime drama The Coroner.

Grace (represented by Jonathan Arun) plays Beth, the daughter of Jane (Claire Goose), a high flying solicitor, who after another failed relationship, returns to the small seaside town she escaped as a teenager to take up the post of Coroner. She finds herself forced to work with Davey, the boy who broke her heart and is now local Detective Sergeant, played by Matt Bardock.

Jane is the advocate for the dead. Investigating any sudden, violent or unexplained deaths in the fictional world of Lighthaven, in the beautiful South Hams of Devon.

The regular cast also includes Oliver Gomm as Clint, the Coroner’s Officer; Beatie Edney as Judith, Jane’s Mother; and Ivan Kaye as Mick, the pub landlord.

Produced and commissioned by the award winning BBC Birmingham Drama Village,...

Award winning Producer, Director & Human Rights Activist Matthew Cooke is using the power of crowd funding via Indiegogo to finish his film Survivor’S Guide To Prison, an exposé on the barbaric acts of the Us Prison system that holds 25% of the world’s prison population.

The campaign has only one week remaining and needs your support today. It's about more than just supporting a film. It's about adding your voice to a long overdue movement for human rights and healing for the world's most dysfunctional criminal justice system. Take action here.

Statistics:The Innocence Project estimates there could Easily be anywhere from 40,000 to over 100,000 people in Us prisons who never broke a law at all. 77% of Americans going into state prisons return within 5 years. If you're an American, you're more likely to go to prison than

anywhere else in the world. More black men are in prison now than the total enslaved in 1850. The film’s Executive Producers include Adrian Grenier and Susan Sarandon, and features interviews with Harry Belafonte, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons, Author of The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, and Brandon Boyd, the singer of Incubus. Read the full original article here.

“From Everything I’ve seen and learned, prison is not about helping people reform or rehabilitate, or learn to read, or get a job. It’s not about reconciliation or healing the victims of crime. It’s not about public safety, and it’s not about the wellbeing of our communities. It’s about two things: our worst instinct to revenge and the worship of money.”

Award winning Producer, Director & Human Rights Activist Matthew Cooke is using the power of crowd funding via Indiegogo to finish his film Survivor’S Guide To Prison, an exposé on the barbaric acts of the Us Prison system that holds 25% of the world’s prison population.

The film’s Executive Producers include Adrian Grenier and Susan Sarandon, and features interviews with Harry Belafonte, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons, Author of The New Jim Crow Michelle Alexander, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, and Brandon Boyd, the singer of Incubus.

His chilling exploration dives deep into the criminally abusive & socially unjust realities of incarceration through the perspectives of two prisoners who were convicted of crimes they did not commit. This is an all too common story in the Us where the Innocence Project estimates there could easily be anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 people in Us prisons that haven’t committed a crime.

Your support of the film’s Indiegogo campaign will help to do more than just finish a film. It will help to give a loud roar to a nearly silent movement to end human rights abuses of an unfathomable scale.

Watch Cooke’s gripping and poignant call to action, and learn more about the chilling facts below:

The Us has the largest prison population on the planet, larger than China.

1/3 of all women prisoners in the world are in Us prisons.

If you’re an American, you’re more likely to go to prison here than anyone else in the entire world.

More Black men are in prison now, than the total enslaved in 1850.

The USA Has More Prisons Than Colleges And Universities.

More About Matthew Cooke:

In 2013 Cooke released his directorial debut How To Make Money Selling Drugs which he also wrote, narrated, shot, edited and art directed. Drugs was produced by Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier featuring Eminem, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson and others. Drugs was bought and distributed by Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film where it debuted at #1 on iTunes and Amazon. Drugs won the audience award at the Champs-Elysees and Newport Film Festivals and the Best Writing Award from the International Documentary Association.

In 2007 Cooke produced and edited his first feature film. Deliver Us From Evil, written + directed by Amy Berg, was honored with the Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary film, made over 100 critics "best of" lists and Rotten Tomatoes top 100 best reviewed films of all time.

While Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg waits to see if any distributor will have the balls to pick up her controversial Hollywood sex abuse documentary "An Open Secret," she's not wasting any time charging ahead into her next project. She'll be teaming with actor Nate Parker on a film about the "black male crisis" in the U.S. following the August shooting of Michael Brown and the on-going tension in Ferguson, Mo. On Wednesday, two days after a grand jury failed to indict the officer involved in the shooting, Berg, Parker and writer/director Matthew Cooke launches an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the film. With a goal of $25,000, the campaign has already generated about $4,500. "Our conversations about race in this country have been ongoing," Berg told Variety. "It is truly a tragic state that we are in that we have to remind people that we abolished slavery 150 years ago, but the...

Indiewire's Eric Kohn talks with filmmakers Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) and Ava DuVernay (Selma) about the events they're staging today in conjunction with the Blackout Coalition's call for a nationwide boycott of Black Friday. Meantime, documentary filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis, An Open Secret), actor and activist Nate Parker (Beyond the Lights) and producer Matthew Cooke (How to Make Money Selling Drugs) have launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for American Race, "a film on the black male crisis." More news and views: Prix Louis-Delluc, Pauline Kael on Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese on The Last Waltz and more. » - David Hudson...

Indiewire's Eric Kohn talks with filmmakers Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) and Ava DuVernay (Selma) about the events they're staging today in conjunction with the Blackout Coalition's call for a nationwide boycott of Black Friday. Meantime, documentary filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis, An Open Secret), actor and activist Nate Parker (Beyond the Lights) and producer Matthew Cooke (How to Make Money Selling Drugs) have launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for American Race, "a film on the black male crisis." More news and views: Prix Louis-Delluc, Pauline Kael on Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese on The Last Waltz and more. » - David Hudson...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Before the epic event that gives the third chapter in "The Hobbit" trilogy its name, Peter Jackson's movie will deal with another major fight - Smaug's attack on Laketown.

Today a few new shots from that sequence have gone online over on Empire and showcase the mass destruction of the beastie along with Luke Evans’ Bard the Bowman trying to co-ordinate a defense. Click here to check them out.

Captain America: Civil War

With Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark appearing in the upcoming "Captain America: Civil War," the question has been raised as to whether his love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) will also make an appearance. Paltrow herself tells Dish Nation: "I don't know. I've heard rumors that maybe, and I don't know. My fingers are crossed. I would love to be Pepper Potts again at some point in my life.

Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of May's Indie Film Month. "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" is currently available to view On Demand. Matthew Cooke's documentary "How To Make Money Selling Drugs" is just as provocative and informative as the title suggests. The slickly produced film functions as a how-to guide for blossoming drug dealers; employing a format of different "levels," the viewer can climb on the road from lowly street dealer to international cartel lord.With producers Adrian Grenier and Bert Marcus, Cooke provides an insightful guide to the lucrative and violent drug industry, ultimately revealing some of its deeper horrors and the imperfections of U.S. drug policy. The documentary enlists a lineup of law enforcement officers, drug dealers, and rights advocates (including Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson, and "The Wire" creator David Simon) that offer first-person accounts and fascinating.

This bullish documentary starts with a swagger but ends as a sobering and compelling trip

Matthew Cooke's busy, bullish documentary sets itself up as a crash-course guide for wannabe drug barons. It shows how a small-time dealer can earn $50k in a day, like teenaged Bobby Carlton, or give customs the slip, like loquacious Brian O'Dea, or be celebrated as a friendly neighbourhood Robin Hood – like Freeway Rick, who moseys through town distributing cash to the needy.

But wait, there's a downside. The drug war is a con; the justice system's a joke. You might wind up dead or simply rotting in jail. Midway through, Cooke's film sobers up. It drops the swaggering bluster and starts reading the small print. It becomes a compelling, clear-sighted trip through the jungle; a documentary that rushes us in and then proceeds to point the way out.

Rating: 3/5

DocumentaryDrugs tradeXan Brooks

theguardian.com...

This accessible documentary about the drug trade won't surprise anyone who's already watched The Wire, but it does have some interesting new things to say

Reading on mobile? Click here to watch film trailer

Drug and alcohol abuse soars over the holiday season, as do money worries, so it's a canny move on the UK distributor's part to release this teasingly titled documentary just before Christmas. Structured to suggest a mock instruction manual or video game, director Matthew Cooke's film deploys lots of sans serif graphics and handy statistics to explain how people escalate up the drug-dealing ladder. Various colourful characters including Freeway Rick Ross, the man who invented crack, and ex-cop Barry Cooper explain the tricks of the trade, but none of it will be news to anyone who's watched Breaking Bad or The Wire (clips from the latter are even shown to illustrate points). An hour in,...

American Hustle | Anchorman 2 | The Harry Hill Movie | Walking With Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie | Moshi Monsters: The Movie | The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty | All Is Lost

American Hustle (15)

(David O Russell, 2013, Us) Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence. 138 mins

Big, brassy and outrageously coiffured, this crazed 70s crime epic leads you into a maze, then keeps you wondering if it knows the way out. Things starts out small, with Bale and Adams's petty con duo turned by Cooper's ambitious Fed, but stakes escalate, allegiances complicate, and deceptions multiply deliriously, carried along by lovably flawed characters and a manic energy.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (15)

(Adam McKay, 2013, Us) Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd. 119 mins

The hype is over, as Ferrell reunites his news team and drags them into New York, the 80s and the 24-hour era. But this sequel's absurdity, cameo-fuelled mayhem and mild...

Jehane Noujaim's "The Square" edged out Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" to emerge as the big winner of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards! The documentary about the 2011 Egyptian Revolution also beat Jason Osder's "Let the Fire Burn," Gabriela Cowperthwaite's "Blackfish," and Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell" for the prize.

Here's a full list of winners of the 2013 Ida Documentary Awards:

Best Feature Award

The Square

Director: Jehane Noujaim

Producer: Karim Amer; Executive Producers: Geralyn Dreyfous, Mike Lerner, Sarah Johnson, Jodie Evans, Lekha Singh, Gavin Dougan, Dan Catullo III, Lisa Nishimura, Adam Del Deo, Khalil Noujaim, Alexandra Johnes, Jeff Skol; Noujaim Films, Netflix Originals

Best Short Award

Slomo

Director: Josh Izenberg; Producer: Amanda Micheli; Executive Producer: Neil Izenberg; Big Young Films, Runaway Films

Best Limited Series Award

Inside Man

Producers: Kristen Vaurio, Lisa Kalikow, Shannon Gibson, Suzanne Hillinger, Lara Benario; Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock; Executive Producers: Jeremy Chilnick,...

This is a tough awards season! Lots of great movies to see, so little time! I'm catching up like crazy before we vote for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards for the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So I apologize if I haven't updated you with the latest on the awards season 2013-2014! And there were many award-giving bodies announcing nominations.

We already told you about the Rome Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards, now let's talk about the 2013 Gotham Awards, the Ida Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye, and the Producers Guild announcing its best documentary choices.

First stop, we have the 2013 Gotham Awards where Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" topped the nominations with three nods including best feature, best actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor and breakthrough actor for Lupita Nyong'o.

Winners will be announced on Dec. 2nd where Richard Linklater, Forest Whitaker, and Katherine Oliver (head of the NYC...

Joshua Oppenheimer and Sarah Polley’s respective docs have begun their year-end duke out for best docu of 2013. The International Documentary Association’s Ida Awards have announced the nominations for their Best Documentary Feature category and joining the pair we have the Sundance preemed Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite) and Jehane Noujaim’s The Square with Jason Osder’s Let the Fire Burn. Already selected award winners include Pablo’s Winter (cinematography by Julian Schwanitz) will be recognized with the award for Best Cinematography; Let the Fire Burn (edited by Nels Bangerter) will receive the Best Editing award; Narco Cultura (original music by Jeremy Turner) will be presented with the Best Music award; and How To Make Money Selling Drugs (written by Matthew Cooke) will receive the Best Writing award. The Ida Awards also honor docu in several other categories outside of theatrical released feature length films – head on over to see the complete list.

The 7th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, which runs this year on September 5-8 at the Factory Theatre, opens with a real bang when they will screen cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s latest cinematic odyssey, The Dance of Reality. This is Jodorowsky’s first film in over twenty years and is an imaginative and playful quasi-autobiography.

The rest of the four-day celebration is packed with more film oddities and excursions into surreal and transgressive territory. One particular highlight that is not to be missed is Don Swaynos’ incredibly crowd-pleasing comedy Pictures of Superheroes, about a slacker cleaning woman’s descent into an absurd world she can’t escape. Read the Underground Film Journal’s review of Pictures of Superheroes here.

Other twisted fiction films screening include Drew Tobias’s sick and twisted See You Next Tuesday, Cody Calahan’s apocalyptic Antisocial and Lloyd Kaufman’s highly-anticipated sequel Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol.

Matthew Cooke's "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" is a cheeky take on America's decades-long war on illegal narcotics. Mixing caustic satire with dead-serious elements, Cooke uses his animation background to add visual elements that tie the disparate parts together.

Cooke managed to get a wide variety of participants to discuss the premise, from David Simon, creator of "The Wire" and "The Corner," near definitive takes on this virtual conflict, to rappers 50 Cent and Eminem, who provide their own unique experiences within the culture that help perpetuate certain myths about drug culture.

Moviefone spoke exclusively to Matthew on the phone while he was in Paris, France.

Moviefone: First of all, how do you make money selling drugs?

Matthew Cooke: Very easily! The United States has the highest demand for illegal narcotics in the world, the demand is already there. You don't need to convince people to buy the stuff,...

Eminem has opened up about his addiction to prescription drugs, admitting in a new documentary that the pills he once popped in excess almost killed him.

"People tried to tell me that I had a problem," the rapper said in "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," a film described as "an indictment on the war on drugs" by the Los Angeles Times. "I would say 'Get that f***king person outta here. I'm not out there shooting heroin. I'm not f***king out there putting coke up my nose. I'm not smoking crack."

Instead, Eminem, born Marshall Mathers, explained to filmmaker Matthew Cooke that it was prescription drugs like Xanax and Valium that proved life-threatening.

"My organs were shutting down. My liver, kidneys, everything," he said of the time when he was hospitalized after a night of excessive pill-popping. "They were gonna have to put me on dialysis. They didn't...

Under certain circumstances, selling drugs to earn a living becomes a choice for many. Humans are nothing if not survivors, eking out a living by any means necessary to put food on the table, pay bills, and stay afloat. Beyond teaching viewers the correct way to pronounce sheeeeit, "The Wire" gracefully portrayed the lack of options for many people, proving the drug game isn't everything, it's the only thing. But what if we could actually choose what we want to do with our lives, and the moral quandary wasn't an issue? Just like Sonny told the "The Godfather," "There's a lot of money in that white powder." Writer/director Matthew Cooke (along with Vinnie Chase himself, Adrian Grenier, on board as producer) does away with moral compunctions in "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," a sort-of modern day response to hilariously misguided propaganda films like "Reefer Madness." The film is often compelling,...

Cooke’s Holding, But Packing Light In Drug Exposé

Matthew Cooke pitches it just as urban legend purveys – anyone can make a living slinging sedatives and stimulants. All that’s necessary is a basic understanding of arithmetic, a hefty lot of self confidence and a slight lack of respect for the law. But like any burgeoning professional, you’ve gotta start at the bottom rung and work your way up – in this case, from the corner to the cartel. In How To Make Money Selling Drugs, Cooke takes a cynical look at the business of dealing and the government’s extreme counterpoint as the wasteful war on drugs, explaining in simple terms and arcade level structure what it takes to move from foot soldier to billion dollar business man with his provocative but shallow debut doc.

Spearheaded by a collection of convicted ex-drug lords and import experts of varying locality,...

Melbourne, Jun 28: Eminem has opened up about his prescription drug abuse issues and how he nearly died because of it, in a new documentary.

During an interview for 'How To Make Money Selling Drugs', the rapper recalled being rushed into the hospital in critical condition after a night of binging, the Courier mail reported.

The 'Not Afraid' hit maker told filmmaker Matthew Cooke that had he reached the hospital about two hours later, he would have died.

The 40-year-old singer asserted that his organs, liver, kidneys and everything, were shutting down.

He said that the docs were going to put him on dialysis, because.

Give writer-director Matthew Cooke full credit. Not only is he clearly smart enough to grasp and present the complicated, interconnected issues surrounding American drug laws, but he also has the good sense to know that if you are going to tackle an issue as controversial and polarizing as this, then you damn well better find a way to present your argument in a way that people will actually listen to. And while the cheeky mock-educational approach of How To Make Money Selling Drugs may upset and offend some, it most certainly will spur many more to listen. And he's got plenty to say. Presented as a 'how to' guide for those who are unemployed, homeless or living in an economically depressed area of America, How...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

For a documentary to get noticed these days, it helps to have a fresh angle. But being creative with the form doesn’t necessarily result in an effective film, especially when it’s tackling a serious issue. Stunts occasionally work (see Super Size Me), as do innovative narrative devices (see 1965 Oscar-winner The War Game), but most docs with a gimmick unfortunately seem to hold that stylistic choice in front of the subject at hand. There’s no denying that How to Make Money Selling Drugs is a clever work of nonfiction, but we’re left thinking about the structure more than the film’s point. The real problem, however, might be that the film’s point is not even too clear anyway. Written, directed and heavily narrated by Matthew Cooke, the doc takes the form of, as the title suggests, an actual How-To guide to making money selling drugs. For a while it seems like an amusing...

The first act of writer-director Matthew Cooke's documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs is smooth, seductive, and almost glib as it eases viewers into the big business world of doing just what its title promises, on a global scale. It almost seems intended to court, uncritically, the folks who have made Scarface a cultural bible and the documentary Cocaine Cowboys a lifestyle guide, especially as it appears to share with certain fans of those touchstones a willingness to turn a blind eye to those narratives' cautionary aspects. Tricked out with video-game graphics and sound effects, kicking off with 50 Cent once again burnishing his mythology as he recounts his childhood days selling drugs, and running on the giddy energy—the high, if you will&mda...

Matthew Cooke's documentary "How To Make Money Selling Drugs" is just as provocative and informative as the title suggests. The slickly produced film functions as a how-to guide for blossoming drug dealers; employing a format of different "levels," the viewer can climb on the road from lowly street dealer to international cartel lord.With producers Adrian Grenier and Bert Marcus, Cooke provides an insightful guide to the lucrative and violent drug industry, ultimately revealing some of its deeper horrors and the imperfections of U.S. drug policy. The documentary enlists a lineup of law enforcement officers, drug dealers, and rights advocates (including Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson, and "The Wire" creator David Simon) that offer first-person accounts and fascinating stories.I called up Cooke to discuss the drug industry, the crisis of democracy, and how to engage viewers in U.S. drug policy. "How To Make Money Selling Drugs" is now available nationwide on demand.

Adrian Grenier laughed when it was suggested that maybe he should run for political office. Not that he doesn't have politics on the mind: The "Entourage" star produced the new documentary "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," an often infuriating look at the failed drug war in America. The film (out June 26 in select theaters and available now via video-on-demand services) was directed by Matthew Cooke, Grenier's long-time friend and a collaborator on Grenier's own documentary, "Teenage Paprazzo."

"He had several ideas and they were all up on this idea board, and the one that stuck out was this title: 'How To Make Money Selling Drugs,'" Grenier told HuffPost Entertainment in a recent interview. "It became clear that this was the film we had to make because it was not only so important, but also because of the way Matthew wanted to cut through the apathy with something...

Written and Directed by: Matthew Cooke

Produced by: Bert Marcus and Adrian Grenier

Featuring: Eminem, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, "Freeway" Rick Ross, "Big John" Harriel Jr., Skipp Townsend, Brian O'Dea, "Pepe," Barry Cooper, Mike Walzman, Susan Sarandon

The "War On Drugs" has been waged, in different incarnations, since the first attempts at prohibition in the early years of the 20th century. It's a class war, and a race war, engineered by men like Harry J. Anslinger, first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He firmly believed most drug users in the 1930s could be classified as "…Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

It's also a war waged by commercial interests determined to drive hemp — the high-yield wonder crop of the 20th century, cheap and easy to...

The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival took place between April 17th and April 28th all across New York City theaters. Created in response to the 9/11 Attacks by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2002, the festival has gone on to garner worldwide fame as one of the most celebrated festivals in the world.

The 12th Annual Tribeca Film Festival had over 450,000 attendees to the numerous screenings, panels, events and more all throughout the almost 2 week period. With over 89 feature films and 60 short films from more than 35 countries providing entertainment, the festival housed more than 117,000 people in their panels and screenings.

What proved to be remarkable about this year’s events was the fact that more people took advantage of the festival’s online festival (also known as the Tribeca Online Festival, or Tof), which gave people free screening s of select films and filmmaker panels. There was even an online...

Every bit as bold and confrontational as its title and articulate and well researched enough to defend itself from the inevitable backlash, Matthew Cooke's How To Make Money Selling Drugs is a detailed dismantling of the American war on drugs as told by an array of insiders ranging from street dealers to major importers to activists to law enforcement officials.A shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease, How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an insider's guide to the violent but extremely lucrative drug industry. Told from the perspective of former drug dealers, and featuring interviews with rights advocates Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, and David Simon (creator of "The Wire"), the film gives you the lessons...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Tribeca Film acquired U.S. rights to Bert Marcus Productions’ How to Make Money Selling Drugs, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, and has now set a theatrical release date for June 26th, 2013. The provocative documentary offers an in-depth look at the high-stakes world of drug dealing and drug enforcement by blending reportage with pop culture references. Directed by Matthew Cooke, the film reunites producers Bert Marcus of Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage). Tribeca Film plans a June 26 theatrical release day and date with on-demand platforms, like...

Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment (“Lightning”), announced today that the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company has acquired all international rights to Bert Marcus Productions’ acclaimed documentary feature film How To Make Money Selling Drugs.

The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to an enthusiastic audience and critical acclaim and was instantly acquired by Tribeca Films for the U.S. rights. Set for both theatrical release and on VOD in more than 40 million homes in 2013, the provocative documentary presents a shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease. By blending authentic reportage with pop culture references, the documentary further reveals how public policy and government drug enforcement have struggled to creatively adapt to and effectively disincentive Americans from dealing drugs. The film’s message delivers a captivating glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the...

Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment (.Lightning.), announced today that the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company has acquired all international rights to Bert Marcus Productions. acclaimed documentary feature film How To Make Money Selling Drugs.

The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to an enthusiastic audience and critical acclaim and was instantly acquired by Tribeca Films for the U.S. rights. Set for both theatrical release and on VOD in more than 40 million homes in 2013, the provocative documentary presents a shockingly candid examination of how a street dealer can rise to cartel lord with relative ease. By blending authentic reportage with pop culture references, the documentary further reveals how public policy and government drug enforcement have struggled to creatively adapt to and effectively disincentive Americans from dealing drugs. The film.s message delivers a captivating glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the...

Robert Beaumont's Lightning Entertainment has acquired all international rights to acclaimed documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs and will shop the film to foreign buyers at the upcoming American Film Market, which gets underway Aug. 31 in Santa Monica. From Bert Marcus Productions and directed by Matthew Cooke, the doc features interviews with 50 Cent, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as infamous drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, with U.S. rights quickly snapped up by

read more...

Matthew Cooke, the writer-director of the documentary "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," has signed with the management company Caliber Media Co., a representative for the company told TheWrap on Friday. Cooke has also signed with attorney Tara Kole at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown. Tribeca Film acquired domestic rights to the film in Toronto earlier this week.   "How To Make Money Selling Drugs" begins as a satirical guide on how to go from corner dealer to drug kingpin, before examining the role of government agencies in making and executing drug laws. The film...

Tribeca Film has acquired U.S. rights to Matthew Cooke’s How to Make Money Selling Drugs, a documentary that looks at both drug dealing and the war on drugs. The film, which played the Toronto International Film Festival, ranges from street dealers to government officials and includes interviews with 50 Cent, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross. Drugs was produced by Bert Marcus of Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier (Entourage), the team that created the doc Teenage Paparazzo. Tribeca is planning a 2013 theatrical

read more...

A film that made our short list of films to see at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival has been acquired by Tribeca Film., for a 2013 theatrical release, day and date with VOD platforms. Details via press release... Toronto – Sept. 13, 2012 – Tribeca Film has acquired U.S. rights to Bert Marcus Productions’ How to Make Money Selling Drugs, which had its world premiere on Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. The provocative documentary offers an in-depth look at the high-stakes world of drug dealing and drug enforcement by blending authentic reportage with pop culture references. Directed by Matthew Cooke, the film reunites...

Tribeca Film has acquired domestic distribution rights to "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," a new documentary about the war on drugs, the company announced on Thursday. The provocative documentary, produced by Bery Marcus and "Enoutrage" star Adrian Grenier, features interviews with everyone from 50 Cent to Eminem to Woody Harrelson. Director Matthew Cooke and his team also interviewed high-ranking officials like the U.S. Drug Czar, seeking to find a unique perspective on the drug war. It is set up as an instructional video, taking the viewer through the 10-step process of...

Tribeca Film has acquired U.S. rights to the Matthew Cooke-directed documentary “How to Make Money Selling Drugs,” which had its world premiere Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The New York-based distributor plans a day-and-date theatrical and VOD release in 2013. “Drugs” uses pop culture as a lens through which to investigate the lives of people on both sides of the “war on drugs.” 50 Cent, producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem, Rick Ross and Susan Sarandon are among those interviewed for the film, along with Drug Enforcement personnel and the U.S. Drug Czar. Bert Marcus of Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier, who created the 2010 doc “Teenage Paparazzo,” produced “Drugs.” “This is a work that resonates with truth, anger and insight by an extremely talented filmmaker,” said Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore. “From politics...

After its world premiere on Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film has acquired U.S. rights to How to Make Money Selling Drugs. Directed by Matthew Cooke, the film reunites producers Bert Marcus of Bert Marcus Productions and Adrian Grenier (HBO's Entourage), the team that created the breakout hit Teenage Paparazzo. A 2013 day-and-date release planned both in theaters and on VOD in more than 40 million homes. Digital platforms include iTunes, Amazon Watch Instantly, Vudu and Xbox. How To Make Money Selling Drugs offers a captivating glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the 'war on drugs,' delivering a diverse and unique perspective on the controversial subject through interviews with 50 Cent, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as infamous drug kingpin 'Freeway' Rick Ross. Presenting a shockingly candid examination of how a street ...

Give writer-director Matthew Cooke full credit. Not only is he clearly smart enough to grasp and present the complicated, interconnected issues surrounding American drug laws, but he also has the good sense to know that if you are going to tackle an issue as controversial and polarizing as this, then you damn well better find a way to present your argument in a way that people will actually listen to. And while the cheeky mock-educational approach of How To Make Money Selling Drugs may upset and offend some, it most certainly will spur many more to listen. And he's got plenty to say.Presented as a 'how to' guide for those who are unemployed, homeless or living in an economically depressed area of America, How To...

Give writer-director Matthew Cooke full credit. Not only is he clearly smart enough to grasp and present the complicated, interconnected issues surrounding American drug laws, but he also has the good sense to know that if you are going to tackle an issue as controversial and polarizing as this, then you damn well better find a way to present your argument in a way that people will actually listen to. And while the cheeky mock-educational approach of How To Make Money Selling Drugs may upset and offend some, it most certainly will spur many more to listen. And he's got plenty to say.Presented as a 'how to' guide for those who are unemployed, homeless or living in an economically depressed area of America, How...

Today we have a trailer for "How To Make Money Selling Drugs" documentary, which teaches you how to make millions of dollars per day selling drugs. It's actually a film about the war on drugs and features perspectives from such people as 50 Cent, Eminem and infamous drug kingpin Rick Ross. Check out the trailer below. Plot: Blending authentic reportage with pop culture references and a video game-like progression from level to level, the film illustrates step-by-step how to create a drug empire, from dealing on the corner to running a major cartel. The new movie is directed by former technology executive Matthew Cooke and will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Trailer:...

"In this 90 minute program, masters of the trade are going to reveal to you their secrets." The moment I saw this on the Tiff line-up, my first thought was: they could not have chosen a more provocative title for this. Of course it's a documentary about the war on drugs, I don't even need to tell you that! But what makes this one different? How To Make Money Selling Drugs gives us a satirical glimpse into the lives of those on both sides of the "war on drugs," delivering a diverse and unique perspective through interviews with people like 50 Cent, Eminem, Arianna Huffington, and infamous drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross. Check this out. Here's the first official trailer for Matthew Cooke's How To Make Money Selling Drugs, from Apple: This documentary offers an in-depth look at the high-stakes world of drug dealing and drug enforcement, featuring interviews with top-ranking...

"If the American dream broke its promise to you, don't worry ... we have an answer."

Would you like to be a part of a $400 billion global industry? You could eventually make a thousand dollars an hour. A million dollars a week.

Matthew Cooke's soon to be extremely controversial documentary, "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," features some masters of the trade revealing their secrets and showing how you can get paid as a drug dealer. For many, this is seen as the only option in a country where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer.

"The work has gone away," says David Simon, creator of HBO's "The Wire." "The only factory that remains is the drug trade. And they're hiring. They're the only people hiring."

It's a cold, hard truth ... and a major American problem.

Check out the trailer to "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" or watch it in HD at iTunes Movie Trailers.

The acclaim of Breaking Bad and The Wire over the last decade have demonstrated that there is a devoted following that wants to see the inner workings of illegal drug trade.  So of course it is Wire creator David Simon who concisely explains the allure of dealing in the new trailer for the documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs: "Look around, this is the environment of post-industrial America.  The work has gone away... The only factory that remains is the drug trade.  And they're hiring!  They're the only people hiring." If that's too heady for you, director Matthew Cooke also interviews rappers 50 Cent and Eminem as well as actors Woody Harrelson and Susan Sarandon.  However, Cooke's best talking heads are the folks who actually earned their living in the drug market, including "Freeway" Rick Ross, who ran a drug empire in Los Angeles in the 1980s. How to Make Money Selling Drugs...